You're a normal kid. Everyday you wake up, kiss your little brother on your way out the door, and go to school. After school you go to football, or lacrosse, or the library. Then you go home and do your homework. Eat dinner with your family in front of the TV. On the weekends you hangout with friends, maybe get a little drunk. All the while smiling because even though life might be hard, at least you're safe and you have a warm bed with a loving family to return to. But what if one day that changed. Instead of going to the library you go to jail. After hours of non-stop interrogation without your parents permission you're thrown hastily into a cell. Convicted of a crime you know you did not commit.
Four teenagers in Chicago were convicted of raping and killing Lori Roscetti in 1986. They served 15 years in jail before DNA evidence proved their innocence. Calvin, 14 at the time, says the police tricked him into signing a confession. After interrogating him for hours they promised if he just signed the confession then he could go home to his mom. After he signed the confession they locked him up in jail. A man named Omar Saunders was asked by police to testify as a witness to seeing 4 black guys and a white girl being raped by the railroad tracks. When he refused to falsely testify he was convicted and sent to jail as well. Omar become the group's unofficial lawyer. When they discovered none of their semen matched that of the attackers they realized they were legally free. But first Calvin had to sign an affidavit and he refused. The last time Calvin signed his name on a piece of paper he went to jail for life, so he had decided he wasn't signing his name anymore. After finally getting Calvin to sign they found Kathleen Zellner who was in the business of exonerating wrongly convicted prisoners using DNA evidence. After returning to court and proving their innocence, the men were free. After 15 years of living in prison for a crime they did not commit.
We listened to this story in a radio podcast. It was really sad to hear about the men's experiences in jail. I was amazed to hear that the United States justice system works like that. I had no idea police would interrogate minors for hours without parental consent then trick them into signing confessions. Or that they would try to trick people in falsely testifying against suspects. It was really disheartening to hear this. I skimmed a transcript of the podcast to find the names and dates for the summary and it was much sadder the 2nd time I read it. It really sank in this time. I hope I never go to jail for a crime I didn't commit!
