Donald Marshall: The Murder Of Sandy Seale

After the death of Sandy Seale due to a stabbing, Donald Marshall was accused of the murder of his companion. After the police investigated the situation, Marshall was tried in court and found guilty of the murder charges. However, during the initial investigation, trial and re-investigation, many errors did occur which eventually led to the wrongful conviction of an innocent man.
A key witness in the prosecutor's case testified to have seen Donald Marshall in the park with Sandy Seale and claims to have witnessed Marshall stabbing Seale. However, in the film, it was made clear that John Pratico seemed to be pressured into telling the police chief exactly what he wanted to hear. When Pratico was explaining his initial and unchanged story, John MacIntyre had frightened Pratico with perjury charges. John Pratico was also visiting a psychiatric facility, which brings his mental state and awareness of what actually occurred the night of the stabbing into question. This also challenges the witness’ credibility. It was later found out that he was manipulated into committing perjury by testifying that …show more content…
Their legal rights were infringed upon when Pratico and Maynard were pressured into falsifying their testimonies by the police. This violates their legal rights, as they did not follow proper procedure during the interrogations.
According to section 15, Donald Marshall’s equality rights also have been violated as he is being discriminated against due to his ethnicity. Police and the judge have preconceived thought and beliefs regarding his character which leads them to believe that Marshall committed the murder. Without evidence that surpasses reasonable doubt, the police strive to collect any evidence to support their belief that Marshall is guilty and they succeed. Marshall does not receive the equal benefit of the