False Confessions Lead to Years in Prison
On December 8, 1991, 14-year-old Cateresa Matthews was found dead along a path in Dixmoor, Illinois. When investigators rushed to the scene, they had seen that she had been shot in the mouth at close range and there were clear signs of sexual assault. Jonathan Barr and 4 others were falsely accused for the death of Matthews. When each suspect was interrogated, there was little truth of the confessions. Because they contradicted each other's confession. And the others said that they saw Barr with Matthews the last time she was alive. This accusation made Barr be placed on the blacklist of suspected criminals. Barr was sentenced for 85 years in prison for the murder and sexual assault of Matthews. Barr had been in jail for 14 years until he was exonerated. The false interpretations of Barr have been cleared from the case for good. The innocence project came into play to help Barr prove his innocence. Just like in the book, The Crucible, citizens of Salem blamed the woman(so-called witches) of sinning and witchery. Some of these statements weren't true, which caused a woman to be put in jail or be hanged for no apparent reason or proof. In today's time, we obtain advanced technology that can rattle out the right or wrong.
It is absurd that there is many who …show more content…
This is the frequent amount of times that someone has been accused of false confessions. Barr was one of these victims. False confessions led to a spiral change to his life. A suspect had told the detective that Barr was the last one to be with Matthews. Also, someone had testified against him. He was there however, he did not do anything to her (proved by the Innocence Project). The detectives took no time to see if whether or not he was guilty. They assumed he was guilty in the end. Because of this he was in prison for 14 years. 14 years. Thats a lot for someone who had not been apart of the crime. This is one of several reasons why we need to fix this
On December 8, 1991, 14-year-old Cateresa Matthews was found dead along a path in Dixmoor, Illinois. When investigators rushed to the scene, they had seen that she had been shot in the mouth at close range and there were clear signs of sexual assault. Jonathan Barr and 4 others were falsely accused for the death of Matthews. When each suspect was interrogated, there was little truth of the confessions. Because they contradicted each other's confession. And the others said that they saw Barr with Matthews the last time she was alive. This accusation made Barr be placed on the blacklist of suspected criminals. Barr was sentenced for 85 years in prison for the murder and sexual assault of Matthews. Barr had been in jail for 14 years until he was exonerated. The false interpretations of Barr have been cleared from the case for good. The innocence project came into play to help Barr prove his innocence. Just like in the book, The Crucible, citizens of Salem blamed the woman(so-called witches) of sinning and witchery. Some of these statements weren't true, which caused a woman to be put in jail or be hanged for no apparent reason or proof. In today's time, we obtain advanced technology that can rattle out the right or wrong.
It is absurd that there is many who …show more content…
This is the frequent amount of times that someone has been accused of false confessions. Barr was one of these victims. False confessions led to a spiral change to his life. A suspect had told the detective that Barr was the last one to be with Matthews. Also, someone had testified against him. He was there however, he did not do anything to her (proved by the Innocence Project). The detectives took no time to see if whether or not he was guilty. They assumed he was guilty in the end. Because of this he was in prison for 14 years. 14 years. Thats a lot for someone who had not been apart of the crime. This is one of several reasons why we need to fix this