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Bennett Barbour Case Study Essay

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CASE STUDY #2: Bennett Barbour
Ronald Cotton’s case study is only one from hundreds of people who have been sent to jail for a crime they did not commit. Bennett Barbour, a 22-year-old man whose wife was pregnant with their first child was put in jail even when all the evidence was going against him except for the eyewitness. On February 7, 1978, a nineteen-year-old girl and Mary were sexually assaulted at gunpoint. After the incident, the victim called the police and gave a detailed description of the assailant. She told them that he weighed about 145 pounds and was about 5’6 tall. A week passed by and the victim was called to identify the assailant out of the photo lineup she chose Bennett’s photo, and then she chose him again from the live lineups. The next day …show more content…

After Barbour was arrested, the police did many tests with him, the hair found at the crime scene did not match Barbour’s. The victim's Blood type of A, while Barbour's blood group of type B. Barbours did not match the victim's initial description and no physical evidence supports his presence at the crime scene. At the final trial, all the evidence was going against Barbour except for the eyewitness of the victim. The investigators from the case still had doubts on Barbour’s guilt and continued to investigate further. After spending almost five years in prison, Barbour was released on parole the first time he came up for consideration. Soon after he was released on parole, the

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