Most know that our justice system is a little...tricky, but little know the full force of this system. This podcast tells the story of four teenagers who spent 15 years behind bars for a crime they didn't commit. Thanks to the evolution of DNA evidence and analysis, these teenagers now walk free from being wrongly convicted.
Here's the story: In 1986, Lori Roscetti was raped and killed in Chicago. 1986 carried an extremely high crime rate, with 284 other murders through out the year. Mostly because Roscetti was a white female killed in a black neighborhood, her murder case became highlighted in the media as a hate crime. This fact played a part in the wrong conviction because there were loads of pressure to get the killer convicted quickly. When you aim for speed rather than accuracy, mistakes happen, and four boys had to pay that unfortunate price. In a rush to appease the media, police dragged in four boys with previous criminal records and tricked them into saying they were involved with the Lori Roscetti case. The profile that an analyst compiled of the crime scene turned into the "confession" from the four suspected boys. From there, police tricked a suspect to become a witness and struck a deal to get the other suspects convicted. The media was convinced, the world was convinced, and the judge was convinced that these boys were guilty. 15 years into being locked up, The Innocence Project was discovered. The Innocence Project is used to exonerate people who were wrongly convicted by testing post-conviction DNA. Now that DNA evidence can be analyzed and tested against the suspects, it is a fool-proof way of convicting the correct killer. In the end, The Innocence Project saved these boys from life in prison, and two males confessed to the crime shortly afterwards.
After listening to this podcast, I had very mixed feelings towards our justice system. On one hand, I was infuriated that the police could manipulate people so far that they could convict someone without real evidence. On the other hand, I was grateful to hear that many trials without hard evidence are being reevaluated and are testing DNA to catch the true killer. All in all, I understand how much power our justice system holds, and how it can manipulate all of us. However, with the addition of DNA analysis, I feel this system is being refined and improved, and I am exceedingly glad I live in the twenty-first century.
To listen to this podcast, click here:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/210/perfect-evidence
To research The Innocence Project, click here:
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
