The United States seems to love putting people in jail. We have one of the highest number of inmates of any country in the world. This isn’t to say that the majority of people in prison didn’t commit crimes, but even that does not justify the staggering amount of innocent people who are wrongfully convicted.
A survey that spoke with 188 judges, prosecuting attorneys, public defenders, sheriffs, and police revealed that approximately 10,000 people in the United States have likely been wrongfully convicted of a serious crime every year. Considering that up to 100,000 people over the span of a decade may be rotting away in prison for crimes they did not commit, there must be something wrong with the system.
It has been found that about 52.3% of all cases of wrongful conviction were a direct result of eyewitness misidentification. The criminal justice system seems to put a lot of faith into eyewitness testimony, even though there is no way to guarantee the testimony as fact — the direct purpose of court cases.
Unfortunately, the only way to make an eyewitness misidentification evident, is to somehow prove your innocence to the court. In order to combat these instances, finding out how to choose an attorney who can act as a criminal defense lawyer to handle your case, may be your only chance at staying out of prison. However, after a defendant has been “identified” by an eyewitness, the vast majority will never get the opportunity to find an attorney to prove their innocence.
After simple misidentification, the next most common cause of wrongful conviction cases — 11% –, is perjury by the witnesses. When there is the possibility of a defendant being framed by fake witness testimony, finding out how to choose an attorney at law who can build an effective case could be the only thing standing between them and a jail cell.
In a country who seems to rule by fear, proving yourself innocent over eyewitness testimony may be more difficult than actually breaking out of prison. The best chance anyone has in avoiding wrongful conviction is to research “what is a criminal defense lawyer,” and what can they do to guide you through the process? Simply go online to find out how to choose an attorney that could keep you out of a jail cell, and in the comfort of your own home.
