¶ … Wrongful Conviction of Steven Avery
Steven Avery was arrested in 1985 for the rape of Penny Beernsten, even though his family testified as to his whereabouts at the exact moment the crime took place. 18 years later, Avery was exonerated via DNA evidence, in which a hair from the crime scene was matched to Gregory Allen (who was actually suspected of committing the crime at the time but whom law enforcement agents neglected to pursue because of an apparent vendetta they had against Avery and their desire to see him behind bars). Manitowoc County District Attorney Denis Vogel was particularly complicit in this wrongful conviction (Griesbach, 2011; Messer, 2016).
Avery and his family had gotten under the skin of authorities in their neighborhood. Avery himself had a record of reckless and mildly deviant behavior. However, his big mistake was offending his cousin, who also happened to be the wife of a police officer. A portion of the law enforcement community, including the DA, then set about indicting and prosecuting Avery for a rape, even when other members of the same law enforcement community easily identified the real culprit (Allen) at the time. Their work was dismissed...
Wrongful Conviction Review: Henry James Wrongful convictions are convictions where "factually innocent people are convicted of crimes" (Acker & Redlich, 2011, p.3). There are a number of ways that wrongful convictions can occur. Two of these ways are no crime convictions and wrong man convictions (Acker & Reclich, 2011, p.7-8). No crime convictions occur when someone is convicted of a crime, generally murder, and then it is later discovered that no
Wrongful Conviction of James Henry Henry James was only 19 years during his conviction for rape that he did not commit. It is after thirty years imprisonment that the realization of his innocence emerges thereby keeping it free. This case is a good example of the importance of evidence in the proceedings of a case. The imprisonment of the innocent man arose because of the little evidence that he had against
The over-enthusiasm associated with the extensive and unrestrained caution which the prosecutors avail gives birth to the settings in which a prosecutor is able to cause the conviction of an innocent individual. Besides, the mixture of over-enthusiasm and unimpeded discretion on one side and regular non-adversarialness on the other outcomes in an irregular playing field in majority of the defendants either guilty or innocent. (Griffin, 1274) The apparent cases of
Why would somebody confess to a crime they did not commit? According to professor Kassin, Saul, there are several types of people who falsely confess: compulsive type-attention seeker -- confesses to gain a piece of the fame, impress others, or to get attention compulsive type-homeless -- confesses as a way to get off the streets compulsive type-fugitive -- confesses to avoid being prosecuted for a crime elsewhere with stiffer penalties compulsive
Wrongful Convictions Based on Eyewitness Accounts Imagine if you will this hypothetical scenario -- you are walking to your car in a parking garage after a long day at work. You are tired and thinking of what is waiting for you on your desk tomorrow and what you will have to eat when you get home. Suddenly, a man jumps out from behind a parked car and points a gun at
(iv) misconduct by the police or unintentional mistake, together with the application of suggestive identification procedures, pressuring of a confession or inculpatory declaration by a suspect, not carrying out other channels of investigation following initial detection of a powerful suspect, and being unsuccessful to give the prosecutor enough proof which is able to point to an individual other than the defendant as the person behind the act. (v) Mistake
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now