Read the article (link found below) about Tim Masters, the Colorado man who was put in prison for over ten years for a murder he did not commit. When DNA evidence surfaced proving his innocence last December, he was released from prison. After you read the article answer the following questions: (1) How should Tim Masters be compensated for the ten years he spent in jail? (2) Do you think our justice system is fair? Explain.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_11317809?source=pop_section_news
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For Tim Masters the simple pleasures of just having a home cooked meal and just spending time with family were stolen from him. Until December of last year did DNA evidence prove he really was innocent. Convicted of a crime he never did, he served time for the 1987 murder of Peggy Hettrick in Fort Collins. The question remains “is the justice system fair?” The simple answer to that is nothing is ever fair. That’s just how it goes, but in this situation and maybe thousands of others. They always have that played out line "innocent until proven guilty.” Well until DNA evidence appeared to show he was innocent. What did they go off to convict him, because it sure wasn’t DNA. So all in all no I don’t think the justice system is fair or perfect for that matter. But let’s just say it really proved to be questionable. In conclusion to the other question about how he should be compensated for the ten years he spent in jail. Let’s just see it’s quite obvious he may want money and I think it’s only fair he receives what he asks for. If a lady can sue for more then 2.9 million dollars for spelt coffee then I’m sure they can award him for his ten year lost.
ReplyDeleteI think there is no way you could possibly pay some one back for 10 years of there life. I think the only way to repay Tim Masters is to pay him cash even though he will always have a bitter feeling about this experience. I personally think that our justice system is perfectly fair even though there is going to be some occasional mistakes like in this case but they just have to look at it and learn from it. I think this because if you read the comments about this article many law students commented on the article so you know that law students will be studying this case for a long time to come and hopefully never repeat the same mistake.
ReplyDeleteI agree with katerit. I think though at most times it is fair. We are humans and there will be times that we make mistakes. There are also times though that a murderer deserves the death sentence and most would think that was fair. You can agree or disagree on if you think it is fair to put someone on death row. But do you really think that a murdere deserves to live? I know it isn't really fair that we accused the worng guy and he spent ten years of his life behind bars. I know that sometimes we may not always be right but what can we do about it anyway? But I do agree though that we are "innocent until proven guilty" and all. I think though that maybe we should be more careful in the future and check things out a bit more. But i still wonder about him, i think he may still be guilty...
ReplyDeleteTim Masters can never get those ten years back of his life because they are already gone. He will always have that memory of being in jail and won't have the same reputation. To say that he would gladly trade his fame for those years says a lot. I think that some parts of our justice system are fair but others aren't. For people like Tim it's not fair but the justice system is going to make mistakes. We need to work on those mistakes and especially learn from them. I do believe you are innocent until proven guilty, that is fair and gives everyone a chance.
ReplyDeleteIt is impossible to fully compensate Tim Masters for the decade of his life he wrongly spent behind bars. He was given $1600 when he was released and that has been pretty much all he has received from the government. He has received more from random strangers than from the government. But I believe that the government should at least try to help him out. They should clear his record because though it was dismissed all his arrests and convictions are still on his record. They should also provide things for him such as healthcare, counseling, and other basic necessities. He has calculated that over the then years he was in prison he would have made more than half a million dollars plus he was required to pay court fees and pay for legal counsel. I think the government should reimburse him the money he would have lost as well as his legal expenses. But even with all that they can’t give him back those ten years and they can’t fix the years of his high school life that they ruined with murder accusations.
ReplyDeleteI’d like to think our justice system is fair but it really isn’t. It is run by people and all people make mistakes. So there will always be those mistakes. But even more there are the people in our legal system that want to just end the case rather than get the right person for the right crime. Then there is the other end of the spectrum where new evidence is found from an old case or evidence is collected in an illegal way, and the person stays free because they have already been tried for the crime. So, no our legal system isn’t fair if innocent people can get convicted and guilty people can walk free.
i don't think that our justice system is fair because the people in the jury and the judges become very bias and start to send people to jail just to close the case. I think that people shouldn't be sent to jail unless there is liable evidence.
ReplyDeleteMasters will never regain the 10 years of his life that he spent in prison, the only thing he can do now is live his life day to day, thankful of what he has now. I do think, however, that the government should have given him a greater amount of money when releasing him from jail. They convicted him of a murder he didn't do, just because a psychologist said his writings were of a serial killer. That is ridiculous and he deserves a formal apology or something!
There is no way for Masters to get those 10 years back. They're gone. He could have done so much in those 10 years and enjoyed so much and nothing the government or anyone can do can make up for that loss. I do believe that the government needs to give him more money though. I think he needs to sue or do something. He deserves a lot more than the $1600 they gave him for his labor. They took 10 years of his life, and those 10 years are priceless, but they can at least give him more than $1600. He deserves a lot more money from the government. I don't think our justice system is fair. It has its mistakes and nothing is fair or perfect. But mistakes like these are unacceptable and we need to fix our justice system so these kind of things don't happen. There will always be flaws but we can do a lot to make it better. Our justice system could be a lot better than it is now and hopefully in the future it will be better.
ReplyDeleteWell there is really not all that much that you can do in a situation like this. How can you possibly give someone ten years of their life back? Especially some of their prime years. Sure you can give them money, but they still do not have ten years of their life. I really do not think there is much that can for this case and it is good now that we have better technology to help truly find the guilty person.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way that anyone can back up a claim that our justice system is fair. Especially after viewing the film we just saw in class. Bribes happen all the time, still today. Human are animals that will do anything to cheat and hide and save themselves. We can not have a system that is based on human honesty and one that has the power to put others in jail for a long time. Something needs to change.
Unfortunately I must say that there is no way for Tim Masters to regain those 10 lost years. I mean how can you give someone back all those experiences and moments that happen during such a great amount of time. Bottom line you can't. What we can do is learn from this mistake and make sure that it won't happen to anybody ever.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the justice system, it is nowhere close to fair; and that may be simply due to the fact that there will always be holes & loops in the system. There is no way to always be correct in the verdict issued whether it'd be innocent or guilty. The truth isn't always known until it is too late like in the case of Tim Masters. It sucks to be him but rather let us embody the positivity of compassion for him and of caring. And it is good to know that those people closest to him have done so. May he find peace.
I saw this story on 48 hours, and thought it was horrible.I don't think that there is any way to give him back the ten years that he lost. In the case there was little evidence, and the police did not suspect any one else besides Tim. They didn't suspect anything fishy from Peggy's boyfriend who she saw last!, or another creepy suspect that should of been testified, they took the only evidence that they had, obviously they didn't look hard enough. It's good that now we have better technology, but what's that going to do for Tim now? The only evidence that they had was some grafic drawings that Tim had done, but drawings can't prove someone guilty of murder. There is no amount of money that can fix this. And to think that the boyfriend and other suspect are still out there, it's scary.
ReplyDeleteThere's only one reason that i can think of for this, people were not so smart back then. All Tim can do now, is get up in the morning, breathe in and out, and try to become a person again. He has to learn how to live in a new decade.
Tim Masters should be compensated for the ten years he spent in jail by giving him money and assuring the people the truth. Tim should get all the ten years to work pay he missed to keep him on his feet until he recovers and until he finds a job. They should run a story in the newspaper admitting the mistake they made in the crime and assuring the people that he is not a murder. Even these won’t give ten years back to Tim, he missed a prime time in his life and it’s not getting better they ruined his life and future! Our justice system is not fair at all! We jump to the shortest route out and don’t fully examine because if we would of Tim wouldn’t have been in jail for ten years for a crime he didn’t do, just like Green. The scary fact is that the killer is still out there! Our justice system needs some fixing! Tim Masters’ crime was too simple based on his location, drawings, and age to convict him of a crime, there should be more evidence than that! It was an easy way out a crime with no real evidence. Tim will just have to live in the now and pick up from where he left off and stand up for himself!
ReplyDeleteI believe that Tim should be compensated in some way for being wrongfully accused for murdering based upon some violent wrings and pictures. Instead of solid physical evidence such as DNA and hair. The police had no real evidence against him to hold him accountable for the murder the only thing they had was the psychologist statement that his drawings and writing were those of a murder, and later the psychologist
ReplyDeleteadmitted he was pressured into giving a false report. Master can never fully get back into society now he is damaged from his years in prison and past that he wont be able to work a proper job because he doesn’t want to be ordered around any more. The government should give him money to be able to pay for an apartment or some form of mental help for the trauma he’s had to undergo.
As for the Colorado police force being just and fair. I know not all things in life are faire but I do realize that Colorado’s police force makes more unfair decisions then fair ones. Not only did they convict a FIFTEEN year old boy to death row they did it on little evidence and a possibly forced statement against Masters. The police system also charged him for six counts of murder on his record when he was only wrongfully charged once. The system is definitely corrupt and need to work on making sure the information they focus on is physical and visual and not just a hunch based on some violent drawings and writings that in reality doesn‘t really show if that person is capable of murder (Cause if they did we would probably have locked up Tim Burton, and Steven king a long time ago).
I think that our justice system is fair, but to a certain extent. Obviously there are going to be some cases like that of Tim Masters and they are going to get it wrong. But majority of the time they get it right, and getting it wrong is a very rare occasion. But on these very rare occasions, the government, whether it be state or federal level, should be prepared to compensate the wrongly accused for their time and money lost. Of course money isn't going to make up for the 10 years that Tim lost, but it would definitely help him get back on his feet and get a new life started. It would help him get comfortable with society again, give him a place to live and food to eat. As for people in the street giving him funny looks, and whispering about him, they need to grow up. Mature people can accept the fact that their own dumb*** government made a mistake, they can accept the mistake that was made and not let it bother their daily lives. The people who give him stuff, and help him out are good examples. They understand there was a mistake made and they don't hold him responsible. They don't look at him in a dark light. Anyone who thinks differently of this man because he was wrongly accused, and later cleared of a murder, needs to swallow their pride and deal with it. There is no way Tim Masters can be compensated for the years he lost, but that doesn't mean that he should lose the respect of people in our society.
ReplyDeleteThere is no possible way anyone can make up for the ten years Tim Master’s lost. It wasn’t just any ten years. It was “The golden years” of his life that they took. Think about it. He missed high school which almost guarantees he won’t get a very good job because he never got into a college. He didn’t get the chance to have a normal girlfriend, or to go to prom. Those may seem simple and petty, but those are things that someone can really regret not getting the change to go to. You can give him all the money in the world, but it doesn’t change the fact that he lost all that time. He’ll never get the chance to be “What he wanted to be when he grew up.” because his future was ruined by that false accusation. I suppose they could start with making sure the world knew he was innocent. Then they could pay him at least a pretty hefty lump sum of money. That way he can make sure he does okay since I assume finding a job may be difficult.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hillary e, if he was convicted on drawings that were violent or scary, then most of our horror film writers and creators would be convicted of being killers. There should have been more evidence gathered. There has to be something wrong with our justice system if drawings can be used to send a teenager to death row. The only thing in this case that they have to defend themselves with is that at that time they didn’t have DNA evidence. If they had had this science then maybe he would have been spared. That I can understand. However, using drawings as a way to convict someone cannot be tolerated. It makes our system look like the littlest average day thing can make you a criminal. It makes them look rather unintelligent afterwords too. I’ll bet those who convicted him didn’t feel that great when they were told they made a grave mistake. I think our justice system needs to take a step back and take a good look at things that they’ve been doing wrong and fix them.
I agree with Tessa that Tim Masters will never be fully compensated for his time spent in prison. No amount of money or anything for that matter can make up for ten years of a life lost. He will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. People will always think of him as the man who committed the crime even though he didn't.
ReplyDeleteTim Masters did not receive a fair trial. A psychologist saying that he drew pictures that suggested that he wanted to kill someone is not sufficient evidence that he committed the crime. However, I believe that even though our system has flaws, we have the best one in the world that catches many people that do commit crimes.
I believe that our justice system is fair, but I also believe that it sometimes isn't. I think that in only a few cases just like the one with Tim Masters, our justice system is not fair. The justice system is fair in the sense that they are taking procaution with the accused. The justice system is also thinking about us and our safety. They are locking people up so they dont have to take the risk of letting someone bad back into the streets. After being locked up for 10 years and finding out that it was a mistake, Tim must be very shocked. To confensate for what has happened I think that Tim should get some amount of money. He should get money because he needs to pretty much start over on his life. He needs to get a house and he needs food to survive. Another thing that he can confensate with is maybe the promise that the government will become more careful and also know more before they lock up someone.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, there is absolutely nothing you could say or do to compensate this man for the 10 years he wrongfully spent in jail. Time is a very valuable thing, one that you can not get back once its past. Second, I think that our justice system is as fair as a justice system can be. When all the evidence seems to be pointing to something we have to believe thats the real story. We can't believe everyone who says "I'm not guilty." We would have too many unconvicted felons running around causing trouble. I do however think that the rules should be changed a little bit if the evidence is purely circumstantial. We souldn't be able to convict someone if there's no real, hard evidence, though I don't know what would have to change to make this sort of case more fair.
ReplyDeleteTim will never get ten years back not even all the money in the world could. Life is about experiences people go through, not materials like money that can buy a life.Yeah money is a part about life, but what about the memories.In those ten years he there could be a lot of family and friend time.He even said so himself "my life stopped when I entered jail" His life stopped behind those bars. Technology has changed during a decade.His dignity has changed.How is he supposed to live now? I think our justice system is fair at certain points.But in other times we try to make justice to fast and make someone "guilty" and put them behind bars without an actual proof, not just a good prediction oono who it might be. But other than that its a good justice by the way we put people behind bars that guilty.We all make mistakes but just next time we should be a little more careful on who is about to have a death sentance.
ReplyDelete10 years lost that can never be regained...this is very sad for Tim Masters, his life will never be the same because he now has to almost waht seems like "start a new life." I think that our justice system is unfair because how could crutial evidence like someone being innocent slip through? Like the movie we watched, im sure many people at the trial "thought" he was the one who did it. Like everyone else, no money in the world can be given to change his life and it is like the government is trying to buy a sorry because everything he does now is magically paid for.
ReplyDeleteOverall, our justice system does a good job, but needs to be managed much better.
I believe that our justice system is fair, but then it can be totally ignorant. It is very unfortunate for Tim especially losing ten years of his prime years. Your life still isn’t worth all the money in the world. Obviously it is for the justice system. Like in the film we watched we can plainly see how the justice system will bribe anyone to get their way.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I believe that our justice system is fair, but at the same time, Tim Masters and plenty others have been wrongly convicted and thrown in jail for a considerable amount of time, leading the justice system to be unfair. Why was he thrown in jail if solid evidence wasn't available in the first place?
ReplyDeleteAlso, ten years is such a long time, and something that can never be totally regained again. No matter how much money is given to him, he will never be able to completely compensate for time wrongly spent.
I don't think that all the money in the world can bring back 10 years to a mans life. What he does deserve is the half a million dollars that he would have earned if he was not in jail. I don't think that 1,600 was enough. Also he will never get his "mojo" back, I don't know about any other girls but I would not date a man who was in prison for 10 years for murder.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the legal system is fair but life isn't fair and when humans are involved their are going to be mistakes. All humans make mistakes and I also think that they just want to put someone in jail for the murder of a human being so they chose the first suspect. That probably isn't true in all cases but i do beleive that this happened in the tim masters case.
i dont think that there is any way to give a man ten years of his life back, the only thing that could be done is make sure that he gets everything he needs and way more for the rest of his life. a good start would be to pay his however much we would have made in wages over the last ten years plus a lot of interest.
ReplyDeleteour justice system isn't perfect but i think it is the best that we have available and as new technology come along our system will be improved. The only thing is that through a trial by jury you can never eliminate human predjudice, and that will always be the one fault in the justice system.