Today’s must-read
Tuesday, Aug 6, 2024 - Posted by Rich Miller
* ABC7 I-Team…
It has been called an American epidemic.
Wrongful convictions have led to people who were later exonerated losing more than 21,000 years in U.S. prisons. Illinois is the top state in the country for wrongful convictions.
Now, the state agency that oversees police training is mandating classes aimed at eliminating that.
Exonerees share their stories with police cadets.
“My name is Marvin Cotton Jr. and I served 19 years, seven months and 12 days in prison for crime that I did not commit,” one exoneree said. […]
“Not only the first state to mandate it, but it’s the first state to have this training. To our knowledge, when there’s nobody else in the country that is doing this type of training. And so, we’re very proud of that and proud that our legislatures thought enough of this program to make it a mandatory training to help right the wrongs of the past,” said Wrongful Conviction Awareness & Avoidance Director Marc Beach. […]
“I spent 23 years as a police officer,” Beach said. “I actually had no idea that wrongful convictions were really even an issue. The system that I represent would do that to somebody, and it would get it wrong. And so, I said, you know, I have to I have to do something to make that better.”
Go read the rest.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 8:17 am:
I am thrilled to hear the state is doing this, and it seems like it should be done in other states as well.
Besides being the very definition of injustice, wrongful convictions undermine overall confidence in the system.
An effort to address this serves everyone well.
Thanks to whomever sponsored this legislation.
- Parlay Player - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 8:21 am:
This is a great idea, instead of ensuring justice is done law enforcement can too often turn into a win at all costs system which leads to these horror stories.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 8:31 am:
number of training sessions, number of cadets, but years of loss in prison….should have number of people who account for those years. and across what time period. to see the full picture.
- JB13 - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 9:41 am:
This is great to include in police training.
Police should always be aware of the human cost of abusing their authority and violating people’s Constitutional rights.
Politicians should get the same kinds of lectures and training on this and other forms of constitutional violations
- Must win - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 10:05 am:
No blame for over zealous,district attorneys?
- Original Rambler - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 10:15 am:
Must Win brings up a good point. What about rookie Assistant States’ Attorneys? They should participate also or offer it as part of mandatory CLE.
- Just a Random Guy - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 10:16 am:
While this is all fine and dandy, the police are only a small part of this. They investigate and arrest, but ultimately it’s the prosecutor’s decision to press charges. Not enough evidence? Prosecutor should drop charges. Then you have a judge and/or jury deciding guilt or innocence, as well as sentencing.
- SAW - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 10:29 am:
Just a Random Guy - I worked with a man who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for almost 20 years. Chicago police forced a confession out of him for a double homicide that it was impossible for him to have committed (he was in jail on an unrelated charge at the of the murders). Police records backed up his innocence and yet he was found guilty based only on the confession. Of course, the prosecutor has culpability in this case, but without the police forcing a confession, he would never have been charged at all.
- Parlay Player - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 11:39 am:
In my experience, wrongful convictions are a part of CLE Trainings offered at trainings held by the State Appellate Prosecutors Office for ASAs. If that type of education is not a mandatory aspect of prosecutors’ CLE ethics hours requirements, it should be.
- Just a Random Guy - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 12:07 pm:
SAW - yikes. That is sad and terrible to hear. I suppose my point is there are many levels to this that need addressed. Thank you for sharing.
- DuPage Saint - Tuesday, Aug 6, 24 @ 12:11 pm:
I fault prosecutors almost more than police. They used to take an oath to do justice not to win cases That should be the goal not “victories “.