There are some major flaws in our criminal justice system. These flaws result in innocent people going to prison. It is the ultimate miscarriage of justice — taking away the freedom of a factually innocent person while also allowing the guilty person to remain free.
There are a number of reasons for why innocent people get found guilty. The National Registry of Exonerations has identified six main causes:
- Perjury or False Accusation
- Inadequate Legal Defense
- False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
- Official Misconduct
- False Confession
- Mistaken Witness Identification
Perjury or False Accusation
Out of 3,159 exonerations tracked by the The National Registry of Exonerations, 1,950 or 62% listed Perjury or False Accusation as a contributing factor in the wrongful conviction.
One common scenario is when the government uses informants or “snitches.” In many cases, the snitch’s testimony is a central piece of evidence.
Snitches are often called “incentivized informants”. Many times the snitch themselves are facing criminal charges and are offered favorable terms or reductions in their charges in exchange for their testimony. This gives them the incentive to have a story even when there truly isn’t one. The problem becomes compounded when prosecutors do not reveal these incentives.
Snitches are often found in PWI drug cases. The police arrest a user and in exchange for getting favorable terms, that user reveals who the dealer is. However, drug users are often chronic liars and would rather blame someone else than the true drug dealer. They lie out of fear, fear of reprisal or fear of losing their drug supply.
False Accusations Destroy Real Lives
Take the case of Randolph “Randy” Arledge who wrongfully served 29 years in prison. Alexander was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of a Texas woman in 1981. Arledge’s wrongful conviction was based almost entirely on incentivized snitch testimony.
According to The Innocence Project:
Arledge was in Corsicana visiting family at the time of the crime but left the following day for his home in Houston. In Houston, he met up with Bennie Lamas and Paula Lucas and went on a road trip in a stolen van. The three were apprehended in Tennessee in connection with an armed robbery charge.
Pursuant to a plea deal, Lamas and Lucas testified at Arledge’s Texas murder trial that Arledge told them he had murdered a woman in Corsicana, Texas. In return, Lucas received favorable consideration at sentencing for the armed robbery and was given probation.
Despite a lack of physical evidence connecting Arledge to the crimes and alibi testimony from several witnesses, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 99 years in prison.
After serving 29 years, Arledge would be exonerated by DNA evidence.
Read more at: https://innocenceproject.org/informing-injustice/
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