IL - More People Getting Away With Murder, Chicago

CHICAGO – Despite the rise of DNA fingerprinting and other "CSI"-style crime-fighting wizardry, more and more people in this country are getting away with murder.

FBI figures obtained by The Associated Press show that the homicide clearance rate, as detectives call it, dropped from 91 percent in 1963 — the first year records were kept in the manner they are now — to 61 percent in 2007.

Law enforcement officials say the chief reason is a rise in drug- and gang-related killings, which are often impersonal and anonymous, and thus harder to solve than slayings among family members or friends. As a result, police departments are carrying an ever-growing number of "cold-case" murders on their books.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081208/ap_on_re_us/getting_away_with_murder

It's depressing, isn't it?

I don't think it is just gang violence. There are unsolved murders in my area and they have nothing to do with gangs. I think budget problems don't help. Also everywhere DNA/ evidence sits on shelves with no testing.

colette said:

Also everywhere DNA/ evidence sits on shelves with no testing.

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exactly. i mean they have all these great advances in dna etc. but it doesn't help much when they have no clue who actually did it.

maybe 40 years ago family linked murders might have gone unsolved because they could not prove circumstantially that a family member did it. but now they can test blood and link the immediate circle around the victim if they are involved. however if they aren't involved then you just got the DNA evidence sitting on shelves with no one to match it to. (and yeah sometimes not even tested for months and months)

It seems that there are so many deals made these days that hardly anyone really gets the punishment they deserve. A win is a win for the Pros whether it goes to trial or is plea bargained. It really burns me up.

DNA takes forever to get tested. I don't know why the government doesn't kick in some money and build a few more good labs so it doesn't take a year or so to get the DNA or evidence complete.

I also think in some places if the person murdered was a hooker or a bar person LE doesn't try as hard to find the killer. Now if it is a policeman or the mayer's wife every detective on the force is put on the case. There is biasis in LE.

Another reason they are getting by with it is so called "suspects rights". Legal Aid and other defense enetities has done a job on challenges to what is allowed in a trial, and it seems no one can just get up and say what happened anymore because it has to meet all the legal tests. Defense attorneys seem to get a lot of evidence thrown out on BS challenges, and the defense is allowed to present "alternate theories" ie lies about what happened whereas the prosecution is confined to the truth.

Too many times it seems like trials is no longer about the truth or justice, but more about who has the better attorney. Plus since the victim is dead, they are considered to have no rights.

mysteriew said:

Another reason they are getting by with it is so called "suspects rights". Legal Aid and other defense enetities has done a job on challenges to what is allowed in a trial, and it seems no one can just get up and say what happened anymore because it has to meet all the legal tests. Defense attorneys seem to get a lot of evidence thrown out on BS challenges, and the defense is allowed to present "alternate theories" ie lies about what happened whereas the prosecution is confined to the truth.

Too many times it seems like trials is no longer about the truth or justice, but more about who has the better attorney.

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You are so right. I also think a person's previous crimes should be allowed in if they are the same type of crime as was committed and created the current trial. If jurors knew some criminals backgrounds they would vote guilty for sure but most of the time previous crimes can't come it. Later jurors will say if they had known some of the things that were withheld they would have voted differently. And jurors should also know what length of sentencing goes with each count...1st degree murder, 2nd degree, etc. Our judicial system needs a huge overhall.

The Rich or Famous immediately came to mind for me......