It Could Happen to Anyone: The Wrongful Conviction of Alan Beaman

Alan Beaman was convicted of a murder he didn't commit. He spent 14 years in prison for the murder of his former girlfriend. Alan was getting ready to start his senior year at a University when he was arrested and sent to prison. Alan's family was Republican and strongly believed in the Judicial system. Both of his parents strongly opposed minimum sentences and often objected when people would be released from jail.

Alan's family was shocked to find that the police ignored Alan's innocence and were shocked to see him get a 50 year sentence. Alan's parents remained supportive as first lawyers said they had exhausted all of their options. They continued to pursue Alan's innocence and found an attorney who would take Alan's case pro-bono.

The Center for Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University listed to Alan's parents' presentation and were then wiling to take on the case.

Twelve years of attorney pro-bono work, and ultimately the Illinois Supreme Case agreed to re-listen to the case. Alan was eventually cleared and set free.

Alan said: "Yes, this can happen to an ordinary person, but even more so its done by and caused by ordinary people. There were ordinary people in the jury box that day when they handed out that verdict. It doesn't take a menacing monster to go looking for some innocent person to put away. All it takes is for people to not be paying attention to their duties and allow something like this to slip through the cracks and then you have wrongful incarcerations."

Alan's case is just another example of how important it is to realize that the Legal System is not working. Some innocent people are being sent to jail. You must believe that having the right private investigator on your side is key to exposing the flaws in the justice system.


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