The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "murder confessions" ...
-
Freedom for Anthony Caravella
This series is an investigation of the conviction of Anthony Caravella and potentially how it was flawed. He was convicted of rape and murder, without proper DNA testing and a biased prosecutor. Eventually, the investigation led to his release, but now he is faced with a number of challenges. Also, an investigation was launched on the prosecutor, who wrongly convicted four other people of murder.
Tags: court; judge; jury; genetic testing; Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); prison; prisoner; law enforcement; confession
-
A Criminal Injustice
"Martin Tankleff was released from a New York State prison in December 2007, seventeen years after being wrongfully convicted of murdering his parents when he was 17. This book tells the story of how he came to be prosecuted and convicted, and how new evidence uncovered by Jay Salpeter, one of the book's authors, finally led to the reversal of his convictions."
Tags: crime; confession; false; parents; killed; murdered; death; marty tankleff;
-
Miscarriages of Justice
Freelance journalist Eamonn O'Neill tells stories of wrongful murder convictions. Robert Brown, who spent nearly 26 years in prison due to forged evidence; Stuart Gair, whose more than 15 years behind bars for a murder he didn't commit; and Raymond Gilbert, imprisoned for 26 years while continuing to maintain his innocence. While O'Neill tells of the compensation Brown and Gair were offered by the government for their hardship, he also tells of the lack of forensic evidence and bogus confessions in the Gilbert case.
Tags: wrongful convictions; murder convictions; overturned convictions; forensic science; forensic evidence
-
I Dunnit
Kentucky prison inmate James Mullins was looking at spending more than 25 years behind bars for theft and burglary charges. When a 19-year-old woman turned up murdered in Arizona, he "confessed" to the crime, which had taken place 2,000 miles from him and which he obviously had not committed. He said he hoped that Kentucky police would drop the theft charges and send him to Arizona to stand trial for murder, for which he would be exonerated since no evidence connecting him to the murder existed. Police discovered the inconsistencies in his story, and it turned out that the slain woman was actually a victim of the Baseline Killer, a serial murderer who had terrorized the area. Reporter Paul Rubin tells the story of Mullins' deception, which included a fellow inmate receiving clemency for his false testimony regarding Mullins.
Tags: Baseline Killer; false confession; James Mullins; Georgia Thompson
-
Serial Killers: Issues Explored through the Green River Murders
Guillen follows the Green River Killer and does an in depth analysis of his confession and the police investigation itself.
Tags: Green River Killer; Washington; serial killers; Leon Ridgeway;
-
Gone Forever: A True Story of Marriage, Betrayal, and Murder
Susan McFarland was reported missing in November, 2002. Her charred, decomposed body was found 53 days after her disappearance, and investigators suspected her husband Richard McFarland. He maintained his innocence as circumstantial evidence mounted, but finally admitted his guilt on the first day of jury selection. Author Diane Fanning examines the months leading up to the crime, and delves into information about Richard and the details of the police investigation.
Tags: Murder; domestic violence; missing persons; jury trials; plea bargains; murder confessions; non-fiction book
-
Seeking Justice for Jill: The Behrman Murder Investigation
WXIN-TV reporter Kimberly King spent most of 2006 looking into the police investigation of the death of Jill Behrman, an Indiana University-Bloomington sophomore who disappeared in May 2000. Her body was found in 2003, "miles from where detectives thought (she) had been killed." For the intervening three years, "investigators built their case around a convicted woman's false confession." But after the body was discovered, a lead detective sealed the public records regarding the case and did little to pursue it further. Spurred by a request from a relative of Behrman, WXIN worked on the story for three years, finally spending 2006 blowing it open. As a result, police moved further on the case.
Tags: Murder; Indiana University; police; homicide; closed cases; homicide investigations; missing persons; false confession
-
Prime Suspect
This investigation tracks Marty Tankleff, convicted at age 17 of killing his parents, as he battles the court system for another shot at winning his freedom. The investigation raises issues about the legality of an aggressive police interrogation that ended in Tankleff's confession, which he immediately recanted.
Tags: courts; cops; police; crime; murder; retrial; double jeopardy; evidence
-
Spotlight on False Confessions
The Miami Herald found that at least 38 murder confessions were thrown out in Broward County courts by judges, juries, police or prosecutors. Suspects were jailed for confessions that incorrectly stated basic facts of a crime. Confessions were taken from suspects who asked for attorneys or asked to remain silent. Detectives forced confessions out of people under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Broward County detectives also took confessions from the mentally disabled, from minors, and from the homeless.
Tags: false confessions; police misconduct; internal affairs; police; courts; confessions; crime; justice; cops; criminals; surveillance; juvenile justice
-
A case for innocence
Miami Herald investigates a possible wrongful conviction dating back to 1993. The series reveal that Timothy Brown, a mentally ill teenager convicted for the murder of a police officer, might have been wrongly imprisoned. The reporters find evidence that his confession appears to have been coerced, and expose a pattern of false confessions in Broward County, Fla. Part of the series also reports on the capture of another suspect, Andrew Johnson, who has confessed to the murder on tape. To obtain some of the documents needed for the investigation, the newspaper initiated a public-records lawsuit against the sheriff's office.
Tags: crime; law enforcement; justice; courts; police; FOIA; mental health; children; Keith King