false convictions

This week in class we watched the movie “Witch hunt” and they showed all kind of cases with false convictions. These false convictions have never stopped and the rate just keeps going up. In an article from New York Times, a former New York police officer used a racial slur while bragging about falsely arresting a black man last year was sentenced in prison for violating the man’s civil rights. This police officer, who was white, was recorded before by his friend over the phone when he told him all about how he has falsely arrested a lot of people mainly because of their race. Mr. Daragjati, the police officer, was only sentenced to prison for nine months, which I believe is unfair. He sent so many people to prison that were sentenced for more than five years just because of his false arrests. Then there was this other article I read also from the New York Times, it was about how a woman from Australia has been accused of lying, convicted of murder and sent to prison. On August 17, 1980 an Australian wild dog, also known as a dingo, dragged a baby from a tent as her parents sat by the campfire. Her body was never found until this year in June. The mother of the baby, Lindy Chamberlain, spent nearly three decades in prison because no one would believe her. “This case has showed examples of poor forensic science, anxiety about evil mothers and suspicion of religiosity. The Chamberlain family is members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church which was wrongly portrayed as an infant slaying cult.” There also have been rumors that Azaria, their daughter, meant “sacrifice in the wilderness, in Hebrew, not blessed of God”. About 76.8 percent of Australians said that Lindy was guilty and because of that the investigation did not go on so long. No one wanted to believe her that her baby has been dragged by a wild dog, until this year when a death certificate has been issued that stating that Azaria Chamberlain’s death was because of a dingo attack. Lindy Chamberlain has served in prison for almost three decades because no one wanted to believe her and because people thought she was unfit to be a real mother. This is another example of false conviction and also poor investigations once again.