The Innocence Project

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.

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!

If you really lile true crime documentaries.. watch the series but sometimes you can get a bit boring due to long lines of narrative..

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!

What clearly comes across is the arrogance of that character Dr West, who clearly seems to think he couldn't get anything wrong. Then there's the arrogance of the prosecutor Forrest Allgood. What is it with American "justice"? If something else could account for the impressions, or they could be made by someone else, you can't use it as definitive evidence. And what was the motive for those who were wrongly convicted to do those murders? Nuts. It seems that some police and lawyers in the US are more concerned with getting the result they want rather than finding out who really did the crimes. Do you work properly, guys, and don't just ASSUME anything.