Eye on Innocence

Here’s a great answer to the “ why are you being difficult or not answering questions?”
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, since 1989, over 3000 people who were convicted in court of crimes that resulted in serious prison time, or the death penalty, were able to later prove their innocence and through new evidence, or DNA testing. Many more prior to 1989 and the use of DNA evidence. It’s been estimated that at any given time, there may be up to 140,000 innocent people serving prison or jail sentences for crimes they did not commit. I don’t answer questions, or cooperate, because 75% of those wrongfully convicted people did.

Genera Jackson is not my only Duval County case either. The second case is that of a man who spent 17 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
Curtis Thomas Sr was convicted of stealing some cabinetry out of a home, when in reality, he was hired to help unload some cabinets that, unknown to him had been stolen. One of the most ridiculous laws to me is the receiving of stolen goods laws.
There’s so many flea markets, and private sellers advertising on social media, it’s really not reasonable to expect anyone who makes a purchase, to research the goods they’re buying to ensure they haven’t been stolen before they fork over a few dollars for it, nor is it reasonable to expect all sellers to have saved receipts or bills of sale for years or decades, or to even have ever had access to such documentation if they themselves purchased it second hand or maybe inherited the goods from a family member. That scenario isn’t exactly what Curtis experienced, but it’s close.
I remember working as a day laborer when I was younger. A construction company took about 4 of us to a construction site one day, and we loaded a trailer with equipment, and we each got paid $70. How were we, as hired help supposed to know if we just loaded up a trailer with goods that were being stolen?
Now, all that aside, that question boils down to intent. Did Curtis intend to help the people who hired him steal the cabinetry? I don’t believe he did, and I think the prosecution at his trial didn’t think so either, so they relied on some creative accusations and claims, and when I say creative, I don’t mean that in the clever sense. I mean they created their own “ facts “ and presented them to the jury.
The most blatant claim they made was that Curtis had confessed on paper that he knowingly took part in the crime. I have that document, and I promise you, there is nothing in it that is remotely a confession of culpability. It’s not even confusing so that it could be misunderstood as a confession! As if that isn’t bad enough, they then told the jury in closing that he’d actually confessed during the trial that the jury just sat through, which is easily disproven by reading the transcripts! It never happened! Yet, more often than any of us would like to think, jurors don’t second guess the prosecution. That’s a sad, but true fact.
Those two facts are a focus point for us, and I’ll explain why. Because no appellate judge could possibly believe that false claims of a confession that doesn’t exist, and never happened, made by the prosecutor at trial could be a “ harmless error that if they hadn’t occurred, would not likely have changed the verdict “.
When you’ve got a case as weak as they had against Curtis, utterly void of physical evidence connecting him to the crime, but you as a juror are told a confession was made, do you need any evidence, physical, circumstantial or otherwise? Would you even bother deliberating with the other jurors? No. Of course not. Why waste time debating the guilt or innocence of a man who says he’s guilty?
The vast majority of his case at trial pointed towards his innocence rather than his guilt, but hey! You’ve got his confession. Could getting a conviction be any easier than that?
Jurors need a lesson in critical thinking. If I was going to confess to a crime, not only in writing before trial, but also during the trial, I would hope a juror would wonder why I’m not pleading guilty and taking a deal? I mean, why go through a trial at all if I’ve already confessed to the crime, and am going to confess again at trial. Why don’t jurors see that it just doesn’t make any sense, and they need to scrutinize the prosecutions claims of my guilt, just as hard as they’re scrutinizing my claims of innocence.

https://eyeoninnocence.org/

Home/About Us - Eye On Innocnece in Jacksonville, FL At Eye On Innocnece in Jacksonville, FL, we provide pro bono investigations and other services for criminal cases. Browse our site today to learn more!

It’s that time again for my “ By the numbers “ report. I was going to post it last week, but decided to wait until the 6 month anniversary since my last report. In that week, there have been 10 more exonerations!
What needs to be understood is, that contrary to what is popular belief, and hailed by some as the justice system working, that’s not in fact what it is.
What it is is outside forces pushing back on the system that failed the wrongfully convicted.
Sometimes, these failures were caused by things out of anyone’s control, but often, they were the result of malicious prosecution, overzealous DAs, and other acts of official misconduct. It is only through the perseverance of the wrongfully convicted’s loved one’s and innocence organizations that join the fight on their behalf.
There are many tasks we might take on in the US that involve dealing with the State that are drawn out, frustrating, confusing, infuriating, time consuming and physically as well as emotionally exhausting, and none of them hold a candle to trying to prove someone innocent after a jury has found them guilty. Not a one.

BY THE NUMBERS UPDATE June 5, 2022
Daniel J Alden & Eye on Innocence INC

There have to date been 3,149 (An increase of 216 exonerations since my January 2022 update) very difficult to achieve exonerations. The years of life lost to only those exonerations since 1989, now numbers more than 27,600 years of loss. If we contribute only 3 pieces of evidence or witnesses presented at the original trials, that amounts to 9,447 pieces of evidence that contributed to their convictions. If we average the number of jurors at 9, it amounts to 28,341 jurors that found them “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”. Add in the bare minimum of one prosecutor per trial, and you have a minimum of 3,149 prosecutors who helped get those people convicted. Take into account appellate judges who upheld those convictions at a minimum of 2 of 3 affirming the guilty verdict, at least once, and you can put that number at 6,298.
Add up all the sum of all factors involved in their convictions and you get a number somewhere around 47,235 contributors to those wrongful convictions.
What do all of the above have in common?
Every judge, every prosecutor, every appellate judge, every single piece of evidence and every juror who voted guilty...were wrong.

There have been nearly 200 exonerations directly from death row. Some in which the exonerated individual was within days, or a few hours of being executed.

In an Ohio State University study, 789 judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and police chiefs to come up with a number of innocent individuals that they believe are convicted each year. The number they all agreed upon was 10,000.
The average prison time served before an innocent person is exonerated, if they are that lucky, is 14 years.
It stands to reason then that at any given moment in America, law professionals themselves believe you could find 140,000 innocent people wrongfully accused, wrongfully convicted, and wrongfully behind jail and prison walls.

The leading single cause of wrongful convictions is misidentification by eye witnesses and is followed by:

* Unvalidated Forensic Science. ...
* False Confessions. ...
* Jailhouse Informant Testimony. ...
* Police and Prosecutorial Misconduct. ...
* Poor Defense Lawyering. ...
* Systemic Racism and Implicit Bias.

As some of you know, but most of you assuredly do not, the kindest, most giving of himself, and loving people I could have ever met, is leaving us to go on to God.
Michael Goldrick, our Vice President, and my best friend has been fighting illness for quite some time and undergoing often painful and debilitating treatments to stay with us, and his wonderful family.
I can’t count the number of times he’s helped me out personally, without ever being asked.
Without him, there would have been no Eye on Innocence.
I also cannot express how much I will miss him. How much everyone who ever knew him will miss him.
He was a tireless worker when it came to seeking Justice where there previously had been none. A fighter for all marginalized people, he was always the first person to offer assistance, when and where needed.
There will be an incredible void left behind him, not only in EOI, but in this world, and in my heart.
I am honored to have had the time with him that I’ve had.
I taught him about wrongful convictions, he taught me about loving all people.
Lessons I will not forget.

I’ve been asked on a few occasions, “ who’s the most famous person you’ve met “, and I’ve had a few to choose from. I’ve had a beer with the star of the TV series Hunter, Fred Dryer, and given a walking tour of Marine Corps Airbase El Toro California to Michael Landon, partied with the band Alabama on their bus in California, and hung out in the hotel suit of the band “ Simple Plan “ in Salt Lake City Utah, when our flight to Dallas got cancelled, but no one has ever asked who’s the famous person I’ve met that has also had an impact on my life.
Although he was only famous in certain circles, and sadly unknown by many who should’ve been at least familiar with who he was, and what he stood for, that recognition goes to this man. Attorney William Sheppard.
The first white attorney to form a partnership with a black attorney in the state of Florida.
The attorney who won the case for same s*x marriage in our Supreme Court.
The winner of more awards for his mastery in his field as a civil rights attorney than any other. He had no fear that I’m aware of.
He even dared to sue the Attorney General’s office on his own behalf, and won.
Not only was he a stalwart for civil rights, he was a huge advocate for veterans stuck in legal quagmires.
I spent a good amount of time chatting with him in his office and by email, and felt extremely honored
When he’d send me a ruling to read, or we’d discuss one of his cases.
I was sitting in his office with him one day when by pure chance, one of the assistant DA’s called him to advise him that he should tell me that if I “didn’t have an attorney myself, I should get one, because they were considering arresting me, and charging me with illegally recording a jury foreman, “ after a trial, and verdict had been handed down.
Bill said, “ well, it just so happens, Daniel is in my office right now, so why don’t you just send someone over right now to get him, because I think I’ve got him covered “
That must’ve been enough, because they never showed up, then or at any time thereafter.
He’ll be missed by many. As our own DA, Melissa Nelson noted on twitter, “ a legal legend has passed on. R.I.P. Bill.

William Sheppard
1942-2022

After checking Florida laws, I’ve found I can hold a charity raffle for Eye on Innocence. The idea is that $20 would get the winner of the raffle 10% of whatever I bring home after a one week prospecting trip to Arizona in early April. So roughly 5 days of prospecting.
This will be 10% of my share. We’ll be moving from gold mine area to gold mine area until we find a productive site. Staying only 1 hour detecting. If we get no hits, we move on to the next site, Camping overnight at the end of each day. Eliminating drive time back and forth to hotels, giving us the maximum time detecting, panning, or high boxing, or sluicing. We’ll be equipped for every method. A couple photos from finds so far. Panning and Sluiceing in Telluride Colorado, to detecting the Florida beach at Sebastian inlet. One single gram of gold more than doubled your money back. You’ll receive the actual gold as the 10%, or if you prefer, the cash value. Any interest out there from anyone?

After checking Florida laws, I’ve found I can hold a charity raffle for Eye on Innocence. The idea is that $20 would get the winner of the raffle 10% of whatever I bring home after a one week prospecting trip to Arizona in early April. So roughly 5 days of prospecting.
This will be 10% of my share. We’ll be moving from gold mine area to gold mine area until we find a productive site. Staying only 1 hour detecting. If we get no hits, we move on to the next site, Camping overnight at the end of each day. Eliminating drive time back and forth to hotels, giving us the maximum time detecting, panning, or high boxing, or sluicing. We’ll be equipped for every method. A couple photos from finds so far. Panning and Sluiceing in Telluride Colorado, to detecting the Florida beach at Sebastian inlet. One single gram of gold more than doubled your money back. You’ll receive the actual gold as the 10%, or if you prefer, the cash value.

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/demand-floridas-4th-judicial-circuit-revisit

Petition Demand Florida’s 4th Judicial Circuit revisit Corky Pride’s case! Demand Florida’s 4th Judicial Circuit revisit Corky Pride’s case!

Well, it looks like it’s finally going to happen! Despite three motions to block it by the state, the evidentiary hearing I’ve been waiting 3 years for will take place in late December.
I will be subpoenaed to appear, as well as the Vice President of EOI, and my son most likely, as he and I are the two that gathered the evidence, and handed it over to the appellate attorneys of the wrongfully convicted individual at the heart of the case.
It’s been too long in coming!
I’m a long, long way away, but I’ll gladly make this trip!

Eyeoninnocence.org

The last time I really reached out for help was when working on Kevin’s case. I’m about to do it again. We at EOI have the opportunity to get some of the exposure we need. 1/2 page of a local paper, and a professionally produced and edited video featuring……. ME!!! 😃
The idea is to introduce EOI to the citizens of northeast Jacksonville, and familiarize them just a bit with two of my Duval County cases.
However, we are $850.00 short of being able to pay for the page in the paper and the video. Time is also short! The issue of the paper we’re looking for needs to go to print on September 9th. If we can’t reach our goal, it’ll be a month before we can attempt it again! So make those tax deductible donations! There’s several ways to do it! You can go to eyeoninnocence.org, and make them there using PayPal, Venmo or cashapp on the donate page, or message me and We’ll see if we can do it another way! We can do this I know! Don’t forget to ask for your Eye on Innocence tee shirt or auto magnet! I’ll post our 501(c)3 IRS determination letter in the comments, and get you a receipt for your donation if you’re looking to make your donation tax deductible! Hoping to have it together by business opening on Monday!

Home/About Us - Eye On Innocnece in Jacksonville, FL At Eye On Innocnece in Jacksonville, FL, we provide pro bono investigations and other services for criminal cases. Browse our site today to learn more!

Coming July 11th!

They have arrived! For those who don’t have a place for the full sized nylon flag, these are now available on our website. Being a non profit, I cannot sell a product, so they’re available with you tax deductible donation to Eye on innocence, building a legal fund for the wrongfully convicted. Eyeoninnocence.org

In more than 6 years of fighting for the wrongfully convicted and advocating for the incarcerated, my biggest obstacle has always been awareness. The number of people who dont understand the magnitude of the wrongful conviction problem, just how many people are effected, not just inmates, but parents of inmates, children of inmates, siblings and friend and co-workers. These same people are affected when any inmate remains incarcerated. Again, the problem is that the vast majority of the public at large just don’t see how big the problem is.
In my time, I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve rolled their eyes or avoided the conversation because they just don’t see the problem in all it’s magnitude.
I’ve been a mere word or two from coming to blows with Assistant District Attorneys in the court hallways of the Duval County Courthouse, the Florida Appellate Courts, and Sacramento courts who denied the existence of wrongful convictions entirely.

I’ve often wished we could get everyone affected by wrongful convictions and those incarcerated who’s crimes met the criteria to require incarceration ( no man should be judged for life for his worst mistake ) to hold hands side by side. How far would they stretch? Across the country? Around the world? To the moon?
Of course, this would be impossible.
One night, I decided I wanted to let it be known that I support the incarcerated, as well as fight for the wrongfully convicted. I began with a couple of searches. Official flag of the wrongfully convicted, official flag of the incarcerated, and official colors of each. To my surprise, there was none of the above!
I immediately set out to design and go through the proper legal channels to design a flag and ribbons for both categories.
I will display both on my home and my vehicles. I am not ashamed. I married a felon. I know both the struggle, and the pride derived from the successes and progress a loved one makes in the face of incredible odds and obstacles.
I wanted the design to have bold symbolism!
I came up with the following design.

An American flag styling, as mass incarceration and wrongful convictions en mass, are a uniquely American epidemic, with the US having 1/4 of all incarcerated citizens of the entire planet.

I chose the colors green, black, and orange because they are opposite the colors of freedom, or red, white and blue on the color spectrum.

I chose to have 14 stripes, relative to the 14th amendment of the constitution covering due process and equal protection under the law.

The image of the empty scales, nevertheless being imbalanced representing those who justice failed. The broken scales of justice.

The hourglass, dedicate to the incarcerated for whom time has stopped, or who are waiting for the sands of time to run down on their sentences, manifesting in their ultimate release.

It’s my vision, that one day, these flags and ribbons will be on homes, cars and property of every single person who’s been negatively affected by our broken justice system.
I don’t want people to be able to drive don’t the road without seeing a reminder of those stuck on the wrong side of concrete, steel and humanity.

That’s why I designed these items, and took the time to legally make them licensed property of my organization, Eye on Innocence. You can receive these items by donation only. I’ve taken all necessary legal precautions to prevent their sale for profit. All donations to EOI go towards operational expenses of EOI in our quest for justice for the wrongfully convicted. Keep an eye on the EOI website at eyeoninnocence. org for production schedule. We’re going to put America’s broken justice system under everyone’s spotlight. Right where it belongs!!!

Registered as the official flag of the wrongfully convicted, the official flag of the incarcerated, the official ribbon of the wrongfully convicted, and the official ribbon of the incarcerated.

Join us in bringing awareness to America’s easiest to end epidemic.

Daniel J Alden, Founder, Eye on Innocence

Time for my twice yearly update of the numbers.

BY THE NUMBERS UPDATE JUNE 2021

There have to date been 2,796 very difficult to achieve exonerations. The years lost to only those exonerations since 1989, that’s a loss of more than 24,915 years of loss. If we contribute only 3 pieces of evidence or witnesses presented at the original trials, that amounts to 8,388 pieces of evidence that contributed to their convictions. If we average the number of jurors at 9, it amounts to 25,164 jurors that found them “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”. Add in the bare minimum of one prosecutor per trial, and you have a minimum of 2,796 prosecutors who helped get those people convicted. Take into account appellate judges who upheld those convictions at a minimum of 2 of 3 affirming the guilty verdict, at least once, and you can put that number at 5,592
Add up all the sum of all factors involved in their convictions and you get a number somewhere around 40,800 contributors to those convictions.
What do all of the above have in common?
Every judge, every prosecutor, every appellate judge, every single piece of evidence and every juror who voted guilty...were all wrong.

NEW MERCH ALERT!!!! MAGNETS AND SHIRTS ARE HERE! GET YOUR TODAY!

Home/About Us - Eye On Innocnece in Jacksonville, FL At Eye On Innocnece in Jacksonville, FL, we provide pro bono investigations and other services for criminal cases. Browse our site today to learn more!

ALERT ALERT ALERT!! 1. CASH APP ($eoiorg) and VENMO () are now flowing🌊. Donate any way you like! ( it’s tax deductible!! )FLAGS for the wrongfully convicted are NOW available for purchase online on our website. Just head to our online store and get yours today! https://eyeoninnocence.org/store

The Flags have finally arrived, completing the EOI collection! I’ll be shipping the first ones out on Tuesday!!!

I wanted the design to have bold symbolism!
I came up with the following design.

An American flag styling, as mass incarceration and wrongful convictions en mass, are a uniquely American epidemic, with the US having 1/4 of all incarcerated citizens of the entire planet.

I chose the colors green, black, and orange because they are opposite the colors of freedom, or red, white and blue on the color spectrum.

I chose to have 14 stripes, relative to the 14th amendment of the constitution covering due process and equal protection under the law.

The image of the empty scales, nevertheless being imbalanced representing those who justice failed. The broken scales of justice.

The hourglass, dedicate to the incarcerated for whom time has stopped, or who are waiting for the sands of time to run down on their sentences, manifesting in their ultimate release.

It’s my vision, that one day, these flags and ribbons will be on homes, cars and property of every single person who’s been negatively affected by our broken justice system.
I don’t want people to be able to drive don’t the road without seeing a reminder of those stuck on the wrong side of concrete, steel and humanity.

General Jackson “ Corky “ Pride was 22 years old when he was arrested over 30 years ago outside his mothers house and arrested for 3 counts of s*xual assault based on an anonymous tip.
He hardly fit the description given to police of the masked assailants. 5 inches shorter, roughly 60 pounds lighter, much darker complected, none noticed Corky has gold forward teeth and was lacking the scar under his right eye that all 3 victims had reported to police. In fact, one of the victims at initially told police that she believed it was her ex boyfriend, whom she had recently been in a fight with.

Nevertheless, General Jackson Pride was tried and convicted of the assault of the mother and her two adult children and sentenced to 6 life sentences.

Today he sits in one of Florida’s many prisons, still claiming innocence of the 1985 assaults.

His family first contacted me earlier this year and asked for help. I read the transcripts and discovered the evidence collected in the crime consisted of the mask worn by the assailant, a pair of women’s pink underwear worn by one of the victims during the attack, and a blood sample collected from the window sill that the police believe the attacker entered the home through. Also collected were p***c hair combings taken from the victim that had been penetrated.

Several years after Corky’s conviction and sentencing, the man known as the “ Northside Ra**st “ was apprehended. Police said he’d been terrorizing the women in the area since 1972. He also lived in the exact same neighborhood as the mother and her two daughters that Corky had been convicted of assaulting.

What the police didn’t have at their disposal at the time of Corky Pride’s conviction was the ability to test any of the evidence for DNA. The first time DNA would be used to eliminate a suspect would still be 4 years down the road.

I intend to get Corky’s case back into the courtroom my filing a motion available to Floridians convicted pre the DNA era, with a guarantee of testing available DNA evidence.

Also in Corky’s favor is that the State of Florida requires that evidence be kept and maintained for the duration of the convicted’s sentence. So somewhere in storage, the aforementioned pieces of evidence should be safely stored and accessible.
This means that if we at EOI ( Eye on Innocence ) can secure an attorney for Corky, we may have the means to finally bring an innocent man home.

If you’d like to contribute to help us, help Corky, just click the donate button at eyeoninnocence.org For other options you may email [email protected]

Thank you

A lot of people ask “ where do donations to EOI go? What do they pay for? “
The number 1 problem in getting a wrongful conviction case back into a courtroom is finding an attorney. Understandably, it’s tough to ask someone to work for free, it’s 100 X tougher to get one to agree.
It involves a lot! Starting with reviewing the entire case. Reading every page of what is often 40 or 50 file boxes of court documents, transcripts, motions, sentencing paperwork. Even digging up old new articles or video clips.
We assist in that by doing it before we present anything to a potential attorney and writing everything up in an easy to find format with bullet points accompanied by page, paragraph and line numbers.
Take the Guy Heinze Jr case for instance. It took me 5 months to get through everything, including visiting Georgia and even speaking to the reporter that sat through the trial. All of EOI’s staff are currently volunteers except me. I’m the opposite of a volunteer. I work, and pay out of pocket for everything until we get in full swing. Since 2015, that’s cost roughly $117,000. It’s a chunk of money for a mechanic who isn’t even making a base pay equivalent to Florida’s median wage. The satisfaction however, has been well worth it.
The hopes with the donations is to build a fund large enough to support retainers for attorneys for each case we get, private investigators when needed, and expert opinions when they’d be helpful.
As a 501(c)3 charity, I can’t sell products, but I can make them available to give away with donations of different values. I recently purchased $1,000 dollars worth of tee shirts with the EOI logo on the front breast pocket, and the flag of the wrongfully convicted on the back as well as polos. $244 worth of car magnets depicting the flag we’ve got pending copyright, and $300 worth of actual high quality double sided nylon 3’x5’ flags, because even when donating, it’s nice to get something in return. All of that was paid out of pocket. To past exonorees, I offer all items free of donations, because I think it’s important to get them out there to raise awareness. I’ve got several orders to fill for past donors that I’ve promised items to. ( if you’re one of those people, stand by, the shirts just came in recently )
If you’ve ever needed an attorney, you know it’s not cheep. The numbers I’ve been asked for retainers to simply file a motion are $3,600, $5,000, and $6000. To actually take on a case? $20,000.
Most of my clients are incarcerated and couldn’t afford a private attorney for trial, so it’s highly unlikely they can afford one now.
And that’s why I created Eye on Innocence. Because those that we find have legitimate claims of wrongful conviction, deserve to have their case presented again, in its entirety. Thanks for reading. At some point, please consider making a donation to help them out. Thank you. Daniel.

The flag explained:

Every detail is important on these. 1) The colors are orange, green and black. These colors in the color spectrum are opposite the colors we regard as the colors of freedom. Directly opposite of Red, white and blue.

2) the flag is similar to the American flag design, because mass incarceration and the volume of wrongful convictions per capita are uniquely an American problem.

3) there is 14 stripes of black and green, representative of the 14th amendment which of course encompasses due process, and equal protection under the law. Both of which are grossly lacking in America.

4) in the corner, replacing the white stars on the blue background of the American flag, is either an image of the unjustly tipped scales of justice, or the silhouette of an hourglass representing time. The time that passes very slowly for the wrongfully convicted, and generally, every single incarcerated person out there.

Filed with the US department of copyright as the Official Flags of the incarcerated, and the Official flag of the wrongfully convicted, the colors of the design can’t be mistaken for anything else even on a windless day as it hangs waiting on a breeze.

I’ve come up with a more fair way to conduct trials, that is even more plausible with COVID 19 now a factor. Think of the things that bias a jury. Emotion from the victim. When a jury sees fear or intense sorrow or grief, they may definitely feel anger towards the defendant whether he’s guilty or not, and thus find him guilty regardless of the evidence. Race. We all know it has, and will continue to play a part in some trials and verdicts.
The inability of jurors to keep up with taking notes. There’s a hell of a lot to write down during a trial. Evidence. Photos don’t always do justice. Not always being able to hear every word said in testimony. You’re bound to miss things, not hear them clearly, or mishear them. All these issues could be cured simply by having jurorless trials. The verdict would still come from the jurors of course, but the trial would be held with an empty juror box. All witnesses would appear, all experts, and the trial would be held in full and all of it transcribed. Then all complete transcripts handed out to each juror to read. Each piece of physical evidence as well as photos brought forth and the jurors allowed to examine them. No worries about incomplete notes. You’ve got every word in front of you in black and white. You won’t see the prosecutor or hear him or her ask questions designed to make the victim cry, nor would you hear the weeping that is sometimes merely an act. You won’t necessarily know if the accused is black, white, yellow or purple, because all you’ll have is transcripts to look at that won’t even include interruptions that might put a regular juror to sleep. You won’t see the theatrics put on that can win or lose a trial based on which side was more entertaining or yelled the loudest. No more basing verdicts on demeanor or appearances of the defendant. Just the facts.
Yes. So many problems at trial could be eliminated with jurorless trials. And filling a courtroom with potential COVID carriers all sitting next to each other in jury boxes or the gallery becomes no longer a reason to delay trials and hearings.
This would have to be introduced and have just a few people’s backing to run a pilot study. I think a good way would be to take several, maybe as many as 20 proven wrongful conviction cases and a pool of volunteers to act as jurors. Give them all the resources I mentioned, and see what the accuracy of their verdicts are doing it my way. For example, the original juries obviously got all twenty of the verdicts wrong in the 20 cases presented. Say my test juries come back with 10 not guilty verdicts and 10 guilty verdicts. It’s still not perfect, but it amounts to 50% fewer wrongful convictions and a strong argument for changing how we do things. The time is right!