Balko has issued a correction on the report that Gov. Rick Scott vetoed funding for the Florida Innocence Commission. Since I reported the same thing, I need to correct it too. Turns out that the Miami Herald was wrong when it reported that veto. Here’s the truth:
My source was this Miami Herald column. I’ve since learned that the columnist was in error. The commission was set to expire this year. So it actually hadn’t requested any funding. That means the legislature didn’t budget any funding, which of course means Gov. Scott didn’t veto it. I did call both Scott’s office and the commission, but neither returned my calls, which I made about twelve hours before the story was published.
It’s a fairly embarrassing error, and a good lesson in not relying on someone else’s reporting.
Indeed. The larger issue of innocence commissions is still important, however. They should be established and funded in every state.
9 comments
Skip to comment form ↓
Michael Heath
June 16, 2012 at 9:39 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Radley Balko writes:
Mr. Balko’s correction post leaves a new question hanging; why didn’t the commission request new funding to continue their efforts?
jamessweet
June 16, 2012 at 9:56 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Right, it’s still A Bad Thing because they didn’t renew the funding. But I think Ed and Balko are setting the right tone nonetheless: a mea culpa should focus on the culpa, not on the “Well I’m still right!” aspect.
This is not just abstract ethical handwaving, either; if Fox News didn’t modify their political bias one iota, but started at least giving a shit about accuracy and issuing unambiguous and apologetic corrections when they got caught stating a blatant lie, it would change the entire political landscape in the US.
frankb
June 16, 2012 at 10:02 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Good question Michael. I would think that if the commission is expired the members wouldn’t have the authority to continue. Also the state couldn’t give money to a commission that doesn’t exist any more. It would be interesting to know how much the members could do on their own.
Michael Heath
June 16, 2012 at 10:23 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
jamessweet writes:
Your comment appears to be a rebuttal of my prior comment, so I’ll respond with that assumption.
I never stated nor did I insinuate that Radley Balko or Ed defend their prior reportage by diverting into how Gov. Scott’s still evil. I do think the information provided by Balko which informs us of why the correction was needed raises a provocative new question. I therefore think it’s obligatory of Mr. Balko to add a follow-up sentence in his correction post acknowledging the obvious with a promise to follow-up with a new post on why the commission isn’t making an effort to continue operations. That obligation is based on minimal journalistic standards to inform one’s audience.
JasonTD
June 16, 2012 at 10:37 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
That’s a pretty big error the Miami Herald columnist made. He said Scott vetoed the funding, when there was no budget request to veto. I also noticed that the Miami Herald online column didn’t have any obvious correction.
jamessweet wrote:
Balko’s correction was purely a correction with apology, but Ed couldn’t resist saying, “The larger issue of innocence commissions is still important, however. They should be established and funded in every state.”
It would be fair to argue that there should be a permanent commission of this sort in Florida, but my understanding of this kind of commission was that it was mandated to study the issue for a set time period and report back to the legislature. A cynic might make a guess about what a Republican controlled government of Florida is likely to do with this report, but maybe they’ll surprise us.
Alverant
June 16, 2012 at 10:37 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Were there any changes to the commission before the budget request? I remember when Texas had a commission to see if Perry executed an innocent man Perry put one of his lackeys in charge of the commission who promptly shut it down shortly before they were going to deliver its findings (which was going to be yes, they did). So is it possible Scott put people on the innocence commission who would not want to keep it going after it was set to expire thereby avoiding having to shut it down himself?
democommie
June 16, 2012 at 2:40 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ed:
For the luvvapete! How you gonna maintain any credibility if you admit to being RONG!? Noneathem Foxholes do!
Michael Heath
June 16, 2012 at 5:57 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Democommie
I’d trademark that if I were you.
democommie
June 16, 2012 at 10:42 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Michael Heath:
What a great idea.
Foxholes(c)(TM)(SM)*
* Brand democommie and Fuck The Roobz Minitstries 2012.