Cold Case and Murder Mysteries where there has been a massive miscarriage of justice globally

[Savak]

I can think of quite a few

1) OJ Simpson
2) Michael Petersen
3) Amanda Knox
4) Natalee Holloway
5) Anni Dewani
6) Laci Petersen

Its shocking how inspite of modern forensics, investigation techniques and brain storming, analytical skills, murder suspects are still able to get away with murder because of hiring excellent lawyers and incompetence, mistakes on the part of the prosecution.

But would love people to add more. I have personally found it fascinating to watch crime and cold case documentaries and podcasts by lawyers who go through the facts, evidence of the case, make compelling arguments and reason why they feel someone is guilty as sin, where someone they feel is personally guilty but did not deserve to be convicted because the prosecution did not really make a compelling case to meet the "beyond a reasonable doubt" threshold.

 

[MenInG]

Two Baltimore brothers who served 24 years in jail for a murder they did not commit have each received $1.9m (£1.5m) compensation from the state.

Eric Simmons and Kenneth "JR" McPherson were released in May 2019 after prosecutors re-examined their cases and found errors made by the investigators.

It comes amid a national debate in the US over how to reform the police and criminal justice system.

Both men, who are black, each had alibis for the 1994 killing.

They were in their early 20s when they were jailed for murdering a 21-year old man in East Baltimore, Maryland.

The Innocence Project, which worked to uncover new evidence in the case, says police pressured a 13-year-old suspect to identify Mr Simmons and Mr McPherson, and threatened the boy with murder charges if he refused.

Another witness, who was a paid police informant in a separate case, claimed to have seen the murder from her third-floor apartment, and from a distance of 150ft (45m).

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said on their release last year that Mr McPherson was at a nearby party when the shooting happened and that Mr Simmons was home in bed.

How have the brothers reacted?

Mr Simmons, 49, said that although he appreciated the money from the Maryland Board of Public Works, no amount can replace the time lost.

"My mother died in '09, and I can't get that back," he told the Washington Post. "Money can't fix the time I got jumped on and [guards] would beat me and put me in the hole. Money can't fix that.

"I wake up every day and ask if it's real," he said, recalling times he would wake up in prison and think he was back home.

A failed appeal in 2010 "almost took the life out of me," he said.

"If it was up to me, I wouldn't have wanted to wake up after that. It was just God who put breath in my body."

According to the Innocence Project, there are 30 exonerees in the state. Mr Simmons and McPherson are the ninth and tenth people to receive compensation for their wrongful conviction.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-53098758?__twitter_impression=true

 

[MenInG]

Not sure about injustice but....

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An Indian man has won a case related to an overpriced railway ticket after almost 22 years.

Tungnath Chaturvedi, a lawyer, was charged 20 rupees ($0.25; £0.21) extra for two tickets he had bought in 1999.

The incident occurred at Mathura cantonment railway station in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

A consumer court last week ruled in Mr Chaturvedi's favour and asked the railways to refund the amount with interest.

"I have attended more than 100 hearings in connection with this case," Mr Chaturvedi, 66, told the BBC. "But you can't put a price on the energy and time I've lost fighting this case."

Consumer courts in India specifically deal with grievances related with services. But they are known to be overburdened by cases and sometimes it can take years for even simple cases to be solved.

Mr Chaturvedi, who lives in Uttar Pradesh, was travelling from Mathura to Moradabad when a ticket-booking clerk overcharged him for the two tickets he had bought.

The tickets cost 35 rupees each, but when he gave 100 rupees, the clerk returned 10 rupees, charging 90 rupees for the tickets instead of 70.

He told the clerk he had overcharged him, but Mr Chaturvedi didn't get any refund at the time.

So, he decided to file a case against North East Railway (Gorakhpur) - a section of the Indian Railways - and the booking clerk in a consumer court in Mathura.

He said it took him years because of the slow pace at which judiciary works in India.

"The railways also tried to dismiss the case, saying complaints against the railways should be addressed to a railway tribunal and not a consumer court," said Mr Chaturvedi. A railway claims tribunal is a quasi-judicial body set up to address claims related to train travel in India.

"But we used a 2021 Supreme Court ruling to prove that the matter could be heard in a consumer court," Mr Chaturvedi said. At other times, hearings would get delayed because judges were on vacation or condolence leave, he added.

After the long fight, the judgement ordered the railways to pay him a fine of 15,000 rupees ($188; £154). The court also directed the railways to refund him the 20 rupees at 12% interest per year, from 1999 to 2022. The court also ordered that if the amount was not paid in the specified time of 30 days, the interest rate would be revised to 15%.

Mr Chaturvedi said the compensation he got was paltry and it doesn't make up for the mental anguish the case caused him. His family tried to dissuade him several times from pursuing the case, calling it a waste of time, but he kept going.

"It's not the money that matters. This was always about a fight for justice and a fight against corruption, so it was worth it," he said. "Also, since I am an advocate myself, I didn't have to pay money to a lawyer or bear the cost of travelling to the court. That can get quite expensive."

He also believes that no matter what a person's official designation is, they "can't get away with wrongdoings if people are prepared to question them about it".

He said that he believed that his case would serve as an inspiration to others that "one doesn't need to give up even when the fight looks tough".

BBC

 

[FearlessRoar]

Amanda Knox fails to overturn slander conviction in Italy​

Amanda Knox has lost her bid to overturn a slander conviction in Italy.

The American woman was eventually cleared of the brutal 2007 murder of her flatmate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, in the apartment they shared in the Italian university town of Perugia.

But she was only released, in 2011, after four years in prison in Italy.

The slander conviction for accusing a Congolese bar owner of the murder during an interrogation was the only charge against Ms Knox that withstood five court rulings that ultimately exonerated her.

She had argued in court in Florence this week that her slander conviction should be overturned because of her treatment by police.

Amanda Knox fails to overturn slander conviction in Italy

Amanda Knox has lost her bid to overturn a slander conviction in Italy.

news.sky.com