Pennsylvania
Related: About this forumHe spent 23 years on death row for a Philly murder he said he didn't commit. Conviction overturned.
Hat tip, Newser, which is a clickbait site.
by Chris Palmer, Updated: June 5, 2020- 4:46 PM
Walter Ogrod spent more than 23 years on death row while insisting he had been wrongfully convicted of killing 4-year-old Barbara Jean Horn in Northeast Philadelphia in 1988.
On Friday, the criminal justice system agreed.
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Common Pleas Court Judge Shelley Robins-New overturned Ogrods conviction months after the District Attorneys Office and defense attorneys had agreed it was tainted by critical flaws including key evidence withheld by police and prosecutors who put him behind bars, a coerced confession, and unreliable testimony from jailhouse snitches.
During a virtual hearing conducted via Zoom, Assistant District Attorney Carrie Wood tearfully apologized to Ogrod and to Barbara Jeans family, calling the case a failure for them and for the city.
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FakeNoose
(35,664 posts)Yeah, that just doesn't cut it.
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,576 posts)...the more I see a need for incident reviews with independence.
The job of law enforcement often requires quick judgements. This should begin with very detailed training. Current situations and example scenarios of how things went wrong should be included. Independent review should be a part of every aspect of police work from admission to training through everyday on the job.
IMO every shift should include peer review and critique along with review by independent agencies.
Prosecutors and courts needs investigators validating evidence and testimony in addition to having police with oversight.
For everyone like this guy that they find and release, there's likely 5 to 10 others who were railroaded as well. Most of them are probably minorities.