Download or read book The Guilty Innocent written by Shannon Adamcik and published by Shannon Adamcik. This book was released on 2012-10-28 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sixteen-year-old Cassie Jo Stoddard agreed to house sit for relatives on the weekend of September 22, 2006. It was something the teenager had done before…but this time something went terribly wrong. When the family returned home at the end of the weekend they found Cassie lying on their living room floor brutally stabbed to death. Detectives focused on two of Cassie’s classmates who had briefly visited her on the night that she was murdered: Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper. Initially both boys denied any knowledge of the crime, but after two separate interrogations, Brian Draper told detectives a chilling story of murder straight out of a horror movie. The two boys were immediately arrested, and a shocking videotape was discovered that seemed to depict the two teens not only planning the cold-blooded murder, but celebrating it. Community outrage was strong and immediate. The public demanded justice. But was the video actually what it appeared to be: a cold-blooded documentary that detailed the plotting of Cassie’s murder; or something else entirely? Could anyone uncover the truth in time and convince a jury that sometimes things aren't always what they appear to be? The Guilty Innocent is narrated by Shannon Adamcik, mother of Torey, one of the accused boys. It takes readers behind the scenes of a trial where prosecutors cared more about public opinion than truth, defense attorneys, who had never argued a murder case, were in over their heads, and a young boy’s life hung in the balance. The United States is the only country in the world that will charge a juvenile as an adult and sentence them to life without parole. As the mother of one such child, I know exactly what happens when a juvenile is placed in adult court where they cannot defend themselves. They are immediately cut off from all human contact, locked in isolation, and railroaded through a justice system they simply cannot comprehend. Consequently, many of these juveniles are sentenced too much longer and harsher terms than their adult counterparts. I've personally lived through this, and I was compelled to write about it. I began for the simple reason that I had lived through this horrendous ordeal and I ached for someone to confide in. But reliving the most painful part of my life was extraordinarily difficult. Ultimately the only reason that I was able to persevere was my deep belief that the story was important and needed to be told. That is still true. This is a true story and no one can tell it better than the people who lived it. A crime reporter can look at the details of a case, but they cannot tell you how it feels to live through it. I can and I did. I used the pre-trial and trial transcripts, copies of the police reports, the autopsy and DNA reports, and DVD recordings of all of the evidence in the case. I've done copious research. But more importantly, I take readers step-by-step through what it feels like when your 16-year-old son is accused of first-degree murder; all the odds are stacked against him; and his defense is in the hands of attorneys you can’t fully trust to come through for you.

Download or read book You Have the Right to Remain Innocent written by James J. Duane and published by Little a. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An urgent, compact manifesto that will teach you how to protect your rights, your freedom, and your future when talking to police. Law professor James J. Duane became a viral sensation thanks to a 2008 lecture outlining the reasons why you should never agree to answer questions from the police--especially if you are innocent and wish to stay out of trouble with the law. In this timely, relevant, and pragmatic new book, he expands on that presentation, offering a vigorous defense of every citizen's constitutionally protected right to avoid self-incrimination. Getting a lawyer is not only the best policy, Professor Duane argues, it's also the advice law-enforcement professionals give their own kids. Using actual case histories of innocent men and women exonerated after decades in prison because of information they voluntarily gave to police, Professor Duane demonstrates the critical importance of a constitutional right not well or widely understood by the average American. Reflecting the most recent attitudes of the Supreme Court, Professor Duane argues that it is now even easier for police to use your own words against you. This lively and informative guide explains what everyone needs to know to protect themselves and those they love.

Download or read book Presumed Guilty written by Martin D. Yant and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2009-12-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American judicial system is far too often a source of injustice for the innocent rather than justice for the guilty. Despite all the alleged protections built into the trial process, a person facing criminal charges is virtually presumed guilty until proven innocent - not the reverse. Presumed Guilty is about thousands of innocent Americans who each year are convicted of serious crimes they did not commit. Many are convicted of crimes that did not even occur. Journalist Martin Yant vividly and dramatically explains the process by which American justice is miscarried, providing carefully researched details about more than 100 wrongful convictions. Yant''s writing reveals both passion and frustration as he explains how most mistaken convictions could easily be avoided. "No criminal justice system is infallable," he writes, "but most errors aren''t the result of carefully considered decisions that happen to be wrong." He cites examples of outrageous carelessness, investigations that conform facts to predetermined theories, the use of long-discredited investigative techniques, rampant prejudice, and the desire of police and prosecutors to "win" convictions at any price - even if evidence is fabricated to do so. Yant goes on to propose achievable solutions that would not only prevent years of imprisonment for the wrongfully convicted but also save the lives of innocent individuals who face the increasingly used death penalty. Presumed Guilty reveals not only how often the American justice system goes awry, but how easily - and how quickly - it is possible to become its victim.

Download or read book Not Guilty written by Daniel Givelber and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2012-06-11 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A brilliant book that masterfully debunks the conventional wisdom that those who are charged with crimes in our criminal justice system, even when they are acquitted at trial, are almost certainly guilty. It is a data-driven tour de force.” --Richard A. Leo, author of Police Interrogation and American Justice “Givelber and Farrell make a persuasive case that most jury acquittals are based on evidence not emotion, and that acquittals should be taken to mean what they say: that the defendant is Not Guilty.” --Samuel Gross, co-author of A Modern Approach to Evidence: Text, Problems, Transcripts, and Cases As scores of death row inmates are exonerated by DNA evidence and innocence commissions are set up across the country, conviction of the innocent has become a well-recognized problem. But our justice system makes both kinds of errors—we acquit the guilty and convict the innocent—and exploring the reasons why people are acquitted can help us to evaluate the efficiency and fairness of our criminal justice system. Not Guilty provides a sustained examination and analysis of the factors that lead juries to find defendants “not guilty,” as well as the connection between those factors and the possibility of factual innocence, examining why some criminal trials result in not guilty verdicts and what those verdicts suggest about the accuracy of our criminal process.

Download or read book Guilty Until Proven Innocent written by Jon Robins and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whenever a miscarriage of justice hits the headlines, it is tempting to dismiss it as an anomaly – a minor hiccup in an otherwise healthy judicial system. Yet the cases of injustice that feature in this book reveal that they are not just minor hiccups, but symptoms of a chronic illness plaguing the British legal system. Massive underfunding, catastrophic failures in policing and shoddy legal representation have all contributed to a deepening crisis – one that the watchdog set up for the very purpose of investigating miscarriages of justice has done precious little to remedy. Indeed, little has changed since the 'bad old days' of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six. Award winning journalist Jon Robins lifts the lid on Britain's legal scandals and exposes the disturbing complacency that has led to many innocent people being deemed guilty, either in the eyes of the law or in the court of public opinion.

Download or read book Guilt of the Innocent written by Deb Ann and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: : What do you do when you find yourself serving on the jury for a murder of which you committed? Do you try to persuade your fellow jury members that the person being accused is guilty, therefore guaranteeing your freedom, or do you not allow an innocent man to spend his life in prison so you convince them of his innocence, which will result in the authorities seeking out a new suspect? When Michael confronts the priest he discovers is responsible for his son’s suicide, things get out of hand, and the result is accidental death. Michael doesn’t speak up whenever the authorities investigate someone else for the crime, and now a jury summons arrives in his mail. What to do . . .

Download or read book The Guilt of Innocents written by Candace Robb and published by Severn House Publishers Ltd. This book was released on 2024-02-20 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is an innocent act behind a tragedy? Owen Archer investigates when a drowning in the River Ouse leads him on a chilling trail involving a boy's stolen scrip and a valuable golden cross. York, 1372. When river pilot Drogo stole young Hubert's scrip, Hubert's friends swore they would get it back. But their worthy endeavour is brought to an abrupt end when Drogo is viciously attacked and left to drown in the River Ouse. DEADLY SECRETS RISE TO THE SURFACE . . . Is Drogo's murder linked to the missing scrip? And where is Hubert? As the scrip is recovered and the river gives up a terrible secret, Owen becomes intrigued by a missing gold cross pendant Hubert carried in his scrip to remind him of his mother. A GOOD LUCK CHARM OR A SINISTER WARNING? Hubert's seemingly innocent act leads to dark revelations as Owen unravels a shocking chain of misfortune and murder linked to Hubert's precious possession. Can he discover the truth in time to prevent more deaths? THE OWEN ARCHER MYSTERIES 1. The Apothecary Rose 2. The Lady Chapel 3. The Nun's Tale 4. The King's Bishop 5. The Riddle of St. Leonard's 6. The Gift of Sanctuary 7. A Spy for the Redeemer 8. The Cross-Legged Knight 9. The Guilt of Innocents 10. A Vigil of Spies 11. A Conspiracy of Wolves 12. A Choir of Crows 13. The Riverwoman's Dragon 14. A Fox in the Fold

Download or read book Guilt by Accusation written by Alan Dershowitz and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Wall Street Journal bestseller! Alan Dershowitz, one of America’s most respected legal scholars and a New York Times bestselling author proves—with incontrovertible evidence—that he is entirely innocent of the sexual misconduct accusations against him, while suggesting a roadmap for how such allegations should be handled in a just society. “Maybe the question isn’t what happened to Alan Dershowitz. Maybe it’s what happened to everyone else.”—Politico Alan Dershowitz has been called “one of the most prominent and consistent defenders of civil liberties in America” by Politico and “the nation’s most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer and one of its most distinguished defenders of individual rights” by Newsweek. Yet he has come under intense criticism for applying those same principles, and his famed “shoe‑on‑the‑other‑foot test,” to those accused of sexual misconduct. In Guilt by Accusation, Dershowitz provides an in‑depth analysis of the false accusations against him, alongside a full presentation of the exculpatory evidence that proves his account, including emails from his accuser and an admission of his innocence from her lawyer, David Boies. Additionally, he examines current attitudes toward accusations of sexual misconduct, which are today, in the age of #MeToo, accepted as implicit truth without giving the accused a fair chance to defend themselves and their innocence, and suggests possible pathways back to a society and legal system in which due process is respected above public opinion and the whims of social media mobs. This book is Alan Dershowitz’s plea for fairness for both accuser and accused, his principled stand for due process no matter the allegation, and his compelling assertion of his own innocence. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to know the inside story behind the accusations against him or who cares about the current societal debate over how we should handle accusations of sexual misconduct. The #MeToo movement has generally been a force for good, but as with many good movements, it is being exploited by some bad people for personal profit. Supporters of the #MeToo movement must not allow false accusers to hurt real victims by hiding behind its virtuous shield, turning it into an exploitive sword against innocent people.

Download or read book Convicting the Innocent written by Brandon L. Garrett and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011-08-04 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On January 20, 1984, Earl Washington—defended for all of forty minutes by a lawyer who had never tried a death penalty case—was found guilty of rape and murder in the state of Virginia and sentenced to death. After nine years on death row, DNA testing cast doubt on his conviction and saved his life. However, he spent another eight years in prison before more sophisticated DNA technology proved his innocence and convicted the guilty man. DNA exonerations have shattered confidence in the criminal justice system by exposing how often we have convicted the innocent and let the guilty walk free. In this unsettling in-depth analysis, Brandon Garrett examines what went wrong in the cases of the first 250 wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated by DNA testing. Based on trial transcripts, Garrett’s investigation into the causes of wrongful convictions reveals larger patterns of incompetence, abuse, and error. Evidence corrupted by suggestive eyewitness procedures, coercive interrogations, unsound and unreliable forensics, shoddy investigative practices, cognitive bias, and poor lawyering illustrates the weaknesses built into our current criminal justice system. Garrett proposes practical reforms that rely more on documented, recorded, and audited evidence, and less on fallible human memory. Very few crimes committed in the United States involve biological evidence that can be tested using DNA. How many unjust convictions are there that we will never discover? Convicting the Innocent makes a powerful case for systemic reforms to improve the accuracy of all criminal cases.

Download or read book Guilty People written by Abbe Smith and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-17 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Criminal defense attorneys protect the innocent and guilty alike, but, the majority of criminal defendants are guilty. This is as it should be in a free society. Yet there are many different types of crime and degrees of guilt, and the defense must navigate through a complex criminal justice system that is not always equipped to recognize nuances. In Guilty People, law professor and longtime criminal defense attorney Abbe Smith gives us a thoughtful and honest look at guilty individuals on trial. Each chapter tells compelling stories about real cases she handled; some of her clients were guilty of only petty crimes and misdemeanors, while others committed offenses as grave as rape and murder. In the process, she answers the question that every defense attorney is routinely asked: How can you represent these people? Smith’s answer also tackles seldom-addressed but equally important questions such as: Who are the people filling our nation’s jails and prisons? Are they as dangerous and depraved as they are usually portrayed? How did they get caught up in the system? And what happens to them there? This book challenges the assumption that the guilty are a separate species, unworthy of humane treatment. It is dedicated to guilty people—every single one of us.

Download or read book Guilty Until Proven Innocent written by D. Corbett Everidge and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2007-07 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven innocent? D. Corbett Everidge cannot vote, own a firearm, or hold public office: he is a convicted felon. But did he actually commit the crime? In this true-life legal drama, former magistrate D. Corbett Everidge chronicles the events of the summer of 2005 and the ensuing criminal trial that led to a felony conviction and the end of his criminal justice career. He then asks you to assess the evidence and make your own reasonable decision about whether he is, indeed, innocent or guilty as charged. Everidge gives personal insight into his career and background to illustrate that guilt in a complex society is not always a matter of black and white. He also challenges many beliefs regarding the modern criminal justice system in the United States, effectively drawing a line between the theoretical and the actual. Ultimately, Guilty Until Proven Innocent is an intriguing literary criminal trial in which you decide the outcome. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what is your verdict?

Download or read book The Guilty written by David Baldacci and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-17 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After failing a critical assignment overseas, Will Robie must investigate a murder accusation against his father--but to save him, he'll have to face a violent and deadly fallout in this New York Times bestselling thriller. Will Robie escaped his small Gulf Coast hometown of Cantrell, Mississippi after high school, severing all personal ties, and never looked back. Not until the unimaginable occurs. His father, Dan Robie, has been arrested and charged with murder. Father and son haven't spoken or seen each other since the day Robie left town. In that time, Dan Robie--a local attorney and pillar of the community--has been elected town judge. Despite this, most of Cantrell is aligned against Dan. His guilt is assumed. To make matters worse, Dan has refused to do anything to defend himself. When Robie tries to help, his father responds only with anger and defiance. Could Dan really be guilty? With the equally formidable Jessica Reel at his side, Robie ignores his father's wishes and begins his own desperate investigation into the case. But Robie is now a stranger to his hometown, an outsider, a man who has forsaken his past and his family. His attempts to save his father are met with distrust and skepticism...and violence. Unlike the missions Robie undertook in the service of his country, where his target was clearly defined, digging into his father's case only reveals more questions. Robie is drawn into the hidden underside of Cantrell, where he must face the unexpected and possibly deadly consequences of the long-ago choices made by father and son. And this time, there may be no escape for either of them.

Download or read book Guilt written by Jonathan Kellerman and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When he is consulted on a cold case involving the discovery of infant remains at a neglected Tudor mansion, psychologist Alex Delaware, tracing the long history of past residents, is led down a bloody path littered with unspeakable cruelty.

Download or read book Creatures of Habit written by Steve Poe and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beloved pastor Steve Poe helps Christians identify and break free from the destructive patterns that are keeping them from the joy-filled, flourishing life Jesus promised. We all have both good and bad habits in our life. Creatures of Habit reveals how to remove bad habits and replace them with godly ones. But it's not a matter of working hard, of "pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps." That approach simply doesn't work. True transformation is God's work--our job is to listen, obey, and put into practice what he's already directing us to do. Steve Poe has pastored large, growing churches for more than thirty-four years, and during that time he has counseled hundreds of people. He's seen that poor choices often become bad habits that in turn cause people a lot of problems. Hundreds of things can become a bad habit in our lives, but Poe focuses on the most common, among them: anger, lust, worry, cynicism, pride, self-centeredness, and greed. Each chapter provides insights, biblical examples, and tangible tools that will help you break the bad habits that can become spiritual strongholds in your life.

Download or read book Monster written by Walter Dean Myers and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-06 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This New York Times bestselling novel from acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Steve Harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial. Presented as a screenplay of Steve's own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives. Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story that was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist. Monster is now a major motion picture called All Rise and starring Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Nas, and A$AP Rocky. The late Walter Dean Myers was a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, who was known for his commitment to realistically depicting kids from his hometown of Harlem.

Download or read book Hoping for Happiness written by Barnabas Piper and published by The Good Book Company. This book was released on 2020-10-01 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyone wants to be happy, and we all pursue happiness in different ways. Some people are thrill-seekers; others are homebodies. Some people are loners; others love big families or communities. Some people express things creatively; others consume what is created. Some sing; others listen to music. Whatever we find happiness in, we are united by our desire for work that matters and relationships that fulfil. As Christians, we often fall into the trap of basing our hopes on earthly things, even when we know they only make us happy for a short time. But how are we to experience happiness in this life? How do we avoid expecting too much of earthly things and being disappointed, or expecting too little and becoming cynics? In this book, recovering cynic Barnabas Piper helps us to throw off both the unrealistic expectations that end in disappointment and the guilty sense that Christians are not meant to have fun. He shows how having a clear view of the reality of the fall and the promise of redemption frees us to live a life that's grounded, hopeful and genuinely happy.

Download or read book Presumption of Innocence in Peril written by Anthony Gray and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2017-11-08 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains the historical significance and introduction of the presumption of innocence into common law legal systems. It explains that the presumption should be seen as reflecting notions of moral comfort around judgment of others. Specifically, when one is asked to make a judgment about the guilt or otherwise of a person accused of wrongdoing, the default position should be to do nothing. This reflects the very serious consequences of what we do when we decide someone is guilty of wrongdoing and is not a step to be taken lightly. Traditionally, decision makers have only taken it when they are morally comfortable with that decision. It then documents how legislators in a range of common law jurisdictions have undermined the presumption of innocence, through measures such as reverse onus provisions, allowing or requiring inferences to be made against an accused, redefining offenses and defenses in novel ways to minimize the burden on the prosecutor, and by dressing proceedings as civil when they are in substance criminal. Courts have too easily acceded to such measures, in the process permitting accused persons to be convicted although there is reasonable doubt as to their guilt, and where they are not guilty of sufficiently blameworthy conduct to attract criminal sanction. It finds that the courts must be prepared to re-assert the prime importance of the presumption of innocence, only permitting criminal sanctions to be imposed where they are morally certain that the accused did that of which they have been accused, and morally comfortable that the conduct being addressed is worthy of the kind of criminal sanction which prosecutors seek to impose. Courts must be morally comfortable about the finding of guilt, and the imposition of the criminal penalty in a given case. They have lost sight of this moral underpinning to criminal law process and substance, and it must be regained.