I have little doubt he believed all those people were guilty. He might be right. Doesn't mean you can generate false evidence to support conviction though. That crosses a line that shouldn't be crossed.
Looking at the story, it sounds like there were issues of evidence not getting turned over as well which might point to the prosecutors involvement.
A long, long time ago, in New Haven, CT, a young woman named Penny Serra (Sera?) was murdered in a parking garage. The police were certain they had the perp -- he was arrested, questioned, released, brought back in for more questioning, released again. He was never convicted, but his life was ruined by the fact that the police were so certain he was their perp that they discounted all evidence to the contrary.
Something like 20 or 25 years later, by a complete fluke of coincidence, a cab driver from waterbury was arrested for something totally unrelated and his DNA swab came up as a match to a piece of evidence in the Penny Serra murder. He was charged, and I believe tried and convicted.
Yeah, the cops often have a high degree of certainty that they have the right guy. Unfortunately, they are often wrong, regardless of how certain they are. That's why our criminal justice system requires proof, not just suspicion, and that's why cops who fabricate evidence (or withhold exculpatory evidence) should be shot at dawn.
