Random notes: May 24, 2013.

Obit watch: Steve Forrest. NYT. A/V Club.

Forrest knocked around movies and TV for a long time, but he is perhaps most famous for this:

I am not ashamed to admit: I loved that show when I was a kid. And I still think it has one of the greatest themes ever, right up there with the original Hawaii 5-0 and Mission: Impossible.

NYPD blues, part 1:

A veteran New York City police detective once assigned to the mayor’s security team was convicted of attempted murder and reckless endangerment on Thursday for shooting a man while off duty, the Queens district attorney said.

Part 2:

“Opening 50 cases is a herculean task,” said Pierre Sussman, a defense lawyer who represents two of the men whose cases will be reviewed. “The first challenge will be culling information from files that are two or three decades old and trying to find witnesses who were hard to find even then. These are not people with bank accounts, library cards and Facebook pages.”

(Previously.)

And for Robert Hill to win release from his cell at the Fishkill Correctional Facility, prosecutors would have to reconcile why he told a parole board that he was remorseful for a murder he now swears he did not commit.

That part seems easy to me. In the wrongful convictions I’ve read about, a recurring theme involves the wrongfully convicted being offered a chance at parole, and being turned down or refusing because they are expected to admit their crime and show remorse. If you didn’t do the crime in the first place, but you’re offered a shot at getting out of prison, do you maintain your innocence even if it costs you that chance? Or do you tell the parole board what they want to hear?

2 Responses to “Random notes: May 24, 2013.”

  1. guffaw says:

    Great guy. In great shape. Was Dana Andrews brother. Remember ‘The Baron’ from British TV? Was he.

    gfa

  2. stainles says:

    I had picked up he was Dana Andrews brother, though I’m not sure I knew that until I read the obits.

    I’d never seen or heard of “The Baron” until I read the obits, either, but now that I know about it, I would like to see it.

    (Why, yes, as a matter of fact, “The Baron” is on DVD, and not unreasonably priced.)