As is commonly known, a portion of today’s trials that take place are accusing the wrong person. But how long has this been a problem? There have been multiple trials in the past that have had the same thing occur, and many individuals are tried for crimes they did not commit. A large portion of those people are even found guilty and wrongfully thrown in jail. Unfortunately, Eddie Joe Lloyd was one of those people. Lloyd was a patient in a mental hospital who often wrote to police in hopes of helping with cases. He was in the mental hospital because he was diagnosed by a psychiatrist as “suffering from bipolar affective disorder and exhibited symptoms such as grandiosity and flight of ideas”, (Failed Justice). Because he often attempts to help solve cases, police reached out to him to discuss one particular case. This was the very case he was falsely accused of. Eddie Joe Lloyd was put on trial for the rape and murder of a 17 year old girl.
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In Detroit, Michigan. When the police questioned him on this case, they gave him details that were not out to the public. These details consisted of what the victim was wearing at the time of her death, such as her earrings and jeans, along with other detail. Later, his knowledge of these details would be used against him, making him out to seem like the culprit. “A simple endeavor that would have shown that a number of “facts” in Mr. Lloyd’s original letter were incorrect and that later admissions only matched the police’s prevailing theory of the case at the time and not the true particulars of the crime” (Wrongfully Convicted). Not only this, but police let Lloyd believe that by giving a written and recorded confession, he would help further the case in finding the real culprit. During the trial, the prosecutor played his recorded confession to the jury. Lloyd’s court appointed lawyer received 150 USD to use to help investigate. The lawyer gave a third of it to a convict, whom did not use it in any way to investigate Lloyd’s confession or mental state. The lawyer did not get in trouble from this, and they then quit the case right before the trial started, and did not meet up with their replacement to discuss any details of the case. This new attorney appointed to the case did not cross-examine the police Lloyd had spoke with, nor had he questioned any of the details of the case. Not only this, but during the trial, no defense witnesses were ever even called to the stand. The attorney’s closing argument was only five minutes long and hardly convincing, as if he put little to no effort into attempting to defend Eddie Joe Lloyd. In May of 1985, Eddie Joe Lloyd was found guilty and sent to prison for the next 17 years. He was sentenced for life, as Michigan has recently passed a law repealing the death sentence for those whom have been convicted. At the time of the sentencing, the Judge, Judge Leonard Townsend had complained that they could not give Lloyd a death sentence, which he deemed to be the “appropriate” outcome. “An attorney appointed to file Lloyd’s direct appeal did not visit Lloyd in prison or raise
In Detroit, Michigan. When the police questioned him on this case, they gave him details that were not out to the public. These details consisted of what the victim was wearing at the time of her death, such as her earrings and jeans, along with other detail. Later, his knowledge of these details would be used against him, making him out to seem like the culprit. “A simple endeavor that would have shown that a number of “facts” in Mr. Lloyd’s original letter were incorrect and that later admissions only matched the police’s prevailing theory of the case at the time and not the true particulars of the crime” (Wrongfully Convicted). Not only this, but police let Lloyd believe that by giving a written and recorded confession, he would help further the case in finding the real culprit. During the trial, the prosecutor played his recorded confession to the jury. Lloyd’s court appointed lawyer received 150 USD to use to help investigate. The lawyer gave a third of it to a convict, whom did not use it in any way to investigate Lloyd’s confession or mental state. The lawyer did not get in trouble from this, and they then quit the case right before the trial started, and did not meet up with their replacement to discuss any details of the case. This new attorney appointed to the case did not cross-examine the police Lloyd had spoke with, nor had he questioned any of the details of the case. Not only this, but during the trial, no defense witnesses were ever even called to the stand. The attorney’s closing argument was only five minutes long and hardly convincing, as if he put little to no effort into attempting to defend Eddie Joe Lloyd. In May of 1985, Eddie Joe Lloyd was found guilty and sent to prison for the next 17 years. He was sentenced for life, as Michigan has recently passed a law repealing the death sentence for those whom have been convicted. At the time of the sentencing, the Judge, Judge Leonard Townsend had complained that they could not give Lloyd a death sentence, which he deemed to be the “appropriate” outcome. “An attorney appointed to file Lloyd’s direct appeal did not visit Lloyd in prison or raise