Joseph Walker, a South Carolina native’s, case highlights the role that ineffective assistance of counsel can play in a wrongful conviction. In this case, trial counsel failed to investigate Walker’s alibi. On Saturday, March 2, 2002, the victim stopped at a gas station in Denmark, South Carolina. When she tried to leave, her car would […]
Exonerating the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustices
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
The failure of overworked lawyers to investigate, call witnesses or prepare for trial has led to the conviction of innocent people. When a defense lawyer doesn’t do his or her job, the defendant suffers. Shrinking funding and access to resources for public defenders and court-appointed attorneys is only making the problem worse.