Incarceration By Mistake In Buffalo, New York

Jed Dietrich, Esq. and His Team of Lawyers and Paralegals at the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. Fight to Obtain the Best Result for People Who Were Falsely Imprisoned for Crimes They Did Not Commit.

Many innocent people throughout New York and across the United States have wasted years, even decades, behind bars for crimes that they never committed. These unfair and unwarranted convictions significantly derail the lives of everyone involved. Those wrongfully accused and falsely imprisoned have their liberty and freedom stolen from them. In the meantime, their families are forced to live without them, whether it is children deprived of their parents or parents left without children. Studies show that approximately 2.3% - 5% of those currently serving time in prison are actually innocent, which could mean up to 120,000 prisoners throughout the country.

Even for falsely imprisoned people that are fortunate enough to be later exonerated, it is impossible to get those precious years back that they have lost. Exonerees may no longer be familiar with the world that they are released into, and are forced to try and put the pieces of their lives back together by themselves. Wrongful convictions and false imprisonments erode everyone’s confidence in the criminal justice system. Most people take for granted that the system protects innocent people from such egregious injustices.

Stories of innocent people being imprisoned for crimes they did not commit are becoming more and more prevalent throughout the United States. Heartbreaking happenings like these inspire Jed Dietrich, Esq. to strive to provide the highest level of legal representation to the people of Western New York each and every day. If you were just exonerated, it is crucial that you contact an experienced law firm like the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. to evaluate your claim. The Dietrich Law Firm P.C.’s team of false imprisonment attorneys in Buffalo, New York is highly experienced, aggressive, tenacious and hardworking. We are determined, disciplined and dedicated to obtaining the best possible results for people in Buffalo, New York; Rochester, New York; Niagara Falls, New York; throughout New York State and beyond.

Since 1999, Jed Dietrich, Esq. has fought for his clients against many different forms of injustice. Jed Dietrich, Esq. has battled to obtain over $175 Million in verdicts and settlements for his clients and will fight relentlessly against those who unconstitutionally deprive individuals of their freedom. The Dietrich Law Firm P.C.’s team of highly experienced and top rated Buffalo, New York incarceration by mistake lawyers possess the knowledge and skills necessary to methodically investigate your false imprisonment claim and ensure that you are in a position to receive the highest possible recovery for your lost time and damages. Contact us today at 716-839-3939 for your free consultation. We can be reached 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.

Innocent people may be unjustly arrested, improperly held or imprisoned for excessively long periods of time based upon the most frivolous reasons. People are commonly wrongfully arrested or imprisoned due to the following reasons:

1. Some police detain and arrest suspects simply because the officer did not like the person or his or her answers to their questions;
2. Stale warrants that were never updated or corrected;
3. Mistaken identity, such as having the same or a similar name as an offender wanted by the police;
4. Police failing to notice or ignoring differences in physical appearances or social security numbers;
5. Judges unfairly assessing guilt and using it in case-related decisions such as setting bail, ruling on pretrial motions and trial objections and determining jury instructions;
6. Purchasing a vehicle that was previously reported stolen without any knowledge that the used vehicle was stolen property;
7. Implicit racial bias, which includes attitudes, prejudices or stereotypes about different races despite good intentions or nondiscriminatory motives; and
8. Racial bias, which has been widely-documented at every step of the justice system. Those framed in drug related arrests tend to be predominantly African American. Additionally, African Americans are more likely to be targets of police misconduct and receive much longer sentences, on average, than whites for similar crimes.

This question is complicated and there is no simple answer. Every false imprisonment or wrongful conviction has a unique set of circumstances, but most can be traced back to a few prevalent causes. The National Registry of Exonerations examined all of the exonerations since 1989 and identified these main reasons:

1. Eyewitness misidentification: Typically, testimony from eyewitnesses is the most inaccurate and unreliable of all evidence presented during a trial. The accuracy of memories of humans is far from perfect. Widespread research demonstrates that human minds are not reliable when it comes to recording or recalling events, as the memory gets distorted over time. In 2014, National Academy of Sciences released a report that found stress, biases and uncomfortable viewing conditions can impact a witness’ capacity to identify someone from a lineup. It is not surprising that one of the most common causes of wrongful convictions is misidentification by eyewitnesses. Nevertheless, juries see traumatized victims pointing their finger at a defendant as some of the most powerful evidence.
2. Bad forensic science: DNA evidence is credited for changing the science behind criminal convictions. Although DNA evidence assists in confirming the accuracy in convictions, there is still a great deal of "junk science" that is permitted in trials. This includes forensic testing methods that have little to no science supporting it. While junk science methods remain unverified or untested, the prosecution often portrays it as reliable and widely recognized science. Even worse, in some cases forensic analysts have engaged in willful misconduct. In cases where the prosecutor is convincing, members of the jury may rely on the junk science to render a guilty verdict.
3. Bad lawyering: Another common ground for wrongful convictions is inadequate or unsuitable legal representation. Some defendants cannot afford to pay the staggering legal costs of hiring a private defense attorney and are forced to be represented by a public defender. Although they do their best, many public defenders work long hours and are overburdened with too many cases. This makes it difficult for them to dedicate a lot of time on any one particular case. It also causes scenarios where vital details of the case could easily be overlooked or forgotten. The public defender might have failed to appropriately investigate a lead or thoroughly speak with all witnesses as necessary. Often public defenders are so busy they do not have sufficient time to satisfactorily prepare for trial.
4. Official misconduct: While most police officers and prosecutors are honest, trustworthy and only desire justice, there are some exceptions. Sometimes police or prosecutors get tunnel vision on a suspect and will do everything in their power to get a conviction, even if that means engaging in misconduct. Police are often under enormous pressure to find perpetrators responsible for heinous crimes. Once the police make an arrest, prosecutors are under pressure to secure convictions. A prosecutor’s job performance is rated based on their conviction rate. All of this pressure can lead to situations where police threaten witnesses, lie on the witness stand, fail to turn over contradicting evidence or even fabricate evidence, while prosecutors may commit Brady violations, destroy evidence and pursue malicious prosecutions.
5. False confessions: Police officers may use strongarm interrogation tactics to create a stressful and unnerving situation for suspects being questioned. When people have to endure several hours of intense interrogation, they may break—especially when they are questioned outside of the presence of a lawyer. Often times, the police convince suspects that there is so much evidence against them that they will be found guilty. Innocent suspects, mentally impaired, intoxicated or those ignorant of the law may become desperate and give up by providing false confessions. Weak-minded suspects even start to believe they actually committed the crimes.
6. “Snitches”: Regularly, statements from individuals with incentives testify, which incentives are often not disclosed to juries, are used as the fundamental evidence in convicting innocent suspects. Snitches, or informants, are often paid for their testimonies and jailhouse snitches, or jailhouse informants, often receive time off from their sentences in return for their testimonies. These incentives often encourage these individuals to lie—even if it lands an innocent person in jail.

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. today at 716-839-3939 so that our aggressive, tenacious and hardworking Buffalo, New York incarceration by mistake lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your wrongful conviction claim in Buffalo, New York; Rochester, New York or throughout New York State. We are available 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, and there is never a fee unless we WIN for you!

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 716-839-3939 so that our aggressive, tenacious and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Buffalo, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!