Archive for the ‘Evidence’ Category

Cold concrete.

Cold steel.

Cold food.

Cold hearts.

Finding a potato in the garbage. A decent meal, for a change.

Heating coffee, using a nail and a small length of bare copper wire.

Three shirts.

Three pairs of pants…too large.

Three pairs of threadbare socks.

Three pairs of threadbare boxer shorts…too small.

Washing clothes in toilet.

Neighbors—killers, rapists, robbers, thieves.

Gangs.

Noise. Lots of noise.

The same thing, day in and day out.

Ten minute phone calls.

Once a month visits.

Fights.

Always light.

Can’t sleep.

Menial job, filling napkin holders at 5am.

Toothache. See dentist in thirty days.

Sick. See doctor in two weeks.

Nothing to read.

Nothing to do.

Family. Will they wait?

Twenty years to go.

Twenty long years.

And you didn’t do it…

You didn’t do it…and no one believed you.

And no one cared, until now.

The state of North Carolina has taken the first step toward freeing innocent men and women who’ve been wrongly convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. And other states have begun following their lead.

In 2007, The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission began reviewing hundreds of claims. After the Commission reviews the cases, they submit them to a three-judge panel. On February 17, 2010, Gregory Taylor was the first person to be exonerated by this process. Taylor was declared innocent of a murder he did not commit and was freed after serving 17 years in prison.

In September of this year, the N.C. judges will hear another case, that of Kenneth Kagonyera who was sentenced to 15 years for murder. Kasonvera confessed to the crime, but claims he did so because the police simply “wore him down” with lengthy and repeated interrogations during the 13 months he sat in the county jail awaiting trial.

Massachusetts has also taken a step in the same direction, attempting to pass a bill allowing post-conviction DNA testing (currently, Massachusetts and Oklahoma are the only two states that forbid post-conviction DNA testing).

Six other states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — have established commissions. Texas wants to see the effects of innocence-related laws on eyewitness identification and the recording of interrogations and post-conviction DNA testing.

Florida has created a commission to examine the causes of wrongful convictions. They also want police to follow state-issued guidelines on photo and live suspect lineups.

Also…

- Johnny Pinchback became the 22nd person exonerated through DNA testing. He spent 27 years in a Texas prison for two rapes he didn’t commit.

- DNA testing excluded four Chicago men for a 1994 rape and murder. However, they were still convicted and imprisoned. DNA testing now points to another suspect. The men are asking to be freed and exonerated.

*Interestingly, 28 percent of exonerations involve people who pleaded guilty or made other false statements to police.

Daybreak.

The intercom crackles.

“Inmate U. Didntdoit. Roll ‘em up and report to R&D.”

But you were already awake.

Eyes wide open. Restless.

A thousand centipedes in your stomach.

Today’s the day.

You told them you didn’t do it!

Free at last!

Home.

Family.

Time to live again.

Sunshine.

Fresh, sweet air.

Vivid colors.

Trees.

Grass.

Cars.

Clothing that fits, and feels good against your skin.

Cash money.

A wallet.

Keys to hold.

People to talk to, about pleasant things.

Holding hands with loved ones.

A child’s hug.

Yes, free at last.

And it’s time to live again!

If only they’d believed you…

 *Roll ‘em up – place your belongings in the center of your mattress, roll it up, and bring it with you.

 *R&D – Receiving and discharge

 

 

In prehistoric times, when crime-solving technology was basic, almost non-existent, evidence-matching was a daunting task. Remember those days? You know, way back in the early 2000′s… Well, bullet-to-firearm matches were especially tough in those oh-so-distant times. Investigators first recovered spent ammunition, the bullet or bullet fragments and/or the part of the round that once contained the powder (cartridge). Then they set out on the mission of trying to match those bullet parts to the weapon that fired them.

Markings on the surface of a fired bullet – Larry Reynolds photo

Two fired cartridges – Larry Reynolds photo

To do so, they examined the recovered evidence for specific markings left behind by the firearm—lands and grooves left by the pattern inside the gun barrel, and firing pin and ejector marks left on the cartridge.

Then, investigators set out on the mind-numbing task of manually searching scores of image databases and other evidence comparison collections, hoping to locate a match to their piece of evidence. And it sometimes took forever and a day to find a match, if then.

Well, in 2003 a new star in the evidence-matching world was born…IBIS. The Integrated Ballistics Identification System. IBIS is totally automated, much like the AFIS and CODIS systems (fingerprint and DNA systems). Once IBIS hit the scene, investigators were able to enter an image into the system, starting a search of images from all databases AND from all current, on-going, and past crime scenes. And all this is done automatically, without having to paw through page after page of pictures.

But, it’s still not like you see on TV. There’s no moment where an image of a bullet pops up on a computer screen next to a picture of a suspect, complete with the thug’s address, phone number, and shoe size.

Investigators still must compare the items by hand and eye to determine that the two images, the image of the evidence and the database image, are indeed a match.