Wrongful Conviction: the Darryl Hunt Case Essays

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Darryl Hunt is an African American born in 1965 in North Carolina. In 1984, he was convicted wrongfully of rape and murder of Deborah Sykes, a young white woman working as a newspaper editor. This paper researches oh his wrongful conviction in North Carolina. Darryl Hunt served nineteen and a half years before DNA evidence exonerated him. The charges leveled against him were because of inconsistencies in the initial stages of the case. An all-white bench convicted the then nineteen-year-old Hunt, even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. A hotel employee made false claims that he saw Hunt enter the hotel bathroom, and later emerge with bloodstained towels. Other witnesses also fixed Hunt to the case. …show more content…
In any case, for each case that involves DNA, hundreds do not. A fraction of cases involves evidence with links to DNA, and in most cases, authorities destroy the evidence upon conviction. In cases where there is no definite DNA test, many people have no chance of proving their innocence. Wrongful convictions for violent crimes in the State of Illinois have cost the taxpayer over $ 210 million, and condemned innocent people to close to 930 years (Conroy & Warden, 2011). When someone is convicted wrongfully, the true perpetrators get the leeway to continue committing crimes. For instance, Conroy and Warden (2011) established that when 85 people were incarcerated wrongfully, actual perpetrators committed eleven sexual assaults, fourteen murders, ten kidnappings, and over sixty other felonies.
Findings and Analysis Cases of wrongful conviction and confinement are an indictment on the criminal justice system, and present challenges for all stakeholders. A person convicted wrongfully suffers the most inhuman conditions, is ostracized from society, and finds getting back into society an adifficult task. He or she becomes economically impotent. An innocent person who lives with criminals for a long time may exit prison having learnt the ropes, and may become a hardcore criminal. There is urgent need to examine why wrongful convictions occur. Research findings indicate the most common causes of wrongful
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Wrongful Conviction Case Study

the accusations alleged against them. In some cases, however, the pieces of evidence gathered may convict a person depending on how well they are presented, particularly at initial trial levels. These situations can lead to a wrongful conviction which is the same circumstances that led to the wrongful conviction of Darryl Hunt for rape and murder in 1984. This paper examines the historical background of the case; different cause of the wrongful conviction as well as steps the justice system can undertake…

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