Have you ever been wrongfully accused? How was the experience? According to statistics, some people who have ongoing cases or are jailed or are wrongfully accused. This situation means they are charged for crimes or mistakes they didn’t make. Some of the issues where these people fall victims include rape, arson, theft, and arson. The experience isn’t good if you fall into this process since you may end up suffering, paying fines, or getting jailed for someone’s mistake. This article will discuss some of the things you need to know concerning wrongful conviction cases. It’s crucial to follow until the end to know how to get out if convicted. Let’s jump in.
What is wrongful conviction?
A wrongful conviction is a judgment given by the magistrate for a mistake you didn’t make. However, before the decision, such can be dismissed if you have a reliable attorney or prove to the court that you are wrongfully convicted. The criminal defense lawyers will deliver evidence and try as much to change the evidence showing you were involved in a crime scene. The attorneys have to prove to the courts that the evidence they are using is not reliable. How is it done? The lawyers do this by presenting evidence to counterattack the one already submitted to the courts. Many crimes lead someone to get wrongfully convicted. Such crimes include theft, drugs, homicide, and rape.
Reasons why people get convicted wrongfully
There are many reasons which can lead anyone to get wrongfully convicted. Some of the leading causes include the below:
- Mistaken Identity: You might get accused if the person on the crime scene looks exactly like you. At times, the victim will misidentify the person at the crime scene. This situation leads you to get arrested and prosecuted for the crime.
- Misrecollection: When a case takes too long or when an accuser forgets the culprit, they may call your name or identity as the person involved with the crime. This leads you to become the accused even when you were miles apart.
- Malicious false accusations: Sometimes, there might be no crime, but the accuser lies to the courts that you did something worthy of a crime. It might be marital rape, a family dispute, or when a teenager claims the parent abused them. This happens mostly to people you are close with.
- Official misconduct: This happens to the court officials or police when conducting an arrest or prosecution. They violate the power or mandate given in arresting a person, which leads to official misconduct.
- Misleading forensic evidence: This situation happens when officials exaggerate their findings to impact the case. They may exaggerate the DNA analysis, hair analysis, or other discoveries to pin someone who is not at fault.
While some mistaken identities can arise due to an error, others are caused by negligence. To some, it’s planned to taint an image of a person. No matter the occurrence, it’s crucial to have a competent attorney who will help in disputing the case to set you free. Failing to take the issue seriously can lead you to get jailed for a crime you didn’t do.
Things to do when falsely accused
There are things you are supposed to do before you are wrongfully convicted. These include:
- Hire a competent, defensive attorney: You will have to remain silent and hire someone conversant with the law, like Attorney Stewart Salwin, to help protect your legal rights.
- Get experts to do some pre-file investigation regarding your case: It involves your lawyer doing a thorough examination of the crime. They make sure the charges are not filed until a thorough investigation is completed.
- Try to impeach the complainant through your lawyer: You might present evidence to the court dismissing the accuser’s proof that you got involved with the crime. The lawyer can help in interviewing the witnesses and counter-attacking any evidence presented to the courts.
- Make a civil suit to prevent you from malicious prosecution. This claim enables you to stop further damages caused by the wrongful accusations. These damages might include economic damages such as legal fees, medical costs, and much more. The non-economic injuries include embarrassment and loss of reputation. All these can be filed by your lawyer depending on the direction of your case.
Many people have undergone wrongful convictions since they couldn’t get the required evidence to counterattack the accuser. Some got jailed because they did not hire a reputable attorney to stand with them in a law court. When faced with such accusations, it’s crucial to gather the required evidence and get a competent lawyer to cancel the case and get acquitted. It’s never a good experience suffering or getting jailed for wrongful accusations.