What are the rights of an individual who stands accused 
of a crime?  Why has the pendulum swung so far back in 
favor of the accused?  It is my belief that the current
situation is a result of the abuses committed by the 
police and prosecution over the last hundred years.  

I think that the goals of the law enforcement community 
have to be altered so that they can do their job without 
harming the innocent people who they come into contact with.  
It seems that the concept "innocent until proven guilty" 
has been forgotten while law enforcement professionals 
attempt to "count coup", that is, demonstrate statistically 
that they are solving crimes and incarcerating criminals.  
Every month you can pick up Reader's Digest and find
another story of an individual (innocent or otherwise) who 
has fallen prey to the system.    

Offering light sentences to those known to be guilty if they
will only provide information that will lead to the arrest and
conviction of many others is one of the most common abuses.  What
makes these people credible?  Does the system expect that these
criminals will all of a sudden revert to honesty in order to
assist the justice system?  Of course not.  Their testimony is
presented as gospel because that is what the prosecution wants
the court to hear.  The concept of "turning state's evidence" is
quite similar to the "inquisition".  Is there any doubt that
statements made in this context are made as a result of duress
and undue influence?  Forget torture and psychological
inducements, simply offering preferential treatment for whatever
information they can come up with, no matter how creative, should
be considered to be "undue influence".

Yes, it's a tough job - protecting the public, enforcing the
law, prosecuting the accused - but nobody held a gun to the heads
of those who decided to accept that responsibility.  It was their
own choice that led them to where they are today.  And again yes,
it is very hard to not become cynical and hardened to those people 
who stand accused after years of trying to just do the job.  The 
fact is, once a law enforcement officer becomes cynical, he stops 
doing the job he was hired to do and starts to fulfill his own 
personal agenda.  "To Protect and Serve" is not a sometimes motto.  
It means that the police officer is required to insure the safety 
of all of the people; the guilty, the accused, and the innocent.  
To do less is to take money under false pretenses.

     On the other hand, does an individual who commits a crime
relinquish any of his rights?  Of course.  If you come home and
find that a person has broken into your home and is still there,
attempting to rob you of your possessions, you have a right to
protect your property and person, within reasonable limits.  That
right supersedes any rights that the perpetrator may have.  But
this is a different situation from when an individual is accused
of a crime and arrested.  It is essential that the public demand
that the police and the courts protect the rights of the accused
without suspending the rights of the public.

We can take this scenario one step farther.  Every inmate in
every prison is not necessarily guilty of the crime that he or
she was convicted of.  The system is not perfect and mistakes are
made.  While prisons are supposed to be establishments of
punishment and rehabilitation, there is no reason for them to be
the way that they are portrayed in movies and television.  There
should be sufficient supervision to preclude the gangs and the
sex and intimidation that appears to go on inside.  Let's try to
help rehabilitate the criminal by providing him a safe environment 
in which to pay his penalty to society and to attempt to become a 
better person.  How can we hope to release a peaceful, 
rehabilitated human being if we cannot insure his peace and safety 
inside a heavily guarded prison.  

Here is how I propose that you think about this issue. 
Consider what would happen if you were falsely accused of a
crime, arrested, tried, and convicted and sent to prison.  The
rights that you would demand should be the same rights that you
try to achieve for every person who stands accused.  It will be
expensive, but it is a small price to pay for a safe and peaceful
society.
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