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Wrongful convictions
Wrongful convictions
How wrongful convictions have affected the criminal justice system
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West Memphis 3: Wrongfully Accused?
On May 5th, 1993 three eight year old boys were reported missing in West Memphis, Arkansas. The boys were found the next day, hog tied in a wooded area called “Robin Hood Hills”. After the case had been “thoroughly” investigated, the West Memphis Police announced on the news that they had found the murderers, pointing fingers at Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin, three teenagers who were different from the norm in West Memphis, making it easy for them to be accused. I believe the boys were wrongfully accused of this crime because there is a lack of evidence in the case pointing to the boys, and the crime just seems to convenient for these three to actually pull off.
During the investigation several fibers and two hairs were found on the boys, one negroid hair and one Caucasian hair.(Sauls) None of these hairs or fibers could be linked directly to any of the three boys. This evidence was also somewhat just tossed aside and overlooked for the remainder of the case… I wonder why?
During the police investigation, it was said that the crime could have been some sort of sexual assault by a serial killer, but there was no trauma on the boys anuses found by the coroner. Most of the clothes were found in the water next to the bodies, but instead of being torn all of the clothes were turned inside out. Two of the three pairs of underwear were never found, nor were Christopher Byers missing parts. It’s said that serial killers usually take something of the victims, but I’m not convinced Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley would do anything like that. Also at the scene, no blood or weapons were found anywhere around the area. The day after the bodies were discovered, Damien Echols was quest...
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...on will be made by the correct court.
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. Dirs. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. DVD. HBO. Hand to Mouth Productions, 1996
“Case Synopsis by Burk Sauls” in “Case Introduction” in “Case Info”. Burk Sauls. Los Angeles, CA. 2/10/08. .
“Case Synopsis by Dan Stidham” in “Case Introduction” in “Case Info”. Dan Stidham. Los Angeles, CA. 2/10/08. .
“Unveiling the ‘Wilding’”. Soyini Driskel. Harlem, NY. 2002. 3/12/08
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“Duke Lacrosse Case: District Attorney Nifong Breaks His Silence on Prior Rape
Allegations”. Chris Cuomo, Mary Harris and Lara Setrakian. 2006. 3/12/08.
The first suspect is Edward “Bennie” Bedwell. Bedwell was a local dishwasher who was questioned at a local motel for three days (Sigona). What supported Bedwell as a suspect is that he actually confessed to the murder (Sigona). There were multiple problems with Bedwell’s confession, however. The first problem with his confession is, “Bedwell couldn’t read or write, so it would be nearly impossible for him to understand what he was confessing to” (Sigona). The second problem with his confession is “After a time, everyone realized Bedwell’s story didn’t add up. There were inconsistencies, including the fact that Bedwell said he was with the girls for a month before they died” (Sigona). Finally, the main problem with his confession is that the girls were dead within four hours of leaving home (Sigona). The other suspect in the case of the murder of Barbara and Patricia Grimes is Max Fleig. Max Fleig was a young man in his teens when the Grimes sisters were murdered (MacGowan). Max offered to take a lie detector test, which he failed (MacGowan). The reason Fleig was released even after failing the test is “The police began to focus on him as a prime suspect until they were told that it was illegal to polygraph someone underage. The police released him, many of the authorities thinking he was their man” (MacGowan). Another example that supports Fleig as a suspect is that he was imprisoned later in his life
On March 25, 1931 nine African American youths were falsely accused and wrongfully imprisoned for the rape of two white girls. Over the next six consecutive years, trials were held to attempt to prove the innocence of these nine young men. The court battles ranged from the U.S Supreme court to the Scottsboro county court with almost every decision the same---guilty. Finally, with the proceedings draining Alabama financially and politically, four of the boys ...
Melvin, Justice. "In The Supreme Court Of British Columbia." Issues In Law & Medicine 9.3 (1993): 309. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
Although later investigation proved that there are some other men who look similar to the stretches but the police didn’t bother to do further investigation because all they needed was someone to place the blame on. Tommy Ward, known to police because of prior criminal record, was called in for questioning. He was asked where he was on Saturday night and he said that he was fishing with Karl Fontenot and later at a party till 4 A.M. Karl Fontenot was also asked to come for questioning, but he never did. Both of them were cleared because both of their hairs do not match the suspects. Then one day Jeff Miller, a young man came in the police station. He told the police that two women, who had been at a party the night Haraway disappeared, saw Tommy Ward leaving the party in a pickup truck, which he borrowed from his friend Jannette Roberts. When he came back to the party, he was crying and told his friends that he raped and killed a girl from a store and now he feels terrible about it. This information was given by two women because Jeff Miller was not at the party. These questions remain unclear of why these two women did not come forward on their own? Or why did they
Two detectives were assigned to the case: Harry Hanson and Finis Brown. [2] When they and the police arrived at the crime scene, it was already swarming with people, gawkers and reporters. The entire situation was out of hand and crowded, everyone trampling all over any hopes for good evidence. [2] One thing they did report finding was a nearby cement block with watery blood on it, tire tracks and a heel print on the ground. There was dew under the body so they knew it had been set there just after 2 a.m. when temperatures dropped to 38 degrees.
...ebrooks, Chris Richardson, Latonya Wilson, Aaron Wyche, Anthony Carter, Earl Terrell, Clifford Jones, Darren Glass, Charles Stephens, Aaron Jackson, Patrick Rogers, Lubie Geter, Terry Pue, Patrick Baltazar, Curtis Walker, Joseph Bell, Timothy Hill were all victims of this ruthless killing. Regardless of who was behind this killings, each one of them got their lives cut short due to someones cruelty. In conclusion, the Atlanta Missing and Murdered case, a major breakthrough to an investigation which had seen 29 African- American children and adults murdered in a series of killings came with the arrest of 23 year old Wayne B. Williams, who was convicted of the crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. This was one of the darkest moments in the history of Atlanta, a period of darkness which will forever live in the minds of both the victims and the people of Georgia.
Three strands of hair were found on one of the victims, which were Alejandro Henriquez. This ultimately lead authorities to him.
The Web. 24 Feb. 2011. Stathopulos, Sue. Personal interview with a professional. 10 Feb 2011.
During late October in 1967 a man named James Richardson was charged for the murder of his seven children. The children were poisoned and it is believed that he was the one who poisoned them. There is no solid, or reasonable evidence that it was him. Anything that even remotely points to him is all people’s speculative opinions. Everything seemed to be stacked against him. James Richardson was wrongfully convicted for the murder of his seven children, and there is some evidence that points towards who most likely did it.
Rockwell, P.E.,M.D. Director of Anesthesiology, Leonard Hospital, Troy, NY, U.S. Supreme Court, Markle vs. Abele, 72-56, 72-730, 1972. P.11
According to the Innocence Project (2006), “On September 17, 2001, Chad wrote the Innocence Project in New York, which, in 2003, enlisted pro bono counsel from Holland & Knight to file a motion for DNA testing on Tina’s fingernail scrapings.” The state had tested the DNA that was under Tina’s nail from the first case but at that time it was inadequate and could not be tested. It was not until now that we have the technology capable enough to test it. In June 2004, the test came back negative to matching both Jeremey and Chain Heins but did come from an unknown male. The state argued that it was not enough to overturn the conviction so Chad’s attorney asked the state to do some further testing and to compare the DNA from under the fingernails to the hairs that was found on Tina’s body. It was in 2005 that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed that there was a match between the DNA under Tina’s nail and the pubic hair. According to LaForgia (2006), “this particular type of DNA, the report stated, was found in only about 8 percent of Caucasian American men.” During this process there was a new piece of evidence that Chad’s attorney had learned about during the appeals process, a fingerprint. There were some accusations that the prosecutors never disclosed this information about this third fingerprint and if they did it was too late. The jurors did not even know about this fingerprint and if they did this could have changed the whole case. This fingerprint was found on several objects that included the smoke detector, a piece of glass, and the bathroom sink. It was soon discovered that this fingerprint matched with the DNA found on the bedsheets that Tina was on. This was finally enough evidence to help Chad Heins become exonerated in
This morning October 8th 1965 at about 5:13 am the body of Bob Sheldon was found lying next to the park fountain he was seen to be in a pool of blood. His body had a single stab wound in his back which had pierced his heart, killing him instantly. Supposed eye witnesses say that a small boy who was a member of the "Greaser Gang" attacked and killed Bob and intended to kill the rest of them. Cherry Valance claims that she was walking with Johnny and Ponyboy after the movies when Bob approached them in his car and threatened the two them. Be on the lookout for the two boys with the description of one that has long light-brown hair, green eyes, and is about five feet tall and another has long jet-black hair, large black eyes, and is about four feet six inches. The first one is considered to be Ponyboy and the second one is considered to be Johnny. The two are now on the run they were last seen at a party with Dally. Investigators report that Dally says he has no idea where these two are but he thinks that they are going to Mexico. A woman was taking a walk through the park and discovered the bloody corpse she said “I was hesitant at first because I thought they were watching me, but I gained some courage and called 911” the friends that were their helping Bob bully the 2 said they were there during the homicide, but decided not to call the police because they were drunk and they were scared after seeing him dead. They said, the murderer was a 16 year old boy named Johnny Cade.
...lice or lawyers used their integrity. The police skirted around the law and use evidence that the witnesses said was not correct. They had a description of the suspect that did not match Bloodsworth but, they went after him as well. They also used eyewitness testimony that could have been contaminated.
Stewart, S. D., & Croudep, C. (1998-2012). The clark county prosecuting attorney. Retrieved from http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/index.htm
Rockwell, P.E.,M.D. Director of Anesthesiology, Leonard Hospital, Troy, NY, U.S. Supreme Court, Markle vs. Abele, 72-56, 72-730, 1972. P.11