Prosecutorial Misconduct
The System examines two cases where prosecutorial misconduct may have led to wrongful imprisonment.
The American criminal justice system enforces our laws and keeps watch over us – but who is watching the system? Award-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger examines the state of America’s criminal justice system.
The 6th amendment to the US Constitution guarantees every American the right to a speedy and public trial before an impartial jury, and the right to a defense attorney.
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What the 6th amendment does not lay out are rules for law enforcement and prosecution.
So what happens when officials face intense pressure to close cases and get convictions in a time of rampant violent crime? What systems are in place to make sure the guardians of justice are not cutting corners, railroading suspects through a criminal justice system that is set up to heavily favour the “good guys?”
In this episode of The System, we highlight two cases: the ongoing efforts of parolee Derrick Hamilton to clear his name after 20 years for a murder conviction fraught with alleged police and prosecutorial misconduct; and another in Queens that seems to have the earmarks of prosecutorial misconduct but is not yet proven.