Wrongly Accused: Top 10 Fact-Based Movies

Truth and justice is the American way. Throughout the years, we have believed in the rightness of the justice system. If a judge and jury says you are guilty, then it must be true.

More and more, we are finding out that this is not always the case. New investigative techniques and more advanced DNA testing are turning up new evidence that is overturning previous convictions.

No one knows how many innocent people are imprisoned right now or how many innocent people have already been executed due to the death penalty. There have been over 60 fact based documentaries and films made about cases of innocent people who were wrongly accused and convicted. Below is a short list of some of the fact based movies about convicted innocents.

1. The Thin Blue Line (1988)

In 1977, Randall Dale Adams was accused and convicted of the 1976 murder of a Dallas policeman. He was sentenced to death. After serving 12 years in prison, his conviction was overturned and he was released when new evidence proved his innocence.

2. 10 Rillington Place (1970)

Timothy Evans was charged with the murders of his wife and baby. After ex-policeman John Reginald Halliday Christie testifies against Evans, he is convicted and hung on March 9, 1950. After the execution, evidence reveals that the real killer was John Reginald Halliday Christie.

3. Anybody's Nightmare (2001)

Sheila Bowler, 62, served four years of a life sentence after being accused and convicted of drowning her 89-year-old aunt in the river. It was later concluded that the aunt who suffered from dementia had wandered away and had fallen into the river where her body was found the next day.

4. A Cry in the Dark (1988)

Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering her 2-month-old daughter on a family camping trip in the outback. Her conviction was overturned 6 years later when evidence confirmed that dingos took the baby which is what she had claimed from the beginning.

5. In a Blink of a Eye (1996)

Sonia Jacobs and her boyfriend, Jesse Tafero, along with Walter Rhodes, were convicted for the 1976 murder of two policemen in Florida. Rhodes testified against the other two in exchange for a life sentence, leaving them sentenced with death row. Rhodes later recanted his testimony and confessed to the murders. Sonia had spent 17 years in prison, and Jesse had been executed in 1990.

6. Guilty Until Proven Innocent (1991)

One of the most obvious wrongful conviction cases is of 20-year-old Bobby McLoughlin. He was convicted of robbery and murder after an informant gave a name to police. Bobby McLoughlin's first and last name matched, but not his middle name. Descriptions of the suspect didn't match him either. Suspect was different age and was African American. Bobby McLoughlin was white/Caucasian. With these obvious differences, Bobby McLoughlin was still wrongfully convicted.

7. Justice Denied (1989)

17 year old Donald Marshall Jr. wrongfully served 11 years for the murder of his girlfriend, Sandy Seale after the attempted mugging of Roy Ebsary went bad. Witnesses later said that it was Ebsary that fatally stabbed Seale and not Marshall.

8. Just Ask My Children (2001)

After Kern County, California, police and prosecutors badgered Scott and Brenda Kniffen's sons for hours, they lied and said that their parents had molested them. This led to their wrongful conviction and serving 14 years before having the conviction overturned.

9. The Interrogation of Michael Crowe (2002)

A California boy was the prime suspect in the murder of his 12-year-old sister. Police aggressively interrogated 14 year old Michael Crowe until he finally broke down and gave a false confession. A year later, DNA testing positively identified a homeless man as the killer.

10. Indictment (1995)

Raymond Buckey was arrested and charged with over 300 counts of child abuse and molestation which allegedly occurred at his family's day care center. He was denied bond and sat in jail for 6 years until all charges were eventually dropped.

We have been taught that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Is this really the way it still is? More and more lately, it seems that the justice system is telling us that everyone is guilty until proven innocent.