Steven Avery

The book that I selected is called “Getting Life” by Michael Morton, who is a man that was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife in Texas in 1986. This book takes us from a happy young couple to the day of the murder, through the investigation into his wife’s murder, Michael’s trial and conviction, 25 years in prison, appeals, release from prison, and reintegration into society. One unique fact about this case is that is the first case where the prosecutor in a wrongful conviction case was subsequently convicted of prosecutorial misconduct, stripped of their law license and sentenced to serve time in jail.

An absurd amount of innocent people in the nation, have fallen victim to a disorganized legal system, and are suffering because of it. Dennis Brown, and James Harden, are two examples of this, and can relate because of it. They’ve been falsely convicted, without DNA evidence, but the truth of the case is finally revealed with their release.

On July 23, 1995, Janet Downing was found stabbed to death in her Somerville, Massachusetts home. With strong compelling evidence and creditable eyewitness testimony, Edward O’Brien was arrested for Downing’s murder. O’Brien was only fifteen years old and good friends with Downing’s son Ryan at the time of the murder. The first initial hearing judged that O’Brien would be tried as a juvenile, however this judgment would later be reversed. At a second hearing, a new judge ordered O’Brien to be tried as an adult, based on the severity and cruelty of his crime. In the fall of 1997 after a two week trial, Edward O’Brien was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Janet Downing. He was later sentenced to life in prison without parole for his vicious crime.

Perceptions from others can be cruel. Criminals are often thought of negatively by themselves and are also disrespected by others in society. The novel Monster presents the impressions people have about Steve Harmon, an accused criminal on trial for robbery and murder. Furthermore, the text explains Steve’s views of himself during and after time in prison from first person point-of-view. The novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers highlights the various perceptions that exist about an accused criminal.

Josh Duggar entered the rehab center, Reformer’s Unanimous. However, is this rehab center the best place for Josh to go? According to Radar Online, August 31, 2015, this place has a history of sex offenders working as staff members. A former member of the clergy was sentenced to serve 12 years in jail for having sex with an underage female, who is referred to as Jane Doe in the court documents. Reformer’s Unanimous is located in Rockford, Illinois. Pastor Jack Allen Schaap, 56, formerly a counselor at the Bible-based rehab center, allegedly transported the young girl across the state line so he could have sex with her. His assistant found pictures of the 16-year-old girl and Jack together on his iPhone. The pictures ranged from her being topless while lying on top of him, to Jack touching and kissing her bare breasts. It seems that no place was off limits to where he and Jane had sex. They did it in his office during a church youth conference. He took her to his cabin in Michigan where intimate pictures were taken of the two of them together. He told the young girl that she was a gift from God and that it was Christ’s desire for them to be together. In 2012, he took a plea deal and pled guilty to one felony count of criminal sexual assault. He was sentenced to serve 12 years in jail. After that, he was required to be under supervised release for five years. He appealed the ruling in 2014. He claimed that according to his lawyers, if he pled guilty, he would only

Scott Peterson, a killer at heart, didn’t think twice before murdering wife, Laci Peterson, and unborn child, Conner. His wife Laci was reported missing on Christmas Eve in 2002. All fingers pointed to husband, Scott Peterson. He had not wanted to be a father and didn’t care for his wife. He was arrested the 21st of April in 2003 and is still on death row till this day. Evidence revealed during the case, Scott Peterson is a coward and was rightfully sentenced the death penalty for his wrong doings.

Steven Avery is at the mercy of the Wisconsin court once again. Avery must defend himself against a county that has the belief of him being guilty for simply being an Avery. This is not the first time Manitowoc county assumed Avery's guilt before a trial occurs. Avery was brought before the Court on March 10, 1986, for the sexual assault, attempted murder and false imprisonment of Penny Beerntsen. Avery was sentenced to thirty-two years in prison by Judge Fred Hazelwood. Avery kept proclaiming his innocence during his appeals. In 2001, the Wisconsin Innocence Project agreed to review Avery's case. The Wisconsin Innocence Project requested permission to conduct advanced DNA testing from the Wisconsin court of Appeals. On September 10, 2003,

Terry Blair was born September 16, 1961. He is in prison for life with no possibility for parole.

The courtroom grew extremely silent as the verdict was handed out. The room moved to the edge of their seats to hear the awaiting verdict, the next words that came from the judge were, “We the jury find the defendant guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, in addition to possession of a firearm”. The friends and family of the defendant were distressed as the just convicted defendant was hauled off in shackles and chains to begin his new life of confinement for a crime he says he did not commit. This is Steven Avery’s life story.

Christopher Abernathy from Illinois was falsely convicted for murder, rape and robbery at the age of 17. The person who he was convicted of murdering was Kristina Hickey. He was taken in for questioning after someone he knew, Allan Dennis, said Abernathy confessed to killing Hickey. There was no forensic or physical evidence that connected him to the crime. It was committed in 1984 and Abernathy was convicted in 1987. He then went on to serve 28 years in prison. However, the confession Abernathy gave was false. Dennis had pressured Abernathy to confess saying that the police had said they would give him lenient treatment on some previous minor charges. A couple of Northwestern students were researching the case and had found out what Dennis

Steven Avery who is a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder in 1985. At the age of 22, he served 18 years of a 32-year sentenced before being exonerated through DNA testing. After reading the first 10 chapters it makes you wonder why would the police and prosecutors go this far just to see this man in prison. How can the law in enforcement play with somebody's “freedom” like it's a game or a joke…?

With millions of criminal convictions a year, more than two million people may end up behind bars(Gross). According to Samuel Gross reporter for The Washington Post, writes that also “even one percent amounts to tens of thousands of tragic [wrongful conviction] errors”(Gross). Citizens who are wrongfully convicted are incarcerated for a crime he or she did not commit. Many police officers, prosecutors, and judges are responsible for the verdict that puts innocents into prison. To be able to get exonerated many wait over a decade just to get there case looked at, not many are able to have the opportunity of getting out. People plead guilty for crimes that are not committed by them to avoid trial, but by doing so the right decision wasn’t made.

In July 1984 Jennifer Thompson, a 22-year old white woman, was raped by a black man in her apartment. A man named Ronald Cotton was arrested and identified by Thompson in a line-up and a phot-spread. According to her interview with CBS’s 60 minutes in 1999, Thompson explained how she was confident in her identification. In 1985, Cotton’s conviction of raping Thompson was based largely on her identification. While in prison, two years later, a fellow inmate of Cotton confessed to the rape of Jennifer Thompson. However, it wasn’t until 1995 when DNA showed that Ronald Cotton was innocent. According to the Innocence Project, Ronald Cotton spent 10 years in prison before being exonerated.

This book is about a women named Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and a man named Ronald Cotton. In July of 1984, Jennifer Cannino who was twenty-two at the time, was raped at knifepoint in her Elon University apartment. She managed to get away and after some time, identify her attacker as Ronald Cotton. In the courts Cotton time and time again reiterated that Thompson-Cannino was mistaken in her serious accusations against him but because she was so positive that she was successful in identifying him as her attacker, police decided this was enough evidence to put Cotton behind bars. After close to eleven years in prison, Cotton was granted with the ability to take a DNA test that ended up proving his innocence. After more than a decade of wrongful

Democracy in the United States is reliant upon its citizen’s ability to act as an informed electorate and vote for leaders through a critical process of due diligence. In an election as momentous as the presidency, various influences can give voters a false representation of their political endorsements. A central role in this notion is the ability to subconsciously prime voter perspectives and impact election outcomes using various forms of rhetoric. Politicians employ both forensic (judicial) and political (deliberative) rhetoric to attack the credibility of their opponents based on past injustices and persuade voters to take specified action in the future. This idea is evidenced in the 1988 presidential election between Republican George