The slow turning of justice's wheels give plenty of folks something to complain about.

Why do death penalty cases take so long to wind through the appeals process? Where's the justice for victims?

All valid points, but in the case of Glen Edward Chapman, 14 years of sitting in prison was too long for the wrongful conviction that put him there.

A judge last week released Chapman, and all charges against him were dropped. A jury convicted him in 1994 of murdering Betty Jean Ramseur and Tenene Yvette Conley. His release, tragically, means those murders are now officially unsolved. What's worse is no one can say for sure that Chapman didn't have anything to do with their deaths.

But that makes the miscarriage of justice against Chapman even more disturbing. Witnesses in his original trial say they felt pressured by police and prosecutors to testify against him.

Evidence that would have cast doubt on his guilt was suppressed by the prosecution. A lead investigator may even have lied in court.

All of those factors, at last, led a judge to throw out the charges againts Chapman. Imagine if he had been executed for the crimes.

That's why it's so important for all cases – especially those involving capital crimes – to be tried thoroughly and deliberately. A blind zeal for conviction rarely results in good justice.

North Carolina's court system needs more oversight. Too many flaws are hurting the innocent.