At this point, many people have tuned into Netflix’s ‘Making a Murderer’ and most likely, you have already established an opinion on guilt or innocence. There are certainly more questions than answers when it comes to the investigation and defense of the defendant. However, no matter which side of the fence you are on in regards to the current conviction, Avery’s wrongful conviction reminds us of the real margin of error in our judicial system.
Every year, a number of Americans are convicted of crimes they did not commit. There are a number of statistics on the subject and they do not all have the same numbers, however, the fact is that one single person convicted of a crime they are innocent of is one conviction too many.
Based on the findings of Samuel Gross, there have been over 300 exonerations since DNA testing was first introduced in 1989. Twenty of those exonerations were for people who had served time on death row. While we are certainly fortunate that advances have been made in our judicial system that has corrected wrongful convictions, we still must ask ourselves how many wrongs were never made right?
Common Reasons for Wrongful Convictions
The judicial system is certainly designed to protect the public and provide justice in situations where people have broken the law. However, there is certainly room for human error. Some of the most common reasons for a wrongful conviction are:
- Eyewitness misidentification;
- Unvalidated or improper forensics;
- False confessions; and
- Informants.
There are a number of reasons that the above situations may occur. Each case is unique that has various circumstances that could lead to a wrongful conviction.
Lives are Changed
Wrongful convictions impacts the lives of everybody involved in a case. For the family of a victim, it does not bring closure or justice. In some instances, it means that there are no longer any leads for potential culprits because the case has gone cold. Basically, while an innocent person was being prosecuted the guilty was free potentially committing similar crimes.
For the family of the person wrongfully convicted, it leads to years lost that will never be returned. In certain situations, monetary relief is given, but this does little to remedy the loss of missing a child grow up or not being there when a family member passes away. These are the things that wrongfully convicted people have to cope with.
While there is certainly some negative impact on the reputation of the judicial system, nothing compares to the impact that the people involved face as they try to move forward with their lives even once the conviction is overturned.
Need Help?
If you or someone you know has been wrongfully convicted of a crime, you need the help of a knowledgeable defense attorney. Scott Skier of West Palm Beach, Florida is a dedicated attorney that has spent his career diligently serving his clients. Allow him to put his years of experience in the courtroom to work for you. Call attorney Skier for a free consultation today.