Victims of a Broken System

Every year, dozens of falsely accused individuals are wrongfully convicted of crimes that they are completely innocent of. This ever-present issue within our justice system has plagued the lives of far too many victims, the majority of which are people of color and young men. One way to combat this injustice is through policy reform, and here at Let’s Dream, we strive to get our clubs to advocate for the much needed change within our courts.

Faulty Evidence

Looking through the records of those who were freed after spending years incarcerated, a pattern starts to emerge in each of their stories: much of the evidence used to convict these individuals shouldn’t have held up in court. Confessions were coerced, evidence was destroyed/planted, testimony was completely fabricated, and internal prejudice against people of color was the driving factor for most of these actions. Take the story of Kevin Bailey for example, he was charged with first degree murder of a young white woman at the age of 19. In 1989, he was arrested, along with a friend, for appearing “suspicious” to a police officer, and they were held in interrogation for 12 straight hours in grueling conditions. They were continuously threatened and faced physical and emotional coercion from the officers, their heinous actions only ceased whenever Bailey and his young friend confessed to the murder in order to get them to stop. The courts presented the confession reports during the trial, and the two men had contradicting stories and details that didn’t match up with the actual crime. Despite the fact that the pair’s confessions were obviously forced and inconsistent with many facts of the case, Bailey and his friend were found guilty and were each sentenced to 80 years in prison. Sentencing occurred in 1991, and it wasn’t until 28 years later when Bailey was found the be innocent due to new DNA evidence related to the 1989 murder case.

Gleam of Hope

Compared to the time period in which these people were wrongfully convicted, there are now many more organizations and individuals who are devoted to helping individuals that are in this type of situation. Groups like the Innocence Project and the Equal Justice Initiative are aimed at providing legal counsel and resources for these people, as well as stopping the disproportionate rate of young people of color who are incarcerated each year. In this modern age, we also have access to new forensic technology that wasn't available when many of the wrongfully accused were convicted. New DNA technology is responsible for exonerating dozens of people from their lengthy sentences, as well as from the death penalty. With this new technology, new resources available from various organizations, and the demand for justice for those convicted, there is hope that we will eventually cease placing innocent individuals in jail due to prejudices and faulty evidence. To help these causes, you can visit the websites of the organizations listed above, learn more about these types of issues, and advocate for change in our justice system through our Stance Against Racism campaign!