Wrongful Conviction David Milgaard
Uploaded by piya_13 on Jan 03, 2006
The criminal justice system is best described as a search for the truth, however the more precise definition of it states that it is the system of law enforcement, the bar, the judiciary, corrections, and probation that is directly involved in the apprehension, prosecution, defense, sentencing, incarceration, and supervision of those suspected of or charged with criminal offenses (dictionary.com). As the justice system is handled by humans, it is bound to make mistakes and such errors lead to circumstances in which an innocent is found guilty; this is called a miscarriage of justice. Miscarriage of justice means the failure of a judicial system or court in the administration of justice, especially when an innocent is convicted in a crime (dictionary.com). If someone is wrongfully convicted, that person is punished for an offence he or she did not commit and the actual perpetrator of the crime goes free. As well, public confidence in the system declines when wrongful convictions are identified. There are several elements that cause a miscarriage of justice, such as non-disclosure of evidence by police or prosecution, confirmation bias on the part of investigators, fabrication of evidence, poor identification, and unreliable confessions due to police pressure or psychological instability. They are all considered unjust as they violate the principle of justice. Such a scenario is the David Milgaard case where the principles of justice were violated.
David Milgaard ,born 1954 is a Canadian who was wrongfully convicted for the murder and rape of nursing assistant Gail Miller. In 1969, Milgaard along with two friends, Ron Wilson and Nichol John, decided on a whim to take a road trip across the Canadian prairies, a trip which involved some drug use and petty theft. While the friends were in Saskatoon, a 20 year old nursing student, Gail Miller was found dead on a snow bank. At the time Milgaard and his friends were stopping to pick up a casual friend Albert Cadrain, whose family was renting out their basement to Larry Fisher, a man later found guilty of the crime. British Columbia police arrested Milgaard in May of 1969 and sent him back to Saskatchewan where he was charged with Miller's murder. Milgaard was sentenced to life in prison, on January 31, 1970 at the age of 16, exactly a year after Miller's murder (wikipedia.com).
At the time of murder, David Milgaard was a hippie, and was constantly in trouble....