>I really think false testimony should carry the punishment the accused is facing.
One problem with that is that e.g. someone who testified that they show OJ killing the woman would have gotten the "punishment the accused is facing" when OJ was found innocent.
So this has the potential to put an innocent man (testifying correctly, but where the accused for BS reasons is free of charges) to jail just as a false testimony now has the potential to do so.
OJ was not found innocent. Our criminal justice system largely does not find people innocent. It merely finds people "not guilty".
I realize that distinction may seem pedantic, but I think it's actually quite relevant in this case.
It's not sufficient that someone testified about what they saw, and have the case decided the other way. To start a perjury case against the witness, I would still demand all of the strictures of due process that apply to a criminal defense case.
That is, you would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the witness was _lying_ about what they saw. It would absolutely _not_ be sufficient evidence just to have a "not guilty" ruling. You would need to prove that they _could not have seen_ the testimony they provided.
Absolutely, this standard would make _some_ prosecutions against police for perjury hard or impossible. However, there are a number of cases that I believe could meet this evidentiary standard that are simply not pursued by the prosecutors office.
> You would need to prove that they _could not have seen_ the testimony they provided.
A problem with this is that people giving false eyewitness testimony often believe they genuinely did see the thing they could not have seen and are telling the truth. So, a system like this would have the potential to punish as "liars" people who simply fell victim to what seem to be built-in foibles of the human memory system.
(Note I'm not doubting that some witnesses really are consciously lying. The problem would be the potential to sweep up the innocent with the guilty, if the standard used is "what they said they saw is impossible, therefore they are lying." Additional factors showing they were consciously lying would be needed.)
We already have sorted through this problem as a society.
The standard for perjury is not "their testimony was inaccurate, or was false". The standard for perjury is "they _knowingly_ made false testimony".
My complaint is not about changing the standard for perjury. My complaint is that prosecutors often avoid a perjury charge towards police, even when there is the evidence to support a perjury charge.
The burden for finding someone not guilty is that there exists some kind of doubt as to their guilt.
In order for anyone to be found guilty of giving false testimony the burden would be likewise. It would require that it be shown without a doubt that they lied.
>It would require that it be shown without a doubt that they lied.
Well, if the accused is considered non guilty of what they said they saw them do, then doesn't that "prove" that they lied? (as much "without a doubt" as the other person is innocent).
It would prove that there was insufficient cause to find the other party guilty. Proof that the party had lied could include. The officer admitting including to others in public or private that he had lied or that the facts were different in a substantive way from what he had previously testified.
Video that contradicts officers testimony.
Physical evidence that proves the testimony was a lie.
All of the above would have to be sufficiently different from reality that would suggest that its impossible to consider the possibility that the officer misremembered.
Example fake scenario:
I heard violent screaming coming from inside the home so I had to break down the door and search for the person in need of help and I just happened to find drugs.
Contradicted by video from the ring door bell which recorded the officer just walking up and kicking the door down so he could conduct an illegal search.
For real examples see the article. None of the listed scenarios suggest any reasonable party could think that the police officer misremembered.
Yes I believe OJ was guilty but I also believe that most of America didn't know what the L.A. jury inherently knew - that the cops were corrupt and that they had reason to believe that they were lying.
Mark Furhman was definitely a liar and just a few months later the Rampart scandal happened.
One problem with that is that e.g. someone who testified that they show OJ killing the woman would have gotten the "punishment the accused is facing" when OJ was found innocent.
So this has the potential to put an innocent man (testifying correctly, but where the accused for BS reasons is free of charges) to jail just as a false testimony now has the potential to do so.