‘They made me kill little kids’ [child] … How did they come to tell those stories? Who talked to them? How did they talk to them? Veleno: The Town of Lost Children IV
It was impressive to discover how this story, which at first seemed like a strange unique provincial story was actually part of a gigantic phenomenon. It was a recurring theme … Around the United States there sprung up like mushrooms cases that had similar elements. ibid.
How can a child tell such a story while laughing and joking? ibid.
None of them [children and adoptive parents] had any doubts. They all believed that the truth had come out from the trial. ibid.
I saw violence in that [therapist] attitude … Depending on the terms you use in your question, you risk influencing the answer. ibid.
It is disputed that the methods of empathic listening which do not take into account the potential presence of suggestions are dangerous because they risk creating false memories and accusations. ibid.
‘Honestly, I’m not even sure any more what happened or didn’t happen. They took me away when I saw little. So many therapists also try to make you say what they want you to say. ibid. Dario’s interview
So we understand that we are dealing with a young man who for 20 years of his life believed he had killed children he never killed. ibid.
An entire community had suddenly awakened from its slumber. ibid.
Among the 16 removed children, there is one [Simona] who never accused her parents. Alessia had contacted her via Facebook but she never replied. However, I had spoken to her mother Daniela. And her story struck me very much because she had never been involved in any of the trials and yet she had never been able to get her daughter back home. Veleno: The Town of Lost Children V
Police officers secretly recorded conversations between psychologists and children at a centre in Bibbiano called Centro La Cura which is run by the Hansel and Gretel Study Centre. ibid.
Every 2 minutes in the United States someone is sexually assaulted. I Am Evidence, caption, Sky Atlantic 2018
Really stunning news today about the number of rape cases police have never even tried to solve, not even opening the rape kits. ibid. television news
It’s estimated that as many as 400,000 rape kits nationwide … ibid.
They have not been testing these kits for decades … We’re talking about poor black women. ibid. expert
January 1591 Edinburgh: A woman is about to be executed. Her crime: she is a witch. She’s been interrogated and tortured. And now she’ll be strangled and burnt at the stake. The Witch Hunts: Lucy Worsley Investigates, BBC 2022
A century of with hunts across Britain and the state-sanctioned killing of thousands more. ibid.
Just how much witchcraft and sex seem to be mixed up together. ibid.
It makes me angry. It seems like a terrible tragic miscarriage of justice. ibid.
The injustice done to an individual is sometimes of service to the public. Junius, cited Public Advertiser 14th November 1770
In 1984 homosexuality was legalised in NSW. By 1986 AIDS had gripped the gay community. The fear of AIDS spread across Australia. The Sydney Murders: Deep Water, Sky Crime 2020
In the ’80s and ’90s there was clearly an epidemic of anti-gay and anti-lesbian violence. It was commonplace. ibid. Sue Thompson, former Gay & Lesbian consultant NSW police, captions
Despite David identifying two of his attackers, no-one was ever charged. ibid.
In 1990 three youths were found guilty of Richard Johnson’s murder and five of manslaughter. They became known as the Alexandria 8. ibid.
‘They told me the police car and the officers involved that night belonged to a troubleshooting squad.’ ibid. witness to attack
In November 2014 the NSW Minister for Police stated that no evidence has been found to implicate police in the assault. ibid. caption
Evidence went missing and did anybody care? ibid. victim’s relative
‘The deputy coroner has slammed New South Wales police for not properly investigating the deaths of three gay men in Sydney in the 1980s.’ ibid. TV news
In 2016 the NSW police announced they are reviewing 88 deaths to explore how many might be gay-hate cases. ibid. caption
On 19th May 1536 one of the most infamous episodes in English history moved towards its gruesome conclusion: Anne Boleyn, Queen and second wife of King Henry VIII, was taken from her quarters in the Tower of London, and with the single blow of a sword became the first Queen in Britain's history to be executed. Anne Boleyn’s rise to power had been highly controversial. The Last Days of Anne Boleyn, BBC 2013
Five men ... were tried and convicted of adultery and treason and sentenced to death. ibid.
Many believe she was the victim of a terrible injustice. ibid.
This is a film about injustice, injustice on a scale most of us wouldn’t imagine possible in this country. It’s a film about the imprisonment of people without trial, of innocent people – first offenders, petty offenders and children. John Pilger, Guilty Until Proven Innocent, ITV 1974
Many thousands who almost unnoticed in the last few years have been caught in a system which has become almost as chaotic and repressive as in countries without even the pretence of our bill of rights. ibid.
Out of 50,00 people whom magistrates remand in custody every year, more than half of 25,000 people are later proved completely innocent or are merely fined or are given conditional discharge. ibid.
DNA has now exonerated more than 250 men. 60 Minutes: Eyewitness Testimony II ***** CBS 2009
Over 75% of these innocent men were convicted in part because an eye-witness fingered the wrong person. ibid.
At the heart of the problem is the fragility of memory … Memory is not like a video-tape recorder; you don’t just record an event and play it back. Instead memory is malleable, full of holes, easily contaminated and susceptible to suggestion. ibid.
In all the cases where eye-witnesses were wrong, the real perpetrator was not in the initial line-up. ibid.
When the real guy isn’t there, witnesses tend to pick the person most like him. ibid.
Ronald Cotton and Bobby Poole [rape case] look very much alike. ibid.
Eye-witness testimony has two key properties: one, it’s often unreliable, and two, it is highly persuasive to jurors. ibid.
A reinforcement alters memory. Dramatically. ibid.
In the vast majority of places there has been no reform. ibid.
‘There are so many more innocent people in prison than people realise.’ The Innocence Network (Wrongful Convictions Documentary Marathon) *****, Barry Scheck, Youtube 2.56.27, 2023
‘Nobody cares that you did not commit that crime; no-one believes me.’ ibid. victim
In the early ’90s American criminal defense attorneys created a network of international associations called the Innocence Network. Their mission: to fight injustice by exonerating innocent people and helping the justice system correct its mistakes. ibid.
‘Anybody can be mistakenly identified. And how many times do we have to see this?’ ibid. Barry Scheck
For many convicts who claim to be a victim of a miscarriage of justice, these attorneys are their last chance. ibid.
Since the early ’90s attorneys from the Innocence Network have freed 372 wrongfully convicted people in the US. ibid.
The reasons behind these wrongful convictions are often similar: they are mostly eyewitness misidentification, false testimonies, confessions extracted under duress, improper forensics, but sometimes there is evidence of fraud, negligence, or misconduct by prosecutors, or the police. ibid.
Re Barry Gibbs: ‘It’s completely crazy and irrational that you could be framed for this murder out of nowhere. Out of nowhere.’ ibid. Barry Scheck
Barry Gibbs claims to be a victim of a miscarriage of justice … November 4th 1986: Barry was convicted of the murder of a woman in Brooklyn, New York: her body had been found on the side of the road. ibid.
‘It’s not quite clear why Barry became a suspect in this case.’ ibid. Vanessa Potkin
The officer who was present on the day of the crime and who could have exonerated Barry was not called to testify by the defense. However, the prosecutor called to the stand the runner who identified Barry Gibbs in the police line-up. ibid.
‘A professional snitch … who have an incentive to lie.’ ibid.
Barry Gibbs had always felt framed by this officer [Louis Eppolito]. ibid.