Steven Truscott's Wrongful Conviction

Reggie Clemons highlights a flaw within another area of the criminal justice system, which is the use of the death penalty in a case where no hard evidence has been found. The fact that a judge sent Clemons to a hospital after he showed up in court claiming police beat him into confession, and yet the validity of his confession was not properly assessed explains another failure in the system. The court system may very well be too overwhelmed to follow through even in the interest of justice. The fact that these cases involving questionable interrogation and mishandling within the system continue to turn up in the years following this case, shows the lack of follow through and change within the system.

The case that I will be discussing is the cold murder case of Lucille Johnson from Salt Lake City, Utah. Unfortunately, at the time of the murder the investigators didn’t take certain evidence serious in the case. The investigators thought that it was just evidence that had no meaning. None the less, it ended up convicting the murderer, John Sansing.

This flaw affects an individual’s life drastically because it causes them to loose so many years of their life behind prison bars for a crime they did not commit. There are many reasons for why the Canadian Court system has the flaw of wrongful convictions such as: eyewitness misidentification, where the witness may claim to have seen something but their minds understand the situations wrongs, or like in Milgaard’s case, witnesses may give false eyewitness identification, just like John did, stating he had seen Milgaard stab the nurse. Error in forensic science is another reason for wrongful convictions. Just like in Truscott’s case, during the time, there was not enough science knowledge to investigate Lynne Harper’s body, and the found information was false evidence. False testimony is a major factor in wrongful convictions because when someone gives false testimonies, they make the case even more difficult for the wrongly accused person. In Milgaard's case, his friends who gave false testimony, switching up the story of what had actually happened the night of the murder, was a major reason why Milgaard had to serve sentence for a crime he did not commit. Tunnel vision was a major factor in Truscott’s case that caused him to be sentenced. The police only focused on him as a suspect and did not regard anything else or try to investigate upon anything

A man by the name of Darryl Hunt was apprehended at the age of 19. He was charged and convicted of a murder that he did not commit in the year of 1984 in North Carolina. During the trial, the testing of DNA results proved the innocence of Mr. Hunt in 1994, however it took an additional 10 years of legal appeals to free him. The death of Deborah Sykes, a 25 year old copy editor at a local newspaper, whom was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death is what Mr. Hunt was accused of doing. Until this day this crime still touches many including Mr. Hunt.

The accused, Hugo McHale, is guilty of the wilful and premeditated murder of Peter Wilson. Through the analysis of McHale’s motive, means and opportunity, it will become clear that not only did McHale kill someone, but he had also intentionally set out to do so. Throughout the course of this arduous trial you have endured a relentless argument in defence of Hugo McHale, son of the late business magnate Henry McHale and accused murderer of former Altus Properties Chief of Staff, Peter Wilson. The defence have sculpted the seemingly perfect image of an emotionally vulnerable young man with diminished capacity, plagued by the unexpected death of his father. But what the defence

When dealing with the death of any human, a thorough, painstakingly slow investigation is the only way to bring justice for a life that was lost much too soon. Every honest and truthful investigation will take months and in many cases years to complete. Detailing even the most remote evidence that may prove crucial when viewed under the light of the full scope of the tragedy should never be rushed because the mob demands justice NOW!

In today’s Canadian society, it is certain that criminal law is to serve and protect and its fundamental purpose is to prevent crime and punish offenders. However, there have been cases where criminal law has punished the offender who turned out to be innocent. A conviction is needed to show that the system is not in disrepute and to keep order and people safe in society. If a criminal cannot be caught then people will look down upon the system in disgrace. In many cases, officers will arrest an individual who fits a certain description that they know will lead to an arrest and conviction. In the case of Guy Paul Morin it shows how the system failed in aiding the innocent who abide to the law. The law is established to protect those who

The investigation of Theresa Halbach’s murder was overall, shoddily done by the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department. There were several major problems early on in the investigation which can lead to the questioning of the integrity of the department and others involved with the investigation and conviction of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. Most of the evidence provided by the prosecution can be easily contradicted and proven to be weak and irrelevant.

Puffer-Rothenberg, Maureen. "Ramsey murder case." The 1990s in America, edited by Milton Berman, Salem, 2009. Salem Online.

People have been wrongfully accused and convicted of crimes all throughout history. However, wrongful convictions are still a problem in our society and since the start of the Innocence Project in 1992, the issue of wrongful convictions has become a topic that has resurfaced (Misapplication of forensic science, 2017). Thus far, the Innocence Project has been able to exonerate more than 300 people who were wrongfully convicted (Misapplication of forensic science, 2017). In more than 70% of the overturned cases, the individuals were initially arrested due to eyewitness misidentification (Eyewitness misidentification, 2017). Additionally, the misapplication of forensic science is the second most common contributing factor related to wrongful convictions affecting nearly half (46%) of the cases (Misapplication of forensic science, 2017).

This case shows how forensic science can greatly aid the police service as when they conducted this original investigation; they had no suspects and eliminated more than 1500 people from their enquires. There were no developments in the case for over a decade, and it would have stayed that way if it wasn’t for DNA advances. CH INSP Memory explained "Advances in forensic science have brought Henderson to justice as despite a large manhunt at the time of the offence he had never featured in the investigation until now,"

Being accused of a crime is one thing, but being wrongfully convicted of the crime is another. In fact, according to a research done by a National Geographic journalist, Virginia Hughes, about 4.1 percent prisoners convicted were wrongfully imprisoned. The justice system in modern society has its own flaws that can impact the outcome of whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty. It is a reality that the legal system faces and that we draw our attention to details why it failed on some people. Wrongful conviction is the occurrence of an innocent defendant who goes to a trial and is found guilty due to different circumstances. The people of the jury and the people behind the investigation of a case can lead to such convictions. In

Crime Scene Investigations involve the identification of unknown suspects, witnesses and victims. They respond to crime scenes to detect, preserve, document, impound and collect physical evidence. 1 This report will give details about the Jeffery R. MacDonald triple murder case, which took place in officer’s quarters at U.S. Army base Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Tuesday February 17, 1970. I will explain what happened, how it happened and what investigators found. If I were investigating the case, my experience would lead me to follow the guidelines of a criminal investigator.

I think modern Forensic scientists were so interested in the Crippen case because it didn't make sense to them and since curiosity is always a big factor of a Forensic scientist they wanted to know why it didn't make sense. I think the benefits of solving such an old case is, first of all, the fact that it shows how important and useful our modern day techniques are. It also could help give answers to family and friends that haven't had closure and answers for years.

On December 21st, 1842 on a cold winter night an old man was murdered in his own house by a young man who had previous interactions with the old man nights before he committed the crime. The young man is around 5’8 with a wide frame and strong body which could have made the crime easier to commit. He’s also 23 with dark brown eyes that are truly disturbing to look at. From what was seen at the crime seen at the crime scene the young man found a way to hide the old man’s body under his very own floor boards. The young man has given a confession to the police and he is currently in custody awaiting his sentence for this sinister act.