Last but definitely not least, the single greatest contributing factor to wrongful convictions is eyewitness identification. A whopping 70% of wrongful convictions, who were later cleared by DNA testing, were due to a mis-identification of the criminal by the eyewitness, who is sometimes even the victim themselves. The table below illustrates this phenomenon. After…
read more »Month: March 2017
Truck Drivers and DUI — 2 STRIKES … YOU’RE OUT
For a Pennsylvania truck driver, a first offense DUI carries some very tough penalties. This includes up to 6 months jail time, up to $5,000 fines, 1-year personal driver’s license suspension and 1-year commercial driver’s license disqualification (suspension). Being unable to drive would be crushing. Many trucker drivers lose their career after the first charge…
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Top 6 Causes for Wrongful Convictions (Part 5) — False Confessions
When it comes to the issue of forcing out a confession, has our criminal justice system evolved much from the days of the Salem Witch Trials, during which about 50 women were coerced into confessing to have performed witchcraft? Or are there still remnants of such methods of forced confessions in existence today? Or what…
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“Darkness” sends 20 to the ER in PA
Pennsylvania has seen share of K2 and spice emergencies, due to bad batches, or overdoses during over the past years. One brand in particular, called Darkness is responsible for sending 20 patients into the ER at PinnacleHealth during the first weekend of August 2016. Dauphin County’s Drug Task Force and Harrisburg police are investigating to…
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Top 6 Causes for Wrongful Convictions (Part 4) — Police and Prosecutorial Misconduct
Welcome to part 4 of this series where we will discuss how people can become wrongfully convicted and sent to prison just because of the misconduct of police and state prosecutors. Sometimes an officer may hold back some evidence found at the scene of the crime. Sometimes forensic evidence is not sent to the lab for testing….
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