Wrongful Prosecution

This is an interesting article describing a debate over whether to criminalize intentionally withholding evidence of innocence by a prosecutor in Texas. I think any prosecutor that would intentionally withhold evidence of a person’s innocence in order to get a conviction can only be described as a morally evil person. It is also appropriate to criminalize such conduct because it is using physical force, in this case jail or execution, to deprive the accused of a value, namely his liberty, or possibly even his life. It doesn’t matter that the prosecutor is not the one actually physically incarcerating the innocent person, any more than it would matter if the head of a crime organization ordered one of his henchmen to kill someone. Just as the head of a crime organization would be responsible for the crimes committed on his behalf, so too would a prosecutor be responsible for the unjustified incarceration or execution of an innocent man.