I have done a lot of reading on this. Based on the 48 Hours show, I concluded that it was possible that he did this, but that not guilty was the only possible verdict based on the evidence. But after digging deeper, I have come to the conclusion that there is a 0% chance that Ferguson is guilty. The story and the chain of events just don't logically add up and there is no way that any of it is true. It's simply a case where a kid had a dream, started to give in to the idea that he may have done this two years earlier, got coached on the facts, continued to daydream about it, and wrote a fictional story in his head. Now he has the story down, the only problem is that it isn't true. It's like those movies that you watch, and then afterwards go through the plot logically and see the holes in it. I think Erikson is a well-meaning disturbed kid that honestly feels like he's telling the truth, even now. Just a classic case of a false memory.
I saw the 48 Hours, and this conviction was a travesty. Read John Grisham's latest book about two guys (and others) who were completely innocent and were convicted of murder in Oklahoma. Look at the Duke "rape" case. I can tell you from personal experience - most cops and prosecutors couldn't give a fuck if someone is innocent or guilty - they just want to up their conviction rate and advance their careers. Until they start prosecuting these scumbags, it's going to keep happening. And if you are for the death penalty, just wait until it happens to you.
Couldn't agree more about the prosecution and the cops. They didn't care one bit about justice or facts in this case. They just wanted a conviction, and would stop at nothing to get it. They totally manipulated Erickson and the jury. How does this DA sleep at night? He needs to be Nifonged immediately. Sad thing is, he's already moved up and is now a judge.
How can people like that go into law enforcement? There are plenty of professions where it pays to be a narcissist and care nothing about anybody but yourself. Being in law enforcement, it should be a given that you value justice above anything else. Apparently, that's not always the case.
http://www.crimemagazine.com/07/ryan_ferguson,0722-7.htm
This is a long, but great read.
It seems biased towards this guy's innocence, but facts are facts, and there are plenty of 'em disprove the unbelievable guilty verdict. It's also critical of the defense at the end, how Ferguson's counsel fucked up big-time.
But either way, there was simply no PROOF that he was in any way involved in this murder. It's unfathomable how this kid is rotting in jail right now, whether he really did it or not.
This is a long, but great read.
It seems biased towards this guy's innocence, but facts are facts, and there are plenty of 'em disprove the unbelievable guilty verdict. It's also critical of the defense at the end, how Ferguson's counsel fucked up big-time.
But either way, there was simply no PROOF that he was in any way involved in this murder. It's unfathomable how this kid is rotting in jail right now, whether he really did it or not.
wow
i just watched the youtube video of that tool getting interrogated. Is this honestly what our justice system has come to? a bunch of guesses? the fucking kid even says "I might not even know what Im talking about"
how embarrasing
i dont know much about the law or the judicial system in this country, but i do have plenty of common sense, and after watching this chuck kid get interrogated by this dectative, i think its rather obvious that things need to get worked over
i just watched the youtube video of that tool getting interrogated. Is this honestly what our justice system has come to? a bunch of guesses? the fucking kid even says "I might not even know what Im talking about"
how embarrasing
i dont know much about the law or the judicial system in this country, but i do have plenty of common sense, and after watching this chuck kid get interrogated by this dectative, i think its rather obvious that things need to get worked over
You're right, the prosecutors are the ones who are the big problem. Many (most?) of them are morally corrupt, and I don't think that's true for cops. However, cops are under a great deal of pressure to "solve' cases, make drug/vice busts, etc., and sometimes let their zeal blind them to the facts.
I think this is the post of the week.
Politicians are under pressure to solve heinous crimes. This is especially true during re-election years and sometimes the pressure comes from the sheriff's office or the governor's office. They get a wide latitude to charge someone on the most flimsy evidence.
What really gets me is that some of these people have no concern for the innocent lives they ruin. The police are the henchmen in these situations are are sworn to arrest anyone their supervisors tell them to arrest (or should I say kidnap).
Just watched this again. It is absolutely unbelieveable that this kid is sitting in prison right now. When you get a DA that doesn't give a shit about justice, and a jury with IQ's all below 100, you get this. It is replaying again in a few minutes, if anyone wants to see what a real bad beat is like. This takes bad beat to a whole new level.
Just finished watching this. Utterly unbelievable that 12 people could be convinced that he was involved in this crime. Like Illini, I am not convinced he didn't, but there is no possible way 12 people should all be able to agree that they have no reasonable doubt about his guilt. Completely unbelievable.
I saw the story and thought it was a very flimsy case. I watch alot of these true crime shows. Alot of innocent people get convicted. Most of the time their emotion is like the 21 year olds. They stand their with no emotion, frozen in disbelief. These innocent people were later cleared with DNA testing.
The more research that I've done, I'm absolutely convinced of his innocence. The timeline of events doesn't add up, there was evidence at the scene that didn't match either party, and the fact that Erickson had no clue about any of the details until the police fed it to him. I mean, I guess there's a 1% chance they did it, but I find it almost impossible. Two drunk 17 year olds, and they don't leave one trace of evidence at the scene? And the fact that there was a hair on the victim's hand, and it belonged to someone else? He's innocent, and it's just unreal that he's gonna be in prison till he's 57 years old.
Free Ryan Ferguson.
You're an attorney, right? What chance does this kid have of getting released on appeal? All appeals have been denied so far, but isn't there some way for common sense to intervene and overturn this verdict? I know that Northwestern University has a wrongful convictions pro-bono team that does this sort of thing. How can concerned people like me get involved? I had kind of put this out of my mind, but watching this again, I feel so terrible for that kid. Hard to just ignore this travesty.
Unfortunately not too great of a chance. Convictions don't get over turned for factual matters unless, in rare occasions, new facts come to light AFTER the trial has ended that prove innocence (like the guy in Illinois that 60 minutes featured a while back when two attorneys of another guy came forward that their client committed the murder. Guy was in the can for like 20 years and the attorneys sat on the information). But even that may only get him a new trial, depends on the situation.
Appeals are pretty much for errors of law and procedural matters. So basically he needs a legal, not factual, basis to overturn the conviction. Appeals courts don't look at the facts of the case or the jury's analysis of those facts (in theory they could overturn if a jury brought in outside facts, but that isn't evident). The Governor could commute or pardon the sentence, that is about it.
Appeals are pretty much for errors of law and procedural matters. So basically he needs a legal, not factual, basis to overturn the conviction. Appeals courts don't look at the facts of the case or the jury's analysis of those facts (in theory they could overturn if a jury brought in outside facts, but that isn't evident). The Governor could commute or pardon the sentence, that is about it.
Update: Chuck Erickson recanted his story and now claims that he alone committed the crime. (This guy is just a lunatic and in no way credible......he probably wasn't involved at all, and his story cannot be believed. It just goes to show that the only evidence against Ferguson was this crazy guy's testimony, which anyone with a brain already knew.) Ferguson took and passed a lie detector test, and the prosecution keeps asking for extensions to respond the defense on the appeal.
Hopefully someday, this innocent kid will be released.
Hopefully someday, this innocent kid will be released.
