If you want a pretty constant diet of WTF moments, the best thing you could do is subscribe to The Agitator‘s RSS feed. Be warned, though, that Balko’s collection of “WTF” moments is also likely to lead to an increase in your blood pressure.
Sometimes, something just jumps out at me from his site that goes beyond the usual “WTF” moments. This story is one of those moments.
Short summary: Barney Brown was arrested at the age of 14, tried in juvenile court for a rape and robbery, and acquitted. But that’s not the “WTF?” part. The prosecutor put him on trial again for the same crimes as an adult. He was convicted, and sent to prison for life.
This took place in 1969. Barney Brown served 38 years.
The fact that one trial took place in juvenile court and the second in adult court doesn’t matter. There is clearly settled case law on this; once Barney Brown was acquitted in juvenile court, jeopardy protections applied. The prosecutor had no authority, no right, no legal ground, and no business trying Barney Brown again in an adult court.
This is the kind of egregious misconduct by a prosecutor that, I believe, rises to a standard where the shield of “sovereign immunity” can, and should, be pierced. In a just world, that prosecutor (if he is still alive) would be in prison right now, and his assets would be signed over to Barney Brown.