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…
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…
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…
What happens if the chain of custody is broken? In the 2016 Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, one of the most electrifying and pivotal scenes for many viewers is the discovery, by Steven Avery’s defense attorney Jerry Buting, that a vial of Avery’s blood has what looks like a puncture hole in the seal….
Richard Jones has recently been released from a Kansas prison. He spent 17 years serving a sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. In 1999, Jones was picked out of a police lineup. He was identified by the victim of an attempted purse snatching who had her cell phone stolen from her. Little did she…
What If You Are Innocent? Last year, I covered the highly publicized trial and conviction of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey – the two main subjects of the Netflix documentary entitled “Making a Murderer.” Avery had spent 18 years in prison just prior to the beginning of this film for a rape he didn’t commit…
We have all heard of stories where the justice system fails a person. In the story of Dorothy Gaines, we can see the 360-degree impact that can happen to a family that has been hit hard by the system. Dorothy Gaines was a widow raising her younger sister and brother and her own three children…
Imagine sitting in a jail cell for 18 years for a crime you did not commit. That is exactly what happened to Steven Avery, the man behind Netflix’s documentary, Making a Murderer. The documentary follows the false conviction of Avery for a brutal sexual assault in 1985. Despite evidence of another possible perpetrator, Avery was…
Has your child been charged with a drug related crime and you aren’t sure what to do? Are you worried about your child’s future? As a parent you want the best for your child. You want them you have everything you never had and every option available to them. The reality is that kids are…
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