Eyewitness Misidentification: The Scary Truth
Can you imagine being on death row for a crime you did not commit? What if the reason why you were there was eyewitness misidentification?
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Wrongful Convictions Following Shocking False Confessions
False confessions are more common than you think. Consider the case of Jessie Misskelley Jr. Why would he confess to helping two other teenagers torture, mutilate, and kill three innocent 8-year-old boys if he didn’t do it? For something so horrific and so likely to ruin the rest of your life, why would you ever…
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Satanic Panic in America: What You Need To Know
Have you heard the podcast, Stuff You Should Know about the so-called “satanic panic” from the 1980s? Before listening to that story, you may be unaware of the far-reaching consequences this cultural phenomenon had until more recently. In a recent article about wrongful convictions, Jason Baldwin and the two other men convicted of murdering three…
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Wrongful Convictions Caused By Government Misconduct
If you have been following stories of wrongful convictions being overturned, you will notice a trend in many of these stories. That trend has to do with government misconduct. For many wrongfully convicted people, the original crime must be investigated by someone on the outside in order to try to get a new trial. Often,…
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Forensic Science and Wrongful Convictions – The Scary Truth
What does forensic science have to do with wrongful convictions? Let’s take a closer look at the Jason Baldwin case. He was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1994. He didn’t want to take the Alford Plea Deal in 2011. When it came down to it, Jason had full veto power because the State of Arkansas…
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Wrongful Convictions: The Reality of Incompetent Defense
Incompetent defense is a tragic reality. Consider the case of Jason Baldwin who spent more than half his life in a maximum security prison. He was one of three teenagers convicted in 1994 of the murder of 3 little boys. He and his co-defendants, Damien Echols and Jessie Miskelley Jr. – more famously known as…
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Wrongful Convictions: The Ugly Truth of Incentivized Informants
Here is an aspect of criminal trial proceedings that rarely reach the consciousness of the general public. It almost never reaches the understanding of jurors: the snitch culture inherent in our criminal justice system. The reality is this. When you incentivize someone to lie, they will. This is especially true when that incentive is to…
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Tackling Institutionalized Abuse: The Ripple Effect of Larry Nassar’s Crimes
“I will not rest until every last trace of the influence you had on this sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is.” These are the words of Aly Raisman. She is now a doubly famous Olympic Gold gymnast who has courageously used her Olympic fame as a platform to speak for all the…
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Wrongful Convictions Cases Are Real and It’s Worse Than You Think
Wrongful convictions cases are more frequent than you can imagine. Let’s take a look at the case of Jason Strong. He was released in 2015 after 15 years in a maximum security prison. He was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted: the torture and murder of Mary Kate Sunderlin, whose death remains…
