Ever hear the theory that better a guilty man go free than an innocent be unjustly imprisoned? Evidently Virginia doesn’t think that way:
In April, the Virginia Supreme Court turned down the petition for a new trial for Aleck J. Carpitcher, who was sentenced in 1999 to 38 years in prison for molesting an 11-year-old girl even though she recently told authorities she made up the whole incident to punish Carpitcher, who was at the time dating the girl’s mother. The justices cited state law, which allows consideration of “new evidence” only if it is submitted within three weeks of the sentencing date. [Daily Press (Hampton Roads)-AP, 4-21-04]
They were just following precedent:
“Mere factual innocence is no reason not to carry out a death sentence properly reached.”
–U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Herrera v. Collins 506 US 390 1993
You quote seems to be an invention of the Left’s propaganda machine. A review of the full text of the Herrera v. Collins decision does not show that Scalia, nor any other justice, said this. In fact, reading Scalia’s concurring opinion (in which he was joined by Thomas) reveals this quote which is very much at odds with the intent of the false quote:
You are correct, I shouldn’t have taken the quote (and citation) at face value. How has a fake quote remained “active” so long??