My stomach turned like a blender after reading the story of James Bain, a Black Floridian who was recently freed after 35 years of false incarceration for a crime he did not commit.  DNA evidence freed him, but only after he lost three decades of freedom, starting as a 19-year old boy and ending as a 54-year old man who should be preparing for retirement after a long career.

He was not able to have children, to go to college, or to experience three decades of love and life. He was instead fed a daily helping of cold, miserable living by a nation committed to mass incarceration of Black men as a path toward solving society’s problems.

We should be angry

Mr. Bain’s love of God leads him to continuously state that he is not angry for the 35 years of life that the system stole from him and his family.  His approach is healthy. Three decades of such psychological venom would have killed him or driven him insane. 

But we should all be angry for him.  This should never have happened. The fact that it could have been prevented should be disturbing to us all.

Here’s what’s needed:

•Adequate recourse – We don’t have the right to take 35 years of a person’s life and not give that person compensation. If we can bail out wealthy bankers, then we can afford to give $10 million to every wrongly-convicted American in our criminal justice system.

•Legality should not impede morality – I don’t care if the rules and procedures say that a person should not get another trial.  I don’t want to hear about legal precedent and attorney-client privilege as barriers to truth and justice.  The goal of the justice system should be simple – if there is strong reason to believe the person is innocent, his/her case should be heard by appropriate authorities.  We should be outraged that a pack of stodgy lawyers and judges are protecting their careers by letting innocent men and women lose their lives.

•Accountability – I don’t want to see hugs and smiles from judges and lawyers who feel that they’ve somehow done James a favor.  The image of the "eternally grateful Negro" might create a feel good moment for some, but James Bain has a reason to demand that those responsible for his false incarceration be made to pay for their mistakes.  If there was a prosecutor, judge, witness or police officer responsible for sending this man to prison while knowing that he did not commit the crime, those individuals should feel the same punishment that was inflicted upon James.  At the very least, they should pay part of the financial compensation package given to Mr. Bain.

James Bain is not Henry Louis Gates, so you will never hear Barack Obama mention his 35-year inconvenience at any press conference. Obama was willing to do speak boldly and sloppily on behalf of a Harvard crony who spent an hour in jail.   I hope and pray for the day that Obama and others can feel as much empathy for a regular "man on the street" like Bain as they do for privileged Americans who spend their summers on Martha’s Vineyard.

Fix this system, Mr. Obama – we need you.

Adequate counsel – I’ll bet that James Bain did not have good attorneys. The overworked, underpaid, underskilled public defenders must be given the resources to ensure a fair trial.  The days of taking a guilty plea just to avoid additional prison time must end.  Justice should not be available only to those who can afford it.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor of finance at Syracuse University. Read his columns and weblog at www.boycewatkins.com.