Whilst the legal system is normally reliable, sometimes, it can be pretty unfair; with unfair
being an understatement!
Here are the top five worst cases of false conviction
Number 1 - Jeff Deskovic
Jeff Deskovic was only 17 years old when he
was convicted of the rape and murder of a fellow pupil, in 1990.
Despite his willingness to be put on a lie detector and being fully co-operative, officers
had other ideas.
For several hours at a time, police tore into him; giving him hints to private information
which he would then later repeat which made himself appear guilty, all whilst being denied a lawyer.
It proved too much for Deskovic, and he admitted to the crimes, despite not actually committing them.
A semen sample was taken from the victim, and was found to not match Deskovic's DNA.
However, the theory was given and accepted, that the girl had in fact had consensual sex
with the owner of the semen, and was later raped by Deskovic.
In 2006, Jeffrey Deskovic was released aged 33, having been behind bars for a crime he
didn't commit, for 16 years.
His release was due to help from the Innocence Project, a charity that helps overturn false convictions.
He has recently been compensated a sum of over $40 million, which he used to gain a
college degree and set up a charity in his own honour, in order to help people like him.
Number 2 - Damon A. Thibodeaux
23 year old Damon A. Thibodeaux confessed
to murdering his 14 year old step-cousin, Crystal Champagne, who was reported missing
in mid-July 1996 in New Orleans, after failing to return home from the supermarket.
After being missing for almost 24 hours, Crystal's body was found near a bridge, where she had
been strangled with wire and was suspected to have been raped.
Thibodeaux was interrogated for nine hours and was even made to take a lie detector test,
which police alleged showed signs of mistruth.
He finally snapped and confessed.
Neither his interrogation or confession were on record.
The story was, allegedly, that Thibodeaux had picked his young step-cousin up, and they
began to have consensual sex.
As she became uncomfortable, Crystal wanted to stop.
Thibodeaux became angry and strangled her with his bare hands, before turning to wrap
the wire around her neck; this was quoted by investigators, however, there was still
no evidence and no records of confession.
No physical evidence existed, as a sweep of his vehicle determined that no fibres matched
those of Crystal.
Regardless, In 1997, Damon Thibodeaux was sentenced to de ath for the murder and rape of crystal.
He spent the next 15 years in solitary confinement, where for 23 hours a day, he was completely alone.
Following his release, Thibodeaux moved to Minnesota and began working at Fredrikson
& Byron, the law firm which helped to exonerate him.
He is also a spokesperson for wrongful conviction reform.
Number 3 - Timothy Cole
In 1985, 25 year old Timothy Cole was attending
Texas Tech University, when he was accused of the rape of fellow student, Michele Mallin.
Michele had been approached by a male shortly after she parked her car at the college, and
was attacked and forced back into her car where she was sexually assaulted.
The only factor that tied Cole to the offence, was that he worked in the same vicinity.
Police showed Michele a polaroid photograph of Cole, where she confirmed that he was in fact her attacker.
Despite no physical evidence and several witnesses claiming that Cole was studying in his apartment
at the time, he was arrested and convicted of rape, and a judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
While inside, Cole was offered parole if he would confess to the rape, but he refused
to accept guilt.
In 2007, Jerry Wayne Johnson, a fellow inmate who had been locked up for 2 other rapes in
85' admitted to being the actual rapist, however nothing could be done because the statute
of limitations had expired.
Cole died in prison 8 years prior to the confession, due to asthmatic complications, and became
the first person in Texas history to be granted a pardon, posthumously.
There is even now a statue of Cole close to where the rape occurred, with the monument
facing the Texas Tech's law school, to remind the future generation of law students, that
humans are prone to error.
Number 4 - The West Memphis Three
The "West Memphis Three" were three teenagers
Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who were convicted of murdering
three young boys in 1993.
Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley were deemed as outcasts at their time of arrest, and were
accused of worshipping Satan and were suspected of killing the boys in a satanic ritual.
There was no evidence at all linking the three young men to the brutal murders; however an
unexpected confession from Misskelley, which implicated them all, found the three teens guilty.
Although, Miskelley claims the police interrogated him for over 12 hours, and he was afraid of
them, so he told them what he thought they wanted to hear.
In 1994, Both Miskelley and Baldwin were sentenced to life imprisonment & Echols was sentenced to de ath.
It was only recently in 2011 that the three teens, now men, were freed, (after serving
over 18 years) due to new forensic evidence which showed that the West Memphis three did
not commit the murders.
The men have garnered celebrity support, and documentaries have been released, in order
to build up a fund to help with their legal fees.
To this day, not much is know about the daily life of Misskelley, but Echols is a nationally
reclaimed artist, and Baldwin went on to produce a movie about the case titled Devil's Knot.
Number 5 - Darryl Pinkins
A man by the name of Darryl Pinkins was convicted
of the gang rape of a 27 year old woman in the winter of 1989, in Gary, Indiana.
The incident was spawned by a car crash, where the woman in question exited her vehicle to
check the damage, only to be jumped by who she believed was Pinkins and 4 others.
The 5 men jumped into her car, and stole her purse containing $20 and and a handgun, before
sexually assaulting her.
The thing that tied Pinkins to the crime was a green coverall that was used to cover the
woman's face, which had been issued to Pinkins and 2 of the men by the company they worked for.
Pinkins and the 4 others were arrested for the rape, but two of the men were dropped
from the case.
Pinkins and the other men all protested their innocence and explained to detectives that
their car had been broken into, and their work clothes had been stolen.
However, In 1991, Pinkins was convicted of rape, robbery, and deviate sexual conduct.
This caused him to be sentenced to 65 years in prison.
While none of the DNA evidence matched to Pinkins, the victim identified him as one
of the men, and another cell-mate mentioned that he had confessed to the crime.
Pinkins reached out to the Indiana Innocence Project, to help him fight for his innocence.
After 25 years behind bars, the DNA evidence was finally looked over once again, using
a new type of DNA analysis technology which lead to Pinkins' final moments in prison.
After more than 2 decades behind bars, on April 25th 2016, Pinkins was released to family
and friends as a free man.
Sadly, the time in prison did not treat him well, as he lost most of his teeth, became
diabetic, and contracted thyroid disease.
After his release, Pinkins spoke to reporters and said the following: ''There was a crack
in the system, It does exist, and I'm not the only one within this situation that's
going through this.
It's people that are not fortunate enough to get the team that I have behind me.''
Pinkins also explained that he wasn't bitter about what happened to him and is looking
forward to life ahead of him.
Thanks for watching!