Do you find it interesting that the recent shootings that took place in Louisiana and Minnesota immediately sparked violent and widespread protests in Texas and New York? The fact is that Texas leads the nation in wrongful convictions, followed by New York. They are not wrongful convictions; they are unlawful convictions. The residents of these states suffer the most from injustice. Why and how does this happen?

Recently I attended a symposium sponsored by It Could Happen 2/You (ICH/Y), at which it was noted that the state of New York has no agency to discipline prosecutors. Every other type of licensed professional has an overseeing commission—police, doctors, beauticians, attorneys, accountants, judges—yes, even judges. Only prosecutors face no consequences for their actions.

This is frightening. These are the most powerful people in the justice system, and they are political figures. It appears that in an effort to retain their elected position, their reputation for “the win” takes precedence over their purpose to assure that justice has been served. There is no uniform system of best practices and no uniform way to investigate prosecutors. So the fox is guarding the henhouse. One form of malpractice is their withholding of evidence. It is the prosecutors’ responsibility to turn over all evidence to the defense, regardless how irrelevant they think it is.

I have great respect for our police. The police massacre in Texas was horrific. Violence is never the answer no matter how frustrated one is. However, it seems that investigations are lacking, and many jump to conclusions, as suggested by the fact that in New York City, there is only one trial for every 461 arrests. There is a plea bargain rate of 99.74%, and one in every four African Americans will be arrested in their lifetimes.

Do you understand the implications? Our country is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Miranda-Reid Technique, through which law enforcement is trained to coerce confessions with an 80% success rate. Happy golden anniversary “justice.”

In Monroe County alone, there have recently been three wrongful convictions that cost New York taxpayers over $15 million in settlements. In many such cases, the real criminal is still at large and able to continue committing crimes. That is unnerving. It is not too different from prosecutors repeatedly engaging in unlawful practices without consequence and being permitted to continue practicing their shenanigans.

Senate Bill 24, which would have created a bipartisan commission to oversee prosecutors, was to be voted on this year prior to the New York State Legislature’s adjournment. Sen. John Bonacic (whom I had the pleasure of meeting during the process) is the chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee and supportive of the bill. It passed through all the committees. It was on the Senate agenda to be debated. Then somehow, it vanished. It was pulled from the floor due to pressure from the district attorneys. The same thing happened in the Assembly. This bill was three years in the making, and this was the furthest it ever came.

The State of Pennsylvania also has no commission. There is a nonprofit unit in association with the University of Pennsylvania that gathers research on prosecutorial misconduct and wrongful convictions and their causes. Just in the last week, this Pennsylvania watchdog body cited the proposed New York State Commission on prosecutorial misconduct as a model for justice in our state. If prosecutors were not guilty of the multiple misconducts of which they are being accused, an overseeing commission should pose no threat. The justice system would be restored. The frustration would end. The violence would end.

[Dr. Lorraine Spinard and Gregory P. Hoeper are residents of Shohola, PA.]