This case is a prime example of what is wrong with our judicial system. There are many more men and women in prison today for crimes they did not commit. A lot of people do not know their rights and that are abused by the police in order to close a case. They also don’t know how to get the help they need in order to fight being wrongfully convicted. Thankfully there are groups out there like the Innocence Project who are trying to right as many of these wrongs as they can. Police use their authority to coerce false confessions out of innocent people. Both men in the article said they were threatened, manipulated, and afraid and forced to sign a confession admitting to murders they did not commit. There was no further investigation into the murder of three people until one man came forward professing his innocence. This is the sad reality of our system and it needs to be corrected.
I agree with you. Many times people don't know their rights and with poor representation many times people are wrongfully convicted. This story is sad and shows that there is still work to do to make or Criminal Justice System better. I absolutely love the Innocence Project for all they do.
It is so wrong that many people are convicted or forced to confess to crimes that they did not commit. I know of a young man that got caught up with the wrong crowd, a double murder was committed and this 16 yr old boy was ultimately convicted of the crime. I believe that he is innocence , yes he did wrong by connecting with the young men after the fact and was caught driving the murdered victims car..............he got caught up in the lure of a shiny new car that the boys drove around him. When the boys ditched the car, the 16 yr old boy decided to take it for a spin and got caught driving the stolen vehicle. He was convicted of the double murder and is now serving life in prison...........that was 10 years ago. His mother is trying to get the Texas Wesleyan Innocence project. involved in his case to get his conviction overturned.
When I first heard about these guys I was a little iffy. We’ve been discussing in Forensic science the involving offenders were let go because they were thought to be innocent. The individuals were then caught later down the road being found guilty for the exact same crime as before. One can’t ever be too careful. After watching the video though I think I’m buying it. Seriously these guys are pretty humble. They don’t seem to be hardened criminals. I would never expect them to be ex-cons by looking at them. I think I’d be right back in prison after punching a possibly retired cop in the face. Really though it was Sharrif’s horrid mistake. This does help the capital punishment argument. It also goes to show youngster’s brains obviously do not develop at seventeen to eighteen. Kids usually will say anything to get desired results. I remember being that age, I probably would have done anything if I thought I could leave too. This story resembles everyone’s venture in trying to buy a new car. “Just sign here to say you agree and you can go”. Here is you’re brand new prison sentence. Thankfully these guys weren’t put to death. Hopefully they are being paid restitution and if not, this benevolent lawyer better get his civil lawsuit pants on. I’m just wondering how this original trial went down. Were these guys under aged? If one does the math Tony must have been seventeen or eighteen. How awful was the interrogator? This caliber of officer and prosecution makes me want to throw up. It strikes a little fear in me to know this is our justice system. Honestly what’s worse being killed or falsely accused by an entire nation and thrown in prison to rot? Hopefully this killer is found and if alive thrown in isolation for eternity. I really do pray these guys keep a sound mind. They should also start charging heavy fees for interviews and they should write a book. And hopefully they find an awesome job and follow God’s calling. Okay that is all.
This is one of the perfect examples of the mistakes that our Judicial system commits. These officers decide to interrogate these two teenagers in a very corrupt way. When people hear these type of stories, they really begin to doubt about our criminal justice system and how imperfect it can be. These teenagers were young and im almost sure that they didnt know their rights when it came to being interrogated and threatened by these corrupt police officers. Its very sad how there are so many cases out there in which individuals suffer and are accused of charges that they didnt commit. Our Criminal justice system should be more detailed when it comes to convictions, and reviewing cases over and over. Sometimes it seems that our system is more concerned about punishing people rather than getting deep into details of what really goes on in crime scenes.
This is so sad to see the lives of these men almost taken away from them. I'm sure that there are so many more sitting in jail just like them. It is sad that even with them doing the right thing and telling authorities, the tables turn and more innocent people are effected. People then wonder why no one wants to speak up about when a crime is committed. We as a society need to stop focusing so much on closing a case and more or doing it right as the field of criminal justice is not the only field guilty of this. I hope the system can find a way to at least try and make it right for those men and continue to free the innocent.
This case is a great example of how bad our system is. The officers decided that these two guys wear going to be guilty for this crime without even investigating more in depth and without giving the teenager’s time to fight for the truth. These two Brooklyn guys are part of the huge number of other men and women in prison today, who are in there for a crime they did not commit. It is terrible to know and see the stuff people in the criminal justice field do to close a case. Not only do officers take advantage of their authority, but sometimes even judges think it is okay to force someone to sign a false confession. I know it will never be possible to have a perfect system, but I hope one day we can reduce the number of innocent people who are put in jail. I hope and pray to god that these two guys find a way to start a new life full of happiness. I also think it will be very interesting to find out who is really guilty for this crime. Finding the criminal will be a great way to help the family members of the victims fine the answers to the many questions they might have in mind.
It is unfair that innocent people get thrown in jail but so many criminals that are truly guilty are still on the streets. I'm glad that programs, such as the innocence project, are helping those people who are put in jail for a crime they did not commit. The system is not perfect and I know that this happens a lot but we must prevent this from continuing. Sharrif and Antonio were blamed for these murders but who was the real assassin? They took 21 years of their life away so I hope that these men got a fair reward after being let out of jail. Even though nothing can really compare to those years they missed out on.
Like many have stated before me, this is just further proof that there are hole in out criminal justice system. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of innocent people in jails is well into the thousands. It is somewhat of a feel good story but to think of the struggle these people will have to endure in the next stage of their life is sad. Many of these people that eventually set free will no doubt have to make huge adjustments in society. And to think it was all because he was apart of a rushed case that most likely wasn't thoroughly done. Maybe someday we can get it right.
It’s a shame that these two men had to spend two decades in prison over a crime which they did not commit. Though the technology in investigations has come a long way into solving crime; such as the use of DNA in this case which proved that Antonio and Sharrif were wrongfully charged of this crime. Also there is still a long way to go into improving the criminal justice system. Although no one can compensate for all those years they spent in prison it better to be released late than not at all.
This really is a great example of the faults we have in our judicial system. There being no one to turn to really when being harassed by investigators and such followed by sitting and like he said rotting in jail for a crime they didn't commit had to be rather difficult to overcome. The investigators had to have already had there mind up that these two men were guilty of there case. For Antonio knowing that his intermediate family was no longer with him, I dont see how he had the strength to keep fighting but it sure payed off. Its sad that there is still to this day cases that are very similar with our judicial system not doing there jobs properly and this is around 21 years later. Its sad that theres very possibly so many innocent people spending there life in jail while there are people on the street repeatedly committing crimes and continuing with there freedom. Like someone said above, because these men have spend a fair amount of life in prison, hopefully they can get a good reward in return.
People are convicted of crimes they didn't do all the time. If this keeps happening we obviously need to go over the scene and the evidence over and over like they are supposed to do anyways. To be locked up for over two decades for something that you didn't do has to be hell. Sitting in there and KNOWING the truth and not being able to do anything but hope and pray that they figure all this out. Then getting out and still not knowing who killed your kin must be sickening, and I feel for that guy. It must be rough.
Not only has innovation in technology continued to surface but look at the criminal justice system over the past 10 years, and what has all changed with that. Today there are more laws to help keep innocent people out of situation such as these. Police and investigators who knowingly falsify evidence, for what ever reason, are the ones that have to live with this and if they are still alive will witness their "errors" surface. I do feel for those people who are wrongfully convicted and basically lose their life due to careless errors on behalf of the justice system, then and now, technology and humans are not error proof. But the cost of these errors are not replaceable. Neither money nor object can give over 2 decades back. This is why I feel I want to be a criminal justice major, so I can make sure that my evidence is hard evidence.
I'm really loving everyone's responses (both on the blog and around the interwebs). My two cents is just about on par with everybody else's on this one. Yes, the justice system is flawed, and there are bad apples that can really damage the reputation of the system as a whole. The thing to remember is to always be scientific about your assertions, and to not make judgments on the few that get attention. Dig deeper and find out as much as you can about what is going on before you form a conclusion. I was with Taylor on this about being "iffy" at first simply because it is really easy to blame the police because people always want to think that the system is a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, it can be, but abuse of the law like that I wouldn't imagine happens all that often. That said, within the context of the "drug-plagued 1980s and 1990s", like the article said, I would imagine it happened a lot more often because law enforcement was really cracking down on drug users. However, when it came to light that DNA from the murder matched DNA from a crime that happened years later while the boys were in prison, I have to admit that the case of their innocence was getting stronger in my mind. However, it does not definitively prove their innocence. It has the potential to be an elaborate plot to get them out of prison (which is highly unlikely, but still possible), or even a wild coincidence of the DNA matching up because it wasn't mentioned what type of DNA was found. Was it DNA from hair? Skin? Blood? Fecal Matter? Semen? Saliva? What was the murder weapon? Was it found? If so, was there DNA or fingerprints on it? These questions are important to the case of their innocence and could even help pinpoint who the real killer was. I'm still not ruling the men out of being the murderers, but I would also say that they also do not have enough against them to be put in prison.
This is so very sad, I believe this happens to people all the time. They are convicted for crimes they didn’t do. That is probably the worst, being locked up for over two decades for something that you didn't do. If I was in jail for two decades, I would have found a better lawyer and told him that I really wasn’t the one that committed the crime to see if he could do anything more about it. There are probably so many people in jail for this it is crazy. His case was probably like a speedy one and they didn’t even investigate it thoroughly. Hopefully the court system and investigators will step it up in the future. Also hopefully these men get taken care of and get their lives on a straight path.
This is a prime example of a major issue withing our criminal justice system. When a situation as serious and scary as this occurs people are willing to say anything to stay out of trouble. Thats where these false confessions im sure have happened time and time again just so they can put someone away and call it case closed. When realistically trials such as these do and will take years with the correct evidence to convict someone of the crime. But with so many crimes and trials our justice systems see that its cheaper to have a false confession then pay and drag out the trial for the real answers.
This is a great example of how bad our CRJ system is. That we would lie to somebody telling them they would go free if they tell us what happened and when they tell us the truth we lock them up even if they didn't commit the crime just. The ruling of that case changes those guys future forever. Now they may not even be able to get a good job because they were convicted of a crime they didn't commit.
It is extremely unfortunate that these two Yarbough brothers spent years in prison for a crime they did not commit, according to later discoveries of DNA evidence. It was the early 90s when the two boys were convicted of the triple murder. In that decade, testimonial evidence and obvious physical evidence were primarily the only evidence the justice system relied on. Police and prosecutor misconduct may have been overlooked because of the 'suspects'' confessions to the murders. When put under pressure, or being accused over and over for long periods of hours, one will crack and make themselves believe he/she in fact, performed the acts they are being accused of. One might also falsely testify out of frustration and impotency. Because these two boys later admitted to falsely testifying, they both lost credibility. If a teen is detained and told that he, in this case, will go home once he tells the 'truth', he will make any good story up in hopes of going home.
It's hard to put faith in a system that puts innocent people away. It just goes to show that no one person's words can be enough (at least in my opinion) to convict a person even if it is in the form of a confession. I believe the reason are imprisoned wrongfully is in the way that the victims, witnesses and accused are being questioned. Obviously the prosecutors or officers in charge of the investigation and who did the question did not do so in a proper manner, but i believe that there have been large improvements in the psychological and social aspects of the criminal justice system in order to perform such actions in a more efficient way. Knowing how to talk, understand and analyze people is important when trying to understand their motives (if any) and when trying to determine if a person is telling the truth. Fortunately in todays day and age we have technology that can help law enforcement officials in determining the truth behind what people say. Hopefully, this means less cases like the one involving these two guys will not occur anymore.
Even though this was a sad occurrence and these boys spent time in the prison system due to circumstantial evidence it does happen and way too often. Our criminal justice system is a lot of things but reliable is not one of them. We see witnesses confess to seeing a crime and yet they did it for some other reason than the truth because later on we find out that the witnesses had been coerced or just lied to stay out of trouble themselves. That is why the introduction of DNA evidence proved to be so helpful in getting a rightful conviction that would stick. I know that with anything even this can have little quirks that have to be worked out but then we look upon the fact that we are further now than we were 10 years ago even. We are now able to fix some of the wrongs that were brought about with looking at hard facts. This does not make them spending time in prison for the big part of their teenage lives ok but it does show that we are making a real effort to go forward and not just stay put without making any effort for productive change.
In the story it says that Antonio Yarbough and Sharriff Wilson were both convicted of murdering his Antonio’s mother, sister and cousin back in 1992. Sharrif Wilson, he said that he felt pressure into putting the making a false confession towards his friend Antonio Yarbough, and the whole case they were both being tried for triple murders. They were both in prison for nearly 21, years and Antonio says that he has no animosity towards his friend Sharriff, because he knows that he didn’t have anything to do with the death of his family members. That case still remains unsolved till this very day. In fact, Wilson mention that back in 2005 he had admitted that he had falsely confessed and implicated Yarbough in the crimes. The District Attorney began reviewing the case five years later. Testing last year connected DNA found under Yarbough's mother's fingernails to another murder in 1999, which the duo could not have committed because of their rock solid "rotting away in prison for a crime we didn't commit at the time. It also goes along to say that around 44% of juveniles provided a false confession, and compared to the 13 % of adults incarcerated.
Blog 2 Since 1989, 312 people in 36 states have been exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing, of those 48 in the state of Texas and 43 in Illinois and New York rounding out the top three with 27 according to the Innocence Project. In England Sir Alec Jeffreys developed the first DNA profiling test in 1984. In 1985 DNA was used for the first time solve a crime. Through DNA profiling was Colin Pitchfork was identified as the murderer of two young girls. As well as, in the course of the investigation, DNA also was first used to exonerate an innocent suspect Richard Buckland a 17 year old with learning disabilities who also confessed as did Wilson in the triple murder case. DNA technology is relatively new and society is just now beginning benefit from its use. There have been 312 falsely accused released since its inception, and probably countless others eliminated from suspicion and saved from the fate of 312. My question is how did and does this happen. Are we as a society searching for justice and truth or is the goal to punish someone anyone to make us feel safe. Twenty five percent of wrongful convictions are due to false confessions forced by overzealous police officers and detectives who are eager to close a case. Although 312 seems like a relatively small number what if you a loved was in that 312. How many will never be exonerated who have served terms and been released or have died while incarcerated?
This is a tough case to analyze; especially in regards to its time frame. With this case taking place in the 90’s, and scientific methods emerging new forms of evidence, science was still a stranger to detective work. In context previously discussed, Antonio Yarbough and Sharrif Wilson, the two men falsely prosecuted, were victims of their decade’s unorthodox use of Biology. That is what captured my train of thought, the big picture, so many falsely accused and convicted due to lack of proper evidence. There will always be corrupt officers in the United States, and what better time to falsely strong arm an individual than in a decade limited to proof by science. Now living in a modern day, science has evolved in every aspect of our life. It is heavily depended on by the criminal justice system. With the resurfacing of Yarbough and Wilson’s case in modern time, science has easily proved them innocent. This case alone should bring reform in our criminal justice system in regards to interrogation methods.
Exonerated for triple murder after decades in Prison (a ripple murder) That why (DNA) is so important, they were just scared young teens who just found their mother, sister and cousin dead in blood. And convinced of this doing hard time and by the way they never did find who did it. The leads to a second crime it make me want to listen to the evidence, check into the (DNA) evidence. They look very different now, their life has changed they were already in jail when this happen, the evidence speck for its self they didn’t look at. Yarbrough’s 75 years to life in prison which he was 17 or 18 of age he was already doing time. Wilson was in jail to at the age of 14or 15 the deal was nine years to life sentence. Today (DNA) is so importing, it’s the people that have that care in their heart, to take the second look at the evidence. What they went though there no amount can bring your mother, sister and cousin to find them all in blood. Wilson who confession at the age 15 gets that much time? With promises to it was a deal done. Restore justice to the wrongfully convicted.
Like many other have said already, this case is a perfect example on how unstable our justice system is. We see people wrongly incarcerated ALL of the time, but when the truth is finally found out, and the accused person(s) is set free, there is nothing the Justice System as a whole can do about taking away so many years of someone's life. Which brings me to my next concern, a substantial amount of evidence to make a conviction. So may times, including this case, there is simply not enough evidence to put someone away for a crime. There are so many innocent people who are wrongly convicted of a crime, due to lack of evidence and the fact that they just want to put someone away for a crime. The guilty verdict, in this case, changes the lives of the two men forever.
Ultimately this story highlights the good and the bad of our justice system(mostly bad). The majority if guilty convictions come from confessions and it is scary to think about how many of those could be false confessions. It is terrible that these been were manipulated into false confessions and it breaks my heart that they were accused of such crimes especially because the victims were family. I can't help but feel that the original police working this case must feel embarrassed that they imprisoned innocent men. At least I know that I would be embarrassed and if you are a police officer and you aren't upset with a false conviction then you have no business being apart of the justice system. It is terrible that this happened but with any system it is impossible for it to be perfect. However, if we don't aim for perfection that we will never truly achieve the highest level of justice. I am very glad that these men were exonerated and I hope that they can find piece and learn forgive our justice system that failed them.
I hope that there will be a investigation about the defense this man got and the prosecution's conduct in the case. This was obviously a case the police wanted solved fast and they had their guilty party. At least that's what they thought. Not investigative work was done. Shame on them. It is too bad that the people responsible for his time in jail will walk free without facing any jail time themselves.
That is just crazy. If i was in prison for 21 years I would madder than anything if they released me. He is a lucky man to have good attorneys that believed his side of the case and to get new DNA evidence bought up. But we do have to think that that man could have learned stuff in prison that will hurt him in everyday life. It is very different from being a prisoner to being a free man. I just hope that he will be able to make the necessary adjustments. When looking at the video you can tell that he must be a religious man for not holding that much anger towards the whole system.
Innocent people are getting convicted over things they did not do all the time, it is happening less and less but still happens. The government has many faults but they should be much more careful in getting the guilty and not putting the innocent behind bars. It is obvious that the people who had this case were in a hurry and just wanted to punish anyone for the wrong that had been done.
This case is a prime example of what is wrong with our judicial system. There are many more men and women in prison today for crimes they did not commit. A lot of people do not know their rights and that are abused by the police in order to close a case. They also don’t know how to get the help they need in order to fight being wrongfully convicted. Thankfully there are groups out there like the Innocence Project who are trying to right as many of these wrongs as they can. Police use their authority to coerce false confessions out of innocent people. Both men in the article said they were threatened, manipulated, and afraid and forced to sign a confession admitting to murders they did not commit. There was no further investigation into the murder of three people until one man came forward professing his innocence. This is the sad reality of our system and it needs to be corrected.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Many times people don't know their rights and with poor representation many times people are wrongfully convicted. This story is sad and shows that there is still work to do to make or Criminal Justice System better. I absolutely love the Innocence Project for all they do.
DeleteIt is so wrong that many people are convicted or forced to confess to crimes that they did not commit. I know of a young man that got caught up with the wrong crowd, a double murder was committed and this 16 yr old boy was ultimately convicted of the crime. I believe that he is innocence , yes he did wrong by connecting with the young men after the fact and was caught driving the murdered victims car..............he got caught up in the lure of a shiny new car that the boys drove around him. When the boys ditched the car, the 16 yr old boy decided to take it for a spin and got caught driving the stolen vehicle. He was convicted of the double murder and is now serving life in prison...........that was 10 years ago. His mother is trying to get the Texas Wesleyan Innocence project. involved in his case to get his conviction overturned.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about these guys I was a little iffy. We’ve been discussing in Forensic science the involving offenders were let go because they were thought to be innocent. The individuals were then caught later down the road being found guilty for the exact same crime as before. One can’t ever be too careful. After watching the video though I think I’m buying it. Seriously these guys are pretty humble. They don’t seem to be hardened criminals. I would never expect them to be ex-cons by looking at them. I think I’d be right back in prison after punching a possibly retired cop in the face. Really though it was Sharrif’s horrid mistake. This does help the capital punishment argument. It also goes to show youngster’s brains obviously do not develop at seventeen to eighteen. Kids usually will say anything to get desired results. I remember being that age, I probably would have done anything if I thought I could leave too. This story resembles everyone’s venture in trying to buy a new car. “Just sign here to say you agree and you can go”. Here is you’re brand new prison sentence. Thankfully these guys weren’t put to death. Hopefully they are being paid restitution and if not, this benevolent lawyer better get his civil lawsuit pants on. I’m just wondering how this original trial went down. Were these guys under aged? If one does the math Tony must have been seventeen or eighteen. How awful was the interrogator? This caliber of officer and prosecution makes me want to throw up. It strikes a little fear in me to know this is our justice system. Honestly what’s worse being killed or falsely accused by an entire nation and thrown in prison to rot? Hopefully this killer is found and if alive thrown in isolation for eternity. I really do pray these guys keep a sound mind. They should also start charging heavy fees for interviews and they should write a book. And hopefully they find an awesome job and follow God’s calling. Okay that is all.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the perfect examples of the mistakes that our Judicial system commits. These officers decide to interrogate these two teenagers in a very corrupt way. When people hear these type of stories, they really begin to doubt about our criminal justice system and how imperfect it can be. These teenagers were young and im almost sure that they didnt know their rights when it came to being interrogated and threatened by these corrupt police officers. Its very sad how there are so many cases out there in which individuals suffer and are accused of charges that they didnt commit. Our Criminal justice system should be more detailed when it comes to convictions, and reviewing cases over and over. Sometimes it seems that our system is more concerned about punishing people rather than getting deep into details of what really goes on in crime scenes.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad to see the lives of these men almost taken away from them. I'm sure that there are so many more sitting in jail just like them. It is sad that even with them doing the right thing and telling authorities, the tables turn and more innocent people are effected. People then wonder why no one wants to speak up about when a crime is committed. We as a society need to stop focusing so much on closing a case and more or doing it right as the field of criminal justice is not the only field guilty of this. I hope the system can find a way to at least try and make it right for those men and continue to free the innocent.
ReplyDeleteThis case is a great example of how bad our system is. The officers decided that these two guys wear going to be guilty for this crime without even investigating more in depth and without giving the teenager’s time to fight for the truth. These two Brooklyn guys are part of the huge number of other men and women in prison today, who are in there for a crime they did not commit. It is terrible to know and see the stuff people in the criminal justice field do to close a case. Not only do officers take advantage of their authority, but sometimes even judges think it is okay to force someone to sign a false confession. I know it will never be possible to have a perfect system, but I hope one day we can reduce the number of innocent people who are put in jail. I hope and pray to god that these two guys find a way to start a new life full of happiness. I also think it will be very interesting to find out who is really guilty for this crime. Finding the criminal will be a great way to help the family members of the victims fine the answers to the many questions they might have in mind.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfair that innocent people get thrown in jail but so many criminals that are truly guilty are still on the streets. I'm glad that programs, such as the innocence project, are helping those people who are put in jail for a crime they did not commit. The system is not perfect and I know that this happens a lot but we must prevent this from continuing. Sharrif and Antonio were blamed for these murders but who was the real assassin? They took 21 years of their life away so I hope that these men got a fair reward after being let out of jail. Even though nothing can really compare to those years they missed out on.
ReplyDeleteLike many have stated before me, this is just further proof that there are hole in out criminal justice system. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of innocent people in jails is well into the thousands. It is somewhat of a feel good story but to think of the struggle these people will have to endure in the next stage of their life is sad. Many of these people that eventually set free will no doubt have to make huge adjustments in society. And to think it was all because he was apart of a rushed case that most likely wasn't thoroughly done. Maybe someday we can get it right.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a shame that these two men had to spend two decades in prison over a crime which they did not commit. Though the technology in investigations has come a long way into solving crime; such as the use of DNA in this case which proved that Antonio and Sharrif were wrongfully charged of this crime. Also there is still a long way to go into improving the criminal justice system. Although no one can compensate for all those years they spent in prison it better to be released late than not at all.
ReplyDeleteThis really is a great example of the faults we have in our judicial system. There being no one to turn to really when being harassed by investigators and such followed by sitting and like he said rotting in jail for a crime they didn't commit had to be rather difficult to overcome. The investigators had to have already had there mind up that these two men were guilty of there case. For Antonio knowing that his intermediate family was no longer with him, I dont see how he had the strength to keep fighting but it sure payed off. Its sad that there is still to this day cases that are very similar with our judicial system not doing there jobs properly and this is around 21 years later. Its sad that theres very possibly so many innocent people spending there life in jail while there are people on the street repeatedly committing crimes and continuing with there freedom. Like someone said above, because these men have spend a fair amount of life in prison, hopefully they can get a good reward in return.
ReplyDeletePeople are convicted of crimes they didn't do all the time. If this keeps happening we obviously need to go over the scene and the evidence over and over like they are supposed to do anyways. To be locked up for over two decades for something that you didn't do has to be hell. Sitting in there and KNOWING the truth and not being able to do anything but hope and pray that they figure all this out. Then getting out and still not knowing who killed your kin must be sickening, and I feel for that guy. It must be rough.
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ReplyDeleteNot only has innovation in technology continued to surface but look at the criminal justice system over the past 10 years, and what has all changed with that. Today there are more laws to help keep innocent people out of situation such as these. Police and investigators who knowingly falsify evidence, for what ever reason, are the ones that have to live with this and if they are still alive will witness their "errors" surface.
ReplyDeleteI do feel for those people who are wrongfully convicted and basically lose their life due to careless errors on behalf of the justice system, then and now, technology and humans are not error proof. But the cost of these errors are not replaceable. Neither money nor object can give over 2 decades back.
This is why I feel I want to be a criminal justice major, so I can make sure that my evidence is hard evidence.
I'm really loving everyone's responses (both on the blog and around the interwebs). My two cents is just about on par with everybody else's on this one. Yes, the justice system is flawed, and there are bad apples that can really damage the reputation of the system as a whole. The thing to remember is to always be scientific about your assertions, and to not make judgments on the few that get attention. Dig deeper and find out as much as you can about what is going on before you form a conclusion. I was with Taylor on this about being "iffy" at first simply because it is really easy to blame the police because people always want to think that the system is a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, it can be, but abuse of the law like that I wouldn't imagine happens all that often. That said, within the context of the "drug-plagued 1980s and 1990s", like the article said, I would imagine it happened a lot more often because law enforcement was really cracking down on drug users. However, when it came to light that DNA from the murder matched DNA from a crime that happened years later while the boys were in prison, I have to admit that the case of their innocence was getting stronger in my mind. However, it does not definitively prove their innocence. It has the potential to be an elaborate plot to get them out of prison (which is highly unlikely, but still possible), or even a wild coincidence of the DNA matching up because it wasn't mentioned what type of DNA was found. Was it DNA from hair? Skin? Blood? Fecal Matter? Semen? Saliva? What was the murder weapon? Was it found? If so, was there DNA or fingerprints on it? These questions are important to the case of their innocence and could even help pinpoint who the real killer was. I'm still not ruling the men out of being the murderers, but I would also say that they also do not have enough against them to be put in prison.
ReplyDeleteThis is so very sad, I believe this happens to people all the time. They are convicted for crimes they didn’t do. That is probably the worst, being locked up for over two decades for something that you didn't do. If I was in jail for two decades, I would have found a better lawyer and told him that I really wasn’t the one that committed the crime to see if he could do anything more about it. There are probably so many people in jail for this it is crazy. His case was probably like a speedy one and they didn’t even investigate it thoroughly. Hopefully the court system and investigators will step it up in the future. Also hopefully these men get taken care of and get their lives on a straight path.
ReplyDeleteThis is a prime example of a major issue withing our criminal justice system. When a situation as serious and scary as this occurs people are willing to say anything to stay out of trouble. Thats where these false confessions im sure have happened time and time again just so they can put someone away and call it case closed. When realistically trials such as these do and will take years with the correct evidence to convict someone of the crime. But with so many crimes and trials our justice systems see that its cheaper to have a false confession then pay and drag out the trial for the real answers.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of how bad our CRJ system is. That we would lie to somebody telling them they would go free if they tell us what happened and when they tell us the truth we lock them up even if they didn't commit the crime just. The ruling of that case changes those guys future forever. Now they may not even be able to get a good job because they were convicted of a crime they didn't commit.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely unfortunate that these two Yarbough brothers spent years in prison for a crime they did not commit, according to later discoveries of DNA evidence.
ReplyDeleteIt was the early 90s when the two boys were convicted of the triple murder. In that decade, testimonial evidence and obvious physical evidence were primarily the only evidence the justice system relied on. Police and prosecutor misconduct may have been overlooked because of the 'suspects'' confessions to the murders.
When put under pressure, or being accused over and over for long periods of hours, one will crack and make themselves believe he/she in fact, performed the acts they are being accused of. One might also falsely testify out of frustration and impotency. Because these two boys later admitted to falsely testifying, they both lost credibility. If a teen is detained and told that he, in this case, will go home once he tells the 'truth', he will make any good story up in hopes of going home.
It's hard to put faith in a system that puts innocent people away. It just goes to show that no one person's words can be enough (at least in my opinion) to convict a person even if it is in the form of a confession. I believe the reason are imprisoned wrongfully is in the way that the victims, witnesses and accused are being questioned. Obviously the prosecutors or officers in charge of the investigation and who did the question did not do so in a proper manner, but i believe that there have been large improvements in the psychological and social aspects of the criminal justice system in order to perform such actions in a more efficient way. Knowing how to talk, understand and analyze people is important when trying to understand their motives (if any) and when trying to determine if a person is telling the truth. Fortunately in todays day and age we have technology that can help law enforcement officials in determining the truth behind what people say. Hopefully, this means less cases like the one involving these two guys will not occur anymore.
ReplyDeleteEven though this was a sad occurrence and these boys spent time in the prison system due to circumstantial evidence it does happen and way too often. Our criminal justice system is a lot of things but reliable is not one of them. We see witnesses confess to seeing a crime and yet they did it for some other reason than the truth because later on we find out that the witnesses had been coerced or just lied to stay out of trouble themselves. That is why the introduction of DNA evidence proved to be so helpful in getting a rightful conviction that would stick. I know that with anything even this can have little quirks that have to be worked out but then we look upon the fact that we are further now than we were 10 years ago even. We are now able to fix some of the wrongs that were brought about with looking at hard facts. This does not make them spending time in prison for the big part of their teenage lives ok but it does show that we are making a real effort to go forward and not just stay put without making any effort for productive change.
ReplyDeleteIn the story it says that Antonio Yarbough and Sharriff Wilson were both convicted of murdering his Antonio’s mother, sister and cousin back in 1992. Sharrif Wilson, he said that he felt pressure into putting the making a false confession towards his friend Antonio Yarbough, and the whole case they were both being tried for triple murders. They were both in prison for nearly 21, years and Antonio says that he has no animosity towards his friend Sharriff, because he knows that he didn’t have anything to do with the death of his family members. That case still remains unsolved till this very day. In fact, Wilson mention that back in 2005 he had admitted that he had falsely confessed and implicated Yarbough in the crimes. The District Attorney began reviewing the case five years later. Testing last year connected DNA found under Yarbough's mother's fingernails to another murder in 1999, which the duo could not have committed because of their rock solid "rotting away in prison for a crime we didn't commit at the time. It also goes along to say that around 44% of juveniles provided a false confession, and compared to the 13 % of adults incarcerated.
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ReplyDeleteSince 1989, 312 people in 36 states have been exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing, of those 48 in the state of Texas and 43 in Illinois and New York rounding out the top three with 27 according to the Innocence Project. In England Sir Alec Jeffreys developed the first DNA profiling test in 1984. In 1985 DNA was used for the first time solve a crime. Through DNA profiling was Colin Pitchfork was identified as the murderer of two young girls. As well as, in the course of the investigation, DNA also was first used to exonerate an innocent suspect Richard Buckland a 17 year old with learning disabilities who also confessed as did Wilson in the triple murder case. DNA technology is relatively new and society is just now beginning benefit from its use. There have been 312 falsely accused released since its inception, and probably countless others eliminated from suspicion and saved from the fate of 312. My question is how did and does this happen. Are we as a society searching for justice and truth or is the goal to punish someone anyone to make us feel safe. Twenty five percent of wrongful convictions are due to false confessions forced by overzealous police officers and detectives who are eager to close a case. Although 312 seems like a relatively small number what if you a loved was in that 312. How many will never be exonerated who have served terms and been released or have died while incarcerated?
This is a tough case to analyze; especially in regards to its time frame. With this case taking place in the 90’s, and scientific methods emerging new forms of evidence, science was still a stranger to detective work. In context previously discussed, Antonio Yarbough and Sharrif Wilson, the two men falsely prosecuted, were victims of their decade’s unorthodox use of Biology. That is what captured my train of thought, the big picture, so many falsely accused and convicted due to lack of proper evidence. There will always be corrupt officers in the United States, and what better time to falsely strong arm an individual than in a decade limited to proof by science. Now living in a modern day, science has evolved in every aspect of our life. It is heavily depended on by the criminal justice system. With the resurfacing of Yarbough and Wilson’s case in modern time, science has easily proved them innocent. This case alone should bring reform in our criminal justice system in regards to interrogation methods.
ReplyDeleteJoyce Shelby
ReplyDeleteExonerated for triple murder after decades in Prison (a ripple murder)
That why (DNA) is so important, they were just scared young teens who just found their mother, sister and cousin dead in blood. And convinced of this doing hard time and by the way they never did find who did it. The leads to a second crime it make me want to listen to the evidence, check into the (DNA) evidence.
They look very different now, their life has changed they were already in jail when this happen, the evidence speck for its self they didn’t look at. Yarbrough’s 75 years to life in prison which he was 17 or 18 of age he was already doing time. Wilson was in jail to at the age of 14or 15 the deal was nine years to life sentence.
Today (DNA) is so importing, it’s the people that have that care in their heart, to take the second look at the evidence. What they went though there no amount can bring your mother, sister and cousin to find them all in blood. Wilson who confession at the age 15 gets that much time? With promises to it was a deal done. Restore justice to the wrongfully convicted.
Like many other have said already, this case is a perfect example on how unstable our justice system is. We see people wrongly incarcerated ALL of the time, but when the truth is finally found out, and the accused person(s) is set free, there is nothing the Justice System as a whole can do about taking away so many years of someone's life. Which brings me to my next concern, a substantial amount of evidence to make a conviction. So may times, including this case, there is simply not enough evidence to put someone away for a crime. There are so many innocent people who are wrongly convicted of a crime, due to lack of evidence and the fact that they just want to put someone away for a crime. The guilty verdict, in this case, changes the lives of the two men forever.
ReplyDeleteUltimately this story highlights the good and the bad of our justice system(mostly bad). The majority if guilty convictions come from confessions and it is scary to think about how many of those could be false confessions. It is terrible that these been were manipulated into false confessions and it breaks my heart that they were accused of such crimes especially because the victims were family. I can't help but feel that the original police working this case must feel embarrassed that they imprisoned innocent men. At least I know that I would be embarrassed and if you are a police officer and you aren't upset with a false conviction then you have no business being apart of the justice system. It is terrible that this happened but with any system it is impossible for it to be perfect. However, if we don't aim for perfection that we will never truly achieve the highest level of justice. I am very glad that these men were exonerated and I hope that they can find piece and learn forgive our justice system that failed them.
ReplyDeleteI hope that there will be a investigation about the defense this man got and the prosecution's conduct in the case. This was obviously a case the police wanted solved fast and they had their guilty party. At least that's what they thought. Not investigative work was done. Shame on them. It is too bad that the people responsible for his time in jail will walk free without facing any jail time themselves.
ReplyDeleteThat is just crazy. If i was in prison for 21 years I would madder than anything if they released me. He is a lucky man to have good attorneys that believed his side of the case and to get new DNA evidence bought up. But we do have to think that that man could have learned stuff in prison that will hurt him in everyday life. It is very different from being a prisoner to being a free man. I just hope that he will be able to make the necessary adjustments. When looking at the video you can tell that he must be a religious man for not holding that much anger towards the whole system.
ReplyDeleteInnocent people are getting convicted over things they did not do all the time, it is happening less and less but still happens. The government has many faults but they should be much more careful in getting the guilty and not putting the innocent behind bars. It is obvious that the people who had this case were in a hurry and just wanted to punish anyone for the wrong that had been done.
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