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Est. 2009

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You are here: Home / Archives for Actual Innocence

Actual Innocence

Follow-up False Confessions Post

October 1, 2013 By Alice

Photography AdS

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 […]

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Filed Under: Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Evidence, False Confessions, interrogation techniques, John E. Reid and Associates, Joseph Buckley

False Confessions: why & how?

September 26, 2013 By Alice

Photography AdS

False Confessions: why & how? This month two extremely important cases are under review. In the USA, the Connecticut Supreme Court heard the State’s appeal in the case of Richard Lapointe.   The state is appealing the decision to grant Lapointe a new trial. False confessions (four) and forensic arson detection are key in this […]

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Filed Under: Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Douglas L. Keene, Gisli Gudjonsson, Jerry Hobbs III, Juan Rivera, Martien Meijer-Hunnik, Miscarriage of Justice, Police Interrogations, Richard A. Lapointe, Richard Ofshe, Riley Fox, Rita Handrich, the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, the Maguire Seven, Wrongful Convictions

Recap #crimechat April 4, 2013

April 4, 2013 By Alice

sum it up #cclivechat

Recap #crimechat April 4, 2013: Today we spoke about wrongful convictions with Nancy Petro. A short introduction to wrongful convictions started this crimechat. How do we find out about Wrongful Convictions in general? A: We discover that the victim is alive & well. Examples: India 2003, the Reena Devi case. Reena disappeared, her mother ID-ed her […]

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Filed Under: Zeigler Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Capital Punishment, DNA, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Nancy Petro, Wrongful Convictions

Death on Hold: Zeigler

April 2, 2013 By Alice

Tommy Zeigler

Death on Hold: Zeigler. In this documentary you can see the trial and appeals in the case of William Thomas Zeigler. It explains why for the past 37 years, we have been trying to show you that he never had a fair trial. Judge for yourself whether there is room for doubt. https://web.archive.org/web/20130406001457/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQc3J4ocgsM&gl=US&hl=en Mr. Zeigler has […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Zeigler Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Capital Punishment, DNA, Faulty Evidence, Florida, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, William Thomas Zeigler

Christian Bruyère takes an interest in Zeigler

July 26, 2012 By Alice

Christian Bruyère takes an interest in Zeigler. Mr. Bruyère  and his company “Mystique Films” are based in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver is the third largest motion picture production center in North America. I could not be happier that Zeigler is getting more media attention. Yesterday was Zeigler’s birthday and a press conference was held outside the Orange County Courthouse. […]

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Filed Under: Cold Case News, Zeigler Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Capital Punishment, Faulty Evidence, Florida, Prosecutorial Misconduct, William Thomas Zeigler

Lapointe: DNA does not match

July 3, 2012 By Alice

Richard A. Lapointe

Who left his DNA behind: Richard A. Lapointe or Frederick Rodney Merrill? We have new developments that could shed a light on the case of Bernice Martin and could once and for all clear up who left his DNA. We already know it wasn’t Lapointe. The Connecticut State Board of Pardons and Paroles decided last week to grant […]

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Filed Under: Miscarriages of Justice, Unsolved Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Bernice Martin, DNA Database, Frederick Rodney Merrill, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Richard A. Lapointe, Wrongful Convictions

In memory: Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain

June 12, 2012 By Alice

Azaria Chamberlain

She only lived for two months but the little girl is etched in our memories: Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain (June 11, 1980 – Aug 17, 1980) After she disappeared her mother, Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murder on October 29, 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Her father, Michael Chamberlain was found guilty as an accessory […]

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Filed Under: Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Attack by Dingo, Australia, Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain, Faulty Evidence, Miscarriage of Justice, missing children

Zeigler, Part XX: The False Arrest Report

April 13, 2012 By Alice

Zeigler, Part XX: The False Arrest Report is based on the documents filed in Mr. Zeigler case as per the previous post. The documents were sent to me by Mr. Zeigler’s lawyers and I thank them for that. On Dec 29, 1975, Detective Frye from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office wrote in his arrest report: […]

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Filed Under: Miscarriages of Justice, Zeigler Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Capital Punishment, Faulty Evidence, Florida, Forensics, Prosecutorial Misconduct, William Thomas Zeigler, Wrongful Convictions

The Kish Report

March 26, 2012 By Alice

William Th. Zeigler with his wife Eunice Edwards-Zeigler

The Kish Report : the request for further DNA testing in the case of William Thomas Zeigler was denied by Judge Whitehead March 12, 2012.  The hearing for that request took place last Dec 1, 2011, see here. Judge Whitehead had previously ruled that Zeigler should receive state-funding for a blood spatter expert to testify whether […]

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Filed Under: Forensics, Unsolved, Zeigler Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Capital Punishment, Dennis H. Tracey. III, DNA, Faulty Evidence, John Houston Pope, Paul Kish, Prosecutorial Misconduct, William Thomas Zeigler

Reversal Juan Rivera Conviction

December 10, 2011 By Alice

Lady Justice

From the New York Times: “In an opinion that harshly criticizes the tactics of the police and prosecutors, an Illinois appellate court on Friday night reversed the conviction of Juan Rivera, who has spent 19 years in jail for the 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old baby sitter in a suburb of Chicago. There […]

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Filed Under: Forensics, Miscarriages of Justice, Unsolved Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, DNA Database, Faulty Evidence, Illinois, Juan Rivera, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct

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Dina Fort

Author Notes

Since 2009, I write about unsolved cases that need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigations to the authorities.

My posts cover homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to unsolved cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme, tone, and research. It is my prerogative to not review a book. Please check the FAQ page for more.

My databases are free to the public. Cases are sorted by the victim’s last name.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the About page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you cannot find the answers there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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