Wrongful Convictions

After sitting in on the presentastion by Terrill Swift, I experienced many emotions. It was mind boggling to me that the police whose jobs are to protect Chicago would be so crooked and corrupt. They denied Terrill a lawyer which is illegal, and they also lied to him and tricked him into signing a confession by saying that if he signed it, he would be able to go home. When Terrill was just 17 year old, the police called his house looking for him claiming that he was "harboring" or hiding someone. This was clearly a lie becuase he was doing no such thing. The police took him down to the precinct and then told him that they knew that he had raped and killed an alleged prostitute. Terrill and three other men were charged with the rape and murder of a woman. When on trial, Terrill told the court that "he would be back" because he knew that since he didn't do it, he would be eventually freed. While in prison, Terrill wrote to Northwestern University, who has a very well known wrongful conviction program. Northwestern took the case and eventually in 2010 and during this following January, Terrill was free. However after he was free from jail was considered a sex offender which severely effected his life. Where ever he lived he had to identify himself as a sex offender and most people would not hire him. Terrill eventually got the sex offender title revoked and he now life a free life and is trying to get his life back together.