Eng 2150: Criminal Justice

Confession Tapes

Its always interesting to watch a documentary about a trial because it feels like your trying to solve the case yourself before the documentary tells you the final verdict. Specifically in this case I was bouncing back and forth between my own opinions because I kept changing my mind. In the initial description of the crime, the 911 phone call, the pictures of the body, and the condition of the house… I was so sure that the son and his friend committed the crime. As soon as their pictures were introduced to the equation it was an instant change of opinion. I couldn’t believe (based on their looks) that they could do something so cruel.

While finding out more about the case, it was mainly a bubble of assumptions made about Rafay and Burns and why they are the perfect criminals. Instead of looking at evidence and figuring out what could’ve been a motive, they did the opposite. The detectives first made Rafay and Burns the best suspects. Following that they only paid attention to the “most important evidence” which was basically the evidence pointing to the boys. It was very hard to determine whether the boys being guilty was a mistake or not. Based on the documentary, it was as if the police through every piece of evidence at them. Likewise, they didn’t look into other possible suspects or take anyone seriously when they proposed for another investigation to be carried out.

Overall, I still wouldn’t know who committed these murders just because the trial itself was all about persuasion, who told the best story, and who appeared to have the most incentive. Even when putting myself in Rafay and Burns’ shoes, I don’t think I would’ve caved if I was innocent, but then again there was so much pressure being put on the situation that maybe they felt like they had no other choice.