Justice Scalia, I’d like you to meet James Waller. Why am I introducing you? Well, in light of your opinion in Kansas v Marsh (548 U.S. 2006 5-4 opinion) and your claims about the rarity of innocent people convicted of crime I thought you would like to meet Mr. Waller – an innocent man convicted of a crime he did not commit.

In Marsh, once again, you use sarcasm to sustain your views.You label those concerned about innocent people convicted of crimes as "sanctimonious" and ignorant. You also, incorrectly, claim that there has never been "a single case -not one – in which it is clear that a person was executed for a crime he did not commit." You said if there was such a case it would have been "shouted from the rooftops." You referred to the dissenters as a bunch of confused Martin Luthers, "nailing their policy agenda…to the door of the wrong church." In your view, the criminal justice system is almost perfect in determining guilt and innocence. Not only that, in Marsh you devote pages of your opinion attacking your fellow Justices who do not agree with your view as having unfounded fears about the failure of the system.

Well, tell all that to Mr. Waller, Justice Scalia. You see this fifty year old man was convicted of rape in 1982 and spent half of his life in prison and parole. But a Houston court has just determined that he is conclusively innocent based upon DNA testing. Not only that, Justice Scalia, he is the twelfth person since 2001 in Dallas County whose convictions have been overturned as the result of genetic evidence. We aren’t talking about the procedural errors you claim account for convicted people’s convictions being overturned. We are talking about conclusive proof of innocence by DNA testing, after jury trial and findings of guilt. Imagine that. Twelve in just Dallas County Texas alone. In Texas, the capital punishment capital of the nation, there are documented cases of innocent people executed for crimes they did not commit. Can you imagine how many more cases exist the rest of the country? But, it must be comforting to live your judicial ivory tower of unwavering self opinion ignoring the evidence that disputes your smug views. But it’s not so comforting for the James Waller’s who have been imprisoned or executed for crimes they didn’t commit.