An example of what can happen when the police and prosecutors run amok…

Special report: Did prosecutors taint Memphis murder trial?

“An investigation last year by USA TODAY documented 201 cases in which judges found that federal prosecutors violated laws or ethics rules. Those violations put innocent people in jail and set guilty people free, and Attorney General Eric Holder subsequently announced a new office to punish wrongdoing by federal prosecutors…”

• INTERACTIVE: Explore 201 cases of prosecutorial misconduct

• MORE: ‘Justice in the balance’ story list

In Shelby County, prosecutors have sent three times as many people to death row as prosecutors in any other county in the state. And already, the judge in charge of Rimmer’s case has found that the lead detective “provided false testimony” that may have misled jurors — a ruling that raises new questions about the conduct of prosecutors in one of the nation’s most violent big cities.