Court Case Of Sedrick Courtney In The United States

In the United States 1,625 cases has been wrongfully convicted, for crimes they haven’t done nor have any connections to it. Sedrick Courtney’s is a prime example of wrongfully convicted people. The Case of Sedrick Courtney is form to show how our criminal justice system is corrupt.

Sedrick Courtney was wrongfully convicted for the robbery on Shemita Greer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He spent 15 years of his life because of the eye-witness misidentification of Shemita Greer. “Sedrick Courtney is a 23 year old man wrongfully convicted and spent 15 years in jail” (Innocence Project). This shows how many years he has spent in jail innocent because of the government and one person’s mistake. The crime went down, and who the victim in it which is Shemita

Sedrick Courtney was arrested on Jun, 12, 1995 and charged with robbery and burglary. Ski masks were found outside of Shemita Greer’s apartment. “Police recovered both ski mask, one black and one green, near the scene” (Innocence Project). This ski masks should’ve proved his innocence but DNA testing was really bad only evidence they relied on was the lady saying it’s him, this really. “[H]e borrowed his sister’s car… to attend a class at the unemployment center” (“Sedrick Courtney”). His family gave information about where he was that morning, the police could’ve checked if he really was at the unemployment center that would’ve helped them a lot. DNA testing was another problem back than it is not as accurate as it is nowadays, additionally they also rejected and lied to the Innocence Project. It really shows how government never wants to be wrong, it also shows what they did is wrong which led this guy to being arrested. “False or misleading forensic science evidence, the hair was microscopically consistent only” (medium.com). Because of the lack of evidence and lack of forensic DNA testing skills Sedrick Courtney got arrested. “DNA testing in 2001 had been rejected, the Tulsa department claimed evidence had been destroyed” (Innocence Project). The Tulsa Department said his evidence was destroyed, but when the Innocence Project retested them in 2007 and proved Sedrick Courtney’s innocence

The Tulsa Department extend the time Courtney staying in jail, because of the decision they’ve made. They rejected the Innocence project when they knew how to prove Sedrick Courtney’s innocence with the Mitochondrial DNA testing. ”Innocence project used mitochondrial DNA testing instead of regular forensic science” (Innocence Project). The Tulsa Department used the regular forensic science which was false and misleading for Sedrick Courtney’s case. Mitochondrial DNA testing is very accurate with proving the matching of hair and DNA. ”Mitochondrial DNA testing showed that none of the 15 hairs matched Courtney” (Innocence Project). If the Tulsa Department approved of the Innocence Project instead of rejecting there offer in 2001, Courtney would’ve been innocent long time ago. After Innocence Project help out Sedrick Courtney’s case and proved him innocent, he decides to settle a lawsuit with the city of Tulsa but he also received a state compensation of $175,000. “On July 19, 2012, a Tulsa County District judge granted the Innocence Project’s motion to exonerate Courtney” (Innocence Project). Every wrongfully convicted person should truly respect what they do for others to prove their innocence. ”Sedrick settled a lawsuit with the city of Tulsa for $8 million in October of 2015, after filing it in June of 2014” (Meduim.com). Sedrick Courtney really did a smart move by settling a lawsuit, he