James Richardson's Innocence

Innocence is is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence refers to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. Being convicted of a crime and found not guilty later on can frustrate the convict and the convict’s family as the time spent behind bars, is time they will never get back.

James Richardson was convicted and charged for murder and rape in Cross Lanes, West Virginia on May 18, 1989. First, Richardson noticed the neighbor’s house burning. He then ran and kicked down the door and rescued a 3 year old girl, and then called the police.The girl’s mother was found inside. She seemed to have been raped and beaten to death (Gzedit). This shows how Richardson became a suspect, since he was at the scene at when the police arrived. Next, Richardson suspects that Fred hid the evidence. Richardson alleges they hid evidence of Zains Faked crime lab tests and false trial testimony four years before others uncovered the lie (Messina, Lawrence). This helps back up the information on Richardson’s case.

First, the victim was taken to a hospital for a rape examination and her clothing and bedspread were collected as evidence. The laboratory found sperm evidence in the rape kit, on the victim’s jumpsuit, and on a blanket, which matched Good’s blood type and one-third of the caucasian male population (Haynes: Circuit judge). This shows that there was evidence but not enough evidence to say it was Donald Good. Next, Good was convicted on the spot. Good spent more than seven years in jail for rape and murder has been exonerated because of a tainted testimony from a former State Police chemist. This shows that evidence is an important role in pleading someone guilty. When you convict someone of a crime, make sure you know the evidence and information on the case before sentencing