Innocence Project Case Analysis

By the end of this course, we will have explored many criminal investigative techniques and issues – legal and procedural. This paper will allow you to focus on a specific investigation you have selected, identify the investigative techniques used and legal issues that may have affected the case, and analyze what “went wrong” – because the person convicted was ultimately exonerated either through the work of the Innocence Project or a related effort.
Visit the Innocence Project website and learn more about its work and some of the cases on which it has focused.
Select a case worked on by the Project (or you may also select another case through your investigation online) in which the convicted person was exonerated after being convicted and sentenced to prison. Hint: select a case in which there is sufficient material available about the investigation…its steps and methods …available for you to review by researching it online.
Identify and analyze the investigative tools used for the defendant’s conviction, and determine “what went wrong.” Include analysis on what you would have done differently as an investigator, or what procedural or legal protections might have been in place or should have been in place to prevent this person’s wrongful conviction.
In doing your analysis, use concepts and techniques discussed in the text, in class, in lecture and by guest speakers. Ensure you reference those concepts (meaning where you learned of them by citing the text, outside source and guest speaker).
The paper should be approximately 6-8 pages, have multiple sources cited using APA style, typed in double space in 12 font. Again, use APA style, but no “Abstract” section is required.