Steven Murray Truscott was accused of the murder of his classmate, 12 year old Lynne Harper, in 1959. This accusation came after the two had been seen riding on his bike together on the supposed day of her death. Her body was found in a wooded area near where the two were said to have parted ways the night she died. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death. Two days after finding her body, Steven was convicted of her murder and sentenced to the death penalty (Harland-Logan). No one had seen Steven entering or leaving the woods where Lynne's body was found. Throughout the trial, Steven maintained his innocence, but the court failed to agree with him. After spending ten years in prison, Steven was released on parole. He
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However, there was a turning point when the case was reopened. Upon reexamination of the case, it was discovered that Dr. Penistan had two unofficial versions of Lynne's autopsy that were not given to the jurors back in 1959. The one that appeared to be the initial autopsy said that the body had been found "about 40 hours after death" which would put Lynne's death on June 10th. Steven could not have murdered Lynne. After almost 50 years of living as a convicted murder, Steven was free. He was awarded $6.5 million in compensation for the miscarriage of justice he suffered (Harland-Logan). Money can never make problems go away, but it was a gesture by the nation to express how sorry they were that they had let something so terrible happen to such a young man.
A young man was accused and wrongfully convicted of the murder of a young girl. We will never know who actually killed Lynne Harper. I think it is crazy how after almost fifty years, simply looking at a picture of bugs on a dead body lead to reopening an investigation and exonerating a man who was wrongfully accused. I am glad that Steven no longer has to live with the weight of this conviction on his
However, there was a turning point when the case was reopened. Upon reexamination of the case, it was discovered that Dr. Penistan had two unofficial versions of Lynne's autopsy that were not given to the jurors back in 1959. The one that appeared to be the initial autopsy said that the body had been found "about 40 hours after death" which would put Lynne's death on June 10th. Steven could not have murdered Lynne. After almost 50 years of living as a convicted murder, Steven was free. He was awarded $6.5 million in compensation for the miscarriage of justice he suffered (Harland-Logan). Money can never make problems go away, but it was a gesture by the nation to express how sorry they were that they had let something so terrible happen to such a young man.
A young man was accused and wrongfully convicted of the murder of a young girl. We will never know who actually killed Lynne Harper. I think it is crazy how after almost fifty years, simply looking at a picture of bugs on a dead body lead to reopening an investigation and exonerating a man who was wrongfully accused. I am glad that Steven no longer has to live with the weight of this conviction on his