Lapointe’s wrongful conviction brings back Martin’s cold case because if we take Lapointe out of the equation we are left with no answers. Who killed Bernice Martin? The decision The decision to grant a new trial is here (RICHARD LAPOINTE v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION). A few quotes: “On appeal, the petitioner claims that the court improperly rejected his […]
Miscarriages of Justice
Connecticut Supreme Court Orders New Trial For Richard Lapointe
Connecticut Supreme Court Orders New Trial For Richard Lapointe after the state’s appeal from Sept 17, 2013! From the Hartford Courant of March 31, 2015 is says:”the mentally disabled dishwasher was denied evidence supporting his innocence when he was tried and convicted a quarter-century ago for the rape and murder of his then-wife’s 88-year-old grandmother. The […]
Case of the Month: Forensic arson detection
Case of the Month: Forensic arson detection and its role in wrongful convictions feature in April. Cameron Todd Willingham In 2004, Cameron Todd Willingham was executed by the state of Texas for the 1991 fire that killed his three daughters: Amber (2) and the 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron. The prosecution argued that the fire […]
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction has been part of my life since 1993 when I started working for Amnesty International in Switzerland. I am appalled that the injustice endures. In December 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store in Wintergarden, Florida. The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry […]
A Case to Watch: Brian Peixoto
A Case to Watch: Brian Peixoto is represented by the CPCS Innocence Program – a Massachusetts program funded by the U.S. Department of Justice to represent innocent people. The purpose of the CPCS Innocence Program is to get exonerations for indigent Massachusetts state defendants who are actually innocent of the crimes of which they have been […]
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari denied for Zeigler
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari denied for Zeigler on May 19, 2014. The only notation is that “Chief Justice [Roberts] took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.” Dennis H. Tracey, III and John Houston Pope filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. In […]
Petition for Cert filed for Zeigler
Petition for Cert filed for Zeigler with the United States Supreme Court by the New York defense team! The State of Florida has to respond this month. Dennis H. Tracey, III and John Houston Pope have filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. In plain English: the New York defense team […]
Is Clemency next for Zeigler?
Is Clemency next for Zeigler? That is a question I received after readers saw on my blog that the last appeal based on new evidence was denied by the Florida Supreme Court. Most people however asked: what is clemency and what will be considered during such a procedure? For an extensive overview of the clemency […]
Recap #CrimeChat Dec 6, 2014
Recap #CrimeChat Dec 6, 2014 with Sue Carney about the Alfred Moore case. Sue and I did not follow any chronological order to discuss the case. We went from first impressions to every detail that bothered us. As you can imagine, the hour flew by and … we are left with more questions! Some of […]
Follow-up False Confessions Post
After posting “False Confessions: Why & How” I got an email from Mr. Joseph Buckley, President of John E. Reid and Associates. He wanted to alert my readers to a few things. A technique is a tool and the tool is only as good as the one handling it. In other words: yes, false confessions […]