Tag: False Imprisonment

AL: Years after brothers serve 20 years for rape they said they did not commit, judge tosses wrongful conviction

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Source: al.com 11/8/22 Frank Meadows, Jr. may never wear sneakers again. He and his older brother Quinton Cook can laugh about it now. They can laugh about something as inconsequential as footwear and what they’ll wear to church. They can laugh about it now because of the consequential weight recently lifted from their lives when Jefferson County Circuit Judge Shanta’ Owens ruled last month that the two men were wrongfully convicted of rape in 1993, a crime the two men always declared they did not commit. A crime for which…

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Federal Lawsuit Claims Former Public Defender Committed Legal Malpractice

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A lawsuit was filed today in federal district court that claims an attorney formerly employed by the Contra Costa county public defender’s office committed legal malpractice when he recommended that an 18-year-old high school student plead no contest to an allegation of forcible rape that was not supported by physical evidence.  That attorney is a current judge in Contra Costa Superior Court. After the student entered that plea, he was released from jail but was required to register as a sex offender for more than 22 years.  During that time,…

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Janice’s Journal: 23 Years of Registration For a Rape That Didn’t Happen

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What if I told you that I know a man who spent 23 years on the registry for a rape that didn’t happen?  Your first instinct might be to deny that could occur.  After all, there are safeguards in the criminal justice system that should not allow it. First, the police must have evidence in order to arrest a man.  Second, the prosecutors must have evidence in order to try him.  Third, the public defenders must provide the man with sound legal advice regarding whether or not to enter a…

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