I truly wish this was true. I truly wish that innocent people never get arrested for a crime, much less charged, much less convicted. As a result, too many people believe that, if they’re innocent, they don’t need a lawyer during a police investigation or an arrest. Some people even believe they don’t need one for court.
Sadly, the lack of the most basic protection of the right to a lawyer will lead to a calamity for this innocent man or woman. Unfortunately, innocent people are convicted and sentenced all the time. WTKR just ran a piece on December 22 which featured two innocent people who were both charged with murder. The State’s case was not foolproof, so the prosecution offered 6 years, 8 months on a lesser charge. One took the deal. The other decided to “roll the dice,” and was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Here’s a link to the story:
As of this writing, the Innocence Project in New York has identified 362 people nationwide who were convicted but exonerated much later due to DNA testing. The National Registry of Exonerations in Michigan has identified 2,361 exonerations nationwide as of this writing. These numbers will climb over time.
Any one of these people, when told by another innocent person who’s under investigation that there’s nothing to worry about because of his or her innocence, may want to argue the point. I don’t know if this is true, but there’s a story going around that at least some prosecutors, wishing to prove their mettle, say “Any prosecutor can convict a guilty person, but a good prosecutor can convict an innocent person.”
If you’re under investigation, under arrest, or charged with an offense, you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer right away to help fight for you. The Law Office of William Wolf is prepared to help you. Your freedom will require a fight, and it’s certainly worth fighting for.