Innocence Project - Gerechtigkeit für Justitia

This is in response to the person who discounted this documentary (and The Innocence Project, in general, I guess) entirely because ex-O.J. Defense Atty. Barry Scheck is the cofounder and Director of The Project. Here's what a lot of observers, me included, think about that. This doc series is about how unreliable certain forensic evidence (e.g., bite-mark analysis) and eyewitness testimony is, and how innocent people have been wrongly convicted as a result. Now Scheck is justly (in)famous for popularizing the phrase "cesspool of contamination" to describe the Crime Lab in L.A., and thereby helping O.J. (who the majority of people, me included, still think was guilty of 1st Degree Murder) be acquitted. Assuming these opinions are true, that essentially means Scheck used the unreliability of certain forensic evidence to help acquit a guilty person. But some of us believe he started The Innocence Project to use some of the same legal (and scientific) arguments to go back in history and get truly (and as some watching this doc, including me, would say, OBVIOUSLY) innocent people released from long prison sentences, incl. on Death Row. Also part of this, the theory would be, is that Scheck may still feel some guilt over his role in the Simpson acquittal, and this is a way to atone, at least in part. Does this lessen the relevance or impact or validity of the points made in The Innocence Files documentary? I'd submit o you: No. It doesn't. So watch it and judge for yourself it's significance. As for me, I'd give it a solid 8 out of 10!

A shocking expose of the extremely flawed American criminal system, with great in depths of the unique cases. After watching this series, I realised how tricky eyewitness testimony and is and that bite mark analyses is almost unusable in most cases. You can also see how the American justice system takes a extremly long time to get someone out of prison while they have a ton of evindence to proof their innocence, and whilst the extremely unlucky people basiclly are rotting away in prison. In conclusion: Netflix made a eye opening, in depth documentary about the many flaws in the American justice system. Good job, the Innocence Project!

I knew nothing about this doc before I began watching, although I am very familiar with the work that Innocence Project does. It is incredibly well done, and it's very involving right from the start.

Although we all know about how miscarriages of justice occur, I have to admit that I was still shocked by the behavior of both police officers and prosecutors that dealt with these cases. The lengths that a some of these people, in what are usually fine and noble professions, will go to to make a conviction almost defies belief.

I felt so many emotions watching this series, and it was a very satisfying experience indeed. I feel very comfortable recommending this to anyone who has interest in the law, police procedure, the human condition, or all three.

To date I don't think there's been a series that has infuriated me so much. Following cases taken on by the innocence project to clear the names of falsely accused and wrongfully imprisoned. I was actually open mouthed listening to the details of what had been done to these victims by people who abused their power, or hid behind the label of "expert" to get convictions and let people languishing in jail for decades, knowing full well they were innocent. They not only destroyed the lives of the people they imprisoned but the byproduct of their lies and deceit was letting the true perpetrator of these horrendous acts be free to commit more crimes. It perfectly addresses racism, cultural lines and social issues, all in all it's a very well made documentary that is tragic and heartbreaking but manages to project a message of hope. Side note. I wanted to throat punch that fat dentist so bad!!!!! How does he sleep at night!!!

So it's approximately 5:00 am and I should be sleeping but instead I feel compelled to submit a review for this incredible docuseries. While I appreciate the submission of other reviews, I think many missed the mark in describing the impact of these wrongful convictions. The distortion of evidence was a big part of the series, but I think the overriding message was how reputation and ego were more important than the truth in virtually every case. Not to mention that a strong case could be made that many of these convictions came down to ole fashioned bigotry as well. Corruption on the prosecutorial level is given a close look and scrutinized. Corruptive tactics are widely known to have been used by police in the 80s/90s. However, to see prosecutors aiding and abetting alongside those corruptive tactics was sickening to say the least. Its truly shocking as a viewer and aspiring lawyer to see how flawed our criminal justice system can be. I think a strong case can also be be made that prosecutors should not be granted immunity for their role in wrongful convictions but instead should be punished for their ineptitude / complacency. It's encouraging to see some changes have been made since these convictions were handed down, e.g. the new Philadelphia District Attorney, but there's so much more that needs to be done on a federal level to make sure these types of situations simply cannot happen. The only thing preventing me from giving the series a 10 is I felt the pacing could have been faster. Some of the episodes seemed drawn out and could have been condensed into shorter versions without losing information.