A woman discovered the bodies of 2 young black men concealed in the vegetation alongside a road in 1979. These murders were the beginning of “Atlanta Child Murders”, which would total, nearly 20 young black males by 1981. These black young men had been strangled or suffocated (Trace evidence Wayne Williams (n.d.). The police had no witnesses only and relied on the forensic evidence of fibers found on the bodies and clothing of the victims.
The police misconduct case that will be reviewed today by police review board is the case of State V. Steele. “On May 26, 2009, police officer Julian Steele was indicted on ten Counts, including abduction and intimidation, and sexual battery” (Supreme Court of Ohio, n.d). Julian Steele was an officer doing an investigation into robbery that occurred in a “Cincinnati neighborhood in 2009”. Officer Steele was accused of misusing his power to retrieve details about the robbery and sexual intercourse. Police office Julian Steele begins his investigation with an arrest of Ms. Maxton three young children.
In the State of Texas v. Cameron Todd Willingham case, smalltown Todd Willingham was convicted and put on death row after being unjustly convicted of setting his house with arson and murder. The police’s preconceived opinions of him played its role in this case. However, when clouded judgment is involved mistakes are made. In this case, the results may have been an innocent man's life was destroyed and he ultimately died because of it. Police took his lack of injuries and the fact that he never tried to re-enter the house to save his kids as evidence in their case against him.
Before the sun had broken on June 6th, 1996 Darlie Routier (26) of Rowlett Texas was pleading with the dispatch operator for immediate help. In this almost 6 minute long call (in which the police get there in 3 minutes and about 45 seconds in) Mrs. Routier seems to be in complete shock, as she begs the operator to quickly send police. However, in between brief periods of hysterical breathing and unintelligible sobs she soberly remarks how she picked up the suspected murder weapon and this could have tainted any fingerprints that were there before. It was her attitude that landed her in the media’s glare, however it was the evidence in this case, all circumstantial, that landed her on Texas’s Death Row. In this paper I aim to highlight and elaborate
On 2nd August 1994, 13 year old American boy Eric Smith was charged with the murder of a 4 year old boy called Derrick Robbie in Savona. Derrick Robbie was walking alone to a summer camp just down the road from where he lived, when Smith saw him and lured him off the path and into a small patch of woods on the way to the camp (Leung, 2004). It was there where Smith went on to strangle Derrick Robbie and unearthed some rocks nearby which he used to beat him to death. After this Smith sodomised the 4 year old with a stick he’d found and left him there to be found (Staas, 2014). A couple of days after the body was found by the police Smith went to the police station to see if he could help with the crime, Smith denied seeing Derrick Robbie at
On May 7th, 2000, in the parking lot of a Ramada Inn in Jacksonville, Florida, 65-year-old Mary Ann Stephens was shot in the head in front of her husband. A description of a killer was put out as a young black man, over 6ft tall, 20-25, and skinny. Ninety minutes later, 15-year-old Brenton Butler is arrested. In this case I will discuss the legal factors, burden of proof, and Reasonable articulable suspicion.
Even when Michael’s new defense team, through the innocence project, found a crime that was eerily similar to the method of murder and subsequent events to the one that Michael was convicted of, the new prosecutor in Williamson County fought hard to keep DNA testing from taking place, even stating that they objected to the testing now because the defense hadn’t requested it before (Morton, 2014). There was further evidence of ineffectiveness in that the coroner who’d changed his estimated time of death between the autopsy and trial, had come under scrutiny for his findings in this case, as well as several others, with claims of gross errors “including one case where he came to the conclusion that a man who’d been stabbed in the back had committed suicide” (Morton, 2014). This was only one of the many injustices that were committed against Michael Morton throughout his trial. In August of 2006, the defense was finally granted permission to perform DNA testing on the items that had been taken from his wife’s body (Morton, 2014). Although this testing did not reveal any information about the guilty party, it did at least give Michael the knowledge that Chris was not sexually violated before or after her death (Morton,
During the “West Memphis Three” trials however, no eye witnesses came forth to the judges and said that they saw the boys do it. In determining if the defendants should be counted guilty, eye witnesses play a huge part in it. During the “West Memphis Three” trials, Jason Baldwin
Jaymee Rich Nyah Brown English 11-5 9 May 2018 West Memphis Three: Guilty or Innocent? Introduction In the court of law, guilty and innocent alike are protected by certain rights.
The case highlights the problems associated with flawed eyewitness identification, prosecutorial misconduct, and inadequate legal representation. By addressing these issues through comprehensive reforms, such as improving eyewitness identification procedures, increasing accountability for prosecutors, and providing adequate resources for public defenders, we can work towards a more just and equitable system. The case of Lamar Johnson not only underscores the importance of rectifying individual wrongful convictions but also emphasizes the broader implications for our society and the urgent need for criminal justice
In order to be convicted of a crime in the United States, one must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In the case of the West Memphis Three, there was excessive doubt as to the guilt of the boys, but they were still incarcerated. This is another example in the history of this country of how people will make rash decisions contrary to morality and legality in response to
Christopher Simmons was a seventeen year old juvenile from Missouri whom in 1993 along with two of his friends, Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer, planned to rob and murder Shirley Crook in her home (Roper v. Simmons, 2004). On the night the crime was to be committed, Tessmer pulled out of the plan, and Simmons and Benjamin would continue on as planned. The two broke into the Ms. Crook’s home, robbed her, tied her up, covered up her eyes, then drove her to a state park and threw her off a bridge. During the trial, evidence, videotaped reenactment and testimony outlining the premeditated plan, allowed for the jury to easily convict Simmons of the crime. Even though Simmons had no previous criminal record and was a minor at the time the crime was committed,
The absurd cries of young, simpleton girls ignited a series of potentially deadly trials that would soon prove to end fatally for over 20 accused victims. The fact that absurd, superstitious accusations were considered to be sufficient evidence to condemn a victim defines the very contrast of due process.
(ID Documentary) Their fingerprints, hair samples, and other forms of DNA did not match up to the evidence found at the scene. (wrongfulconvictionnews) Regardless of not having physical evidence the stereotype of these teens is enough for the police to still bring them to trial. The ignorance that maintained through this trial from the community to the officers investigating it was consistent.
Linda Sterling, her husband Ron, and their son Travis Sterling were accused of sexually abusing children at the Preschool. One day a little girl came home from daycare and her mother found redness and broken skin on her bottom, so she asked her about it and she replied “a stranger had been poking me with a pink rope, lives at Linda’s” (Pasiuk “Satanic Panic”). From there Martensville police was called and an investigation was opened up to investigate the incident and to take up statements. Soon after the Sterling’s were accused of ritual abuse, another teacher, Ray Buckey was accused of performing ritual abuse on his students in the underground tunnels of cemeteries near his Preschool.
