I’m a big fan of true crime podcasts, and it seems that I’m not the only one out there that helps contribute to this phenomenon. Wildly popular podcasts like Serial, Sword & Scale, Dirty John, and Dr. Death have create a new niche for how we receive detailed information about cases that are fascinating. But, these podcasts don’t just cover the guilty ones, but examine cases where an innocent person was accused and convicted of a crime. One episode of Sword & Scale that called out to me, was an episode covering the case of Ray McCann.
In 2007, a young girl was known to be missing in the small town of Constantin, Michigan. Ray McCann, a neighbor who had known the family, suggested they maybe search the cemetery. When they did, they unfortunately found their deceased daughter. From then on out, all fingers pointed to McCann, who insisted that he was just racking his brain for possible solutions as to where the girl could have run off to. The town, his family, his friends, all turned against him. He was interrogated beyond belief, and even with DNA being found on the scene that was not a match to him, he was arrested and convicted for the murder of Jodi Pallack.
Fortunately, Jodi’s murder was eventually truthfully solved and McCann was released, but it took him 10 years to clear his name. McCann isn’t the first person to be falsely accused of a crime, and he definitely isn’t the last. That’s why the Innocence Project has been such a compelling aspect of true crime for me. A pair of two New York lawyers, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, joined together in the late 1980s to fight against wrongful convictions. Their main focus was using new technology and DNA evidence to prove the innocence of falsely imprisoned individuals. As Scheck has explained, “This is what has been extraordinary about the Innocence Project: each exoneration is a learning moment for the whole criminal justice system. We’ve learned a lot about the causes of wrongful conviction.” (Jane Gitschier, 2013).
The Innocent Project has now had 350 DNA exonerations to date (“Our Impact, 2018), and are constantly focused on helping those who cannot help themselves. They have families who contact them, begging to have them look at a case. People desperately want help trying to prove that the system had failed them. They work on exonerating, improving, reforming, and supporting individuals who are going through these wrongful convictions (“Our Impact”, 2018).
These attorneys are changing our country and possibly changing the world. They’re educating people on the frequency of wrongful conviction, and are putting a spotlight on our judicial system. I think what they are doing is absolutely incredible and necessary. With their tireless work, it can hopefully influence how our judicial system makes these decisions. The Innocent Project estimates that 1 percent of the US prison population, approximately 20,000 people, are falsely convicted in prison right now (“How Many Innocent People are in Prison?”, 2011) And hopefully with these types of organizations, those people will have proper representation, proper guidance, and proper help to prove their innocence and rehabilitate into the world.
References:
Gitschier, J. (2013). The Innocence Project at Twenty: An Interview with Barry Scheck. PLoS Genetics,9(8). doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1003692
How Many Innocent People are in Prison? (2011, December 12). Retrieved from https://www.innocenceproject.org/how-many-innocent-people-are-in-prison/
Our Impact. (2018). Retrieved from https://25years.innocenceproject.org/impact/