Anyone who still thinks that overzealous, conviction-hungry prosecutors and police do more good than harm should take a look at the case of Michael Morton, a man from Texas who spent 25 years in prison after being wrongful convicted for murdering his wife, Christine, in 1986.
As incredible as it sounds, studies of wrongful convictions reveal that in more than 25% of the cases a false confession or other self-incriminating statement was used as evidence by the prosecution. Why would an innocent person ever confess to a heinous crime that they did not commit? – Part 2 of a series on The Common Causes of Wrongful Convictions.
In 2002, Carl Chatman was falsely accused and wrongly convicted of rape. Finally exonerated after 11 years in prison, he has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago, the Chicago police department, and others involved in this travesty of justice.
Eyewitness misidentification has been a contributing factor in over 75% of wrongful convictions in recent years. In this article we take a look at what is a widespread problem – Part 1 of a series on The Common Causes of Wrongful Convictions.
