Norfolk Four Case Study

Imagine spending nearly 20 years in a prison for a crime you did not commit. Well that was the case for Angel Gonzalez. Angel was arrested and convicted of sexual assault and kidnapping on June 16, 1995. Angel was later then exonerated on March 10, 2015. The victim identified Angel from the back of the cop car and never got out the car to get a closer look at him. The evidence that was used to convicted Angel was that the victim told the police that the assailant had the same car as Angel. After 20 years in prison, The Innocence Project opened up his case and reviewed it. The organization brought up DNA testing that provided he wasn’t one of the assailants. After a day, Angel was released out of prison and walked as a free man. These types

Lincoln confessed to a judge, but the judge denied his confession. Anderson was trying to make everyone believe that he was innocent and to “break walls” “(Understand DNA Testing.” Understand DNA Testing | WorldFamilies.net, WorldFamilies.net, www.worldfamilies.net/dnatesting) . in his path He found out that the rape kit that was involved with the trial was destroyed, and as a next source, he decided to turn to the Innocence Project as another option to help him. The Innocence Project accepted his case in 1994. In 2001, there was a notebook found in a lab that had different types of DNA swabs collected within it that was actually proven not to be Anderson’s. It was found to be a match to two other inmates, one of which is believed to be John Otis Lincoln. (www.innocenceproject.org). Lincoln later ended up in prison for other rapes he had committed. Peter Neufeld of the Innocence Project said, “The DNA test now points to a suspect later covicted for rapes that might have been prevented if justice had prevailed in the first place “New York Times .” (The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2001, www.nytimes.com)/. On August 21, 2002, Virginia Governor Warner granted Anderson a full pardon. He had spent fifteen years in prison years on parole fighting to prove his innocence (www.innocenceproject.org). Nineteen years after

In March of 1985, Bloodsworth was sentenced to death. Through it all Bloodsworth maintained his innocence and in 1993 with the help of a new technique used to test for DNA, Bloodsworth got his chance to prove he was innocent. Bloodsworth became the first person ever to be exonerated from death row by DNA evidence. (Jain, 2001) In one

Steven Avery did not give up and tried to prove his innocence. He tried in 1995 with some evidence under Beersten’s fingernails. While it revealed that it matched an unknown assailant, it didn’t eliminate Avery (Weghorst & Warden). In 2002, an attorney from Wisconsin Innocence Project got a court order to analyze the pubic hair collected in the rape kit, which was submitted to be compare to FBI databases. The hair did not match Avery, but did match Gregory Allen, who also lived around the area (Davey, 2005). In an article written by Susan Smith, she described this revelation as a “Cold Hit” because neither the scientist nor the police were looking for Gregory Allen despise the fact that there were several factors that would make him a suspect (Smith, 2006). On September 11, 2003, this revelation also made a joint motion by Manitowoc District Attorney’s Office and the Wisconsin Innocence Project to dismiss all the charges against Avery. The motion was granted and Steven Avery was released (Possley).

In the video “The Confessions” presented by Frontline, a murder of a women that was committed by one man, quickly resulted into a false gang murder-rape scene committed by eight men. The victim, Michelle Bosko, was seen to be raped and killed in her apartment in Norfolk, Virginia. From the video, it has been proven that seven out of the eight men that confessed were innocent, but somehow they all received an unequal punishment. Because the innocent men admitted to a murder that they didn’t commit out of fear, they were all sentenced to some time in prison. The head detective, Glenn Ford, intimidated the men so much that they either were convinced that they were at the crime scene or they told him every detail that he wanted to hear.

The questionable forensic evidence, the untrustworthy witnesses and the insufficient investigation are all reasons why Steven Truscott should never have been charged with the rape and murder of Lynne Harper. Being charged with something you did not commit is something nobody wants to go through. Evidence, witnesses and the investigation portion is very important for a case to run correctly. It took Steven Truscott 42 years to finally get his name cleared. He went through many trials and hearings to finally get the news one day that he was free to go. Most of his life was taken from him that he will never get back. “They finally got it right after all these years. I am so used to fighting. Now we don’t have to fight anymore.”

In October of 2001 John Taylor was arrested for the murder of Leanne Tiernan due to the abundance of evidence that was found in regards to her murder. Due to the study of the pollen they were able to clearly say Leanne was at John Taylor’s place for certain. John Taylor was later given 2 more life convictions for 2 rapes he committed and they were able to say that he did them because of DNA

In about 25% of DNA exoneration cases, innocent defendants made incriminating statements or pled guilty. These cases show that confessions are not always prompted by their own knowledge or actual guilt, but are sometimes motivated by other influences. Eddie Joe Lloyd was one of these people contributing to the percentage. Lloyd was convicted in 1984 for the murder of a 16-year-old girl in Detroit after he wrote to police with suggestions on how to solve various recent crimes. During several interviews, police fed details of the crime to Lloyd, who was mentally ill, and convinced him that by confessing he was helping them “smoke out” the real killer. Lloyd eventually signed a confession and gave a tape-recorded statement. The jury deliberated less than

Four U.S navy sailors were accused of murdering and raping Michelle Moore-Bosko. All four of them confessed of a crime they did not commit. A friend of Michelle Moore-Bosko informed the police that Danial Williams was interested in killing women (Bikel, 2010) . Later in the day, Danial Williams was detained. Robert Glen Ford interrogated Williams, believing that he was in fact guilty. He had a goal that he wanted Williams to confess. Though, Glenn Ford was known as an intimidating person, who will get people to confess (Bikel, 2010).After eleven hours of interrogations, Williams confessed of a crime he did not do (Bikel, 2010). He was then asked to tell the story of how he murdered Michelle, and he started narrating a story he made up out of fear. For Months, Ford believed that Williams was guilty of the crime. However, months later, Williams DNA test results came to serve as an evidence of his innocent. However, Glenn Ford did not believe that Williams was innocent; he believed that Williams roommate Joe Dick was guilty of the crime as well. Therefore, Joe Dick was arrested and interrogated by Detective Glenn Ford, making him confess of the same crime. Joe Dick’s DNA was inconsistent with the evidence .Therefore, he was interrogated much more, until he gave his friends’ name: Eric Wilson, Derek Tice, and

This appeal evolved out of a 2006 rape case that occurred in Harford county Maryland. More than two years after the incident the victim identified Glenn Joseph Raynor, hereby known as petitioner, as a possible suspect. After departing a voluntary police interview in which petitioner ultimately declined a request for his DNA to be collected for comparison. Investigators collected DNA on swabs from the armrest of his chair. DNA analysis revealed a match from samples collected at the crime scene. After further investigation petitioner was charged and convicted of first-degree rape and related offenses.

In recent years, there have been multiple high-profile cases of people being exonerated, often by DNA testing, after giving a false confession to a crime they did not commit. People who often fall into this trap are juveniles or those with a diminished mental capacity (Redlich, 2009). DNA testing has helped many innocent people that gave false confessions be free again. This trend brings up the question of how were they able to give a false confession.

This Organisation is a non-profit Legal organisation dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustices. The Innocence Project was established in a landmark study by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Senate in conjunction with the Benjamin N.Cardozo School of Law, which found that incorrect identification by eyewitnesses was a

     There has been many inmates sentenced to death row that innocent. Since 1973, more than 99 people have been released from prison after being sentenced to death despite their innocence, The Social Psychology of Police Interrogation: The

The Innocence Project was established in the wake of a landmark study by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Senate with help from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Schneider, 2013). This study found that there were numerous reasons why people are wrongfully convicted including, but not limited to eye witness identification, perjured testimony, improper forensic science techniques, and government misconduct (Roberts & Weathered, 2009) The original Innocence Project was founded twenty two (22) years ago as a part of the Cardoza School of Law of Yeshiva University in New York City, New York (Davis, 2012). The Innocence Projects primary goal is to exonerate those whom have been convicted of a crime when there is DNA evidence available to be tested or re-tested (Mitchell, 2011). DNA testing has been possible in five (5) percent to ten (10) percent of cases since 1992 (Risinger, 2007). On the other side, other members of the Innocence Project help to exonerate those have been convicted of a crime where there is no DNA evidence to test. A goal of the Innocence Project is to conduct research on the reasons for wrongful convictions, how to fix the criminal justice system, as well as advocate for those who have been wrongfully convicted (Steiker & Steiker, 2005). The members of this organization strive to teach the world about the dangers of wrongful convictions. To date, this non-profit legal organization, has freed three hundred eighteen (318)