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 "wrongful accusation" ...
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The Nightmare
The story of how Swedish authorities took two small children in protective custody after a single phone call. The children's father was charged with sexual abuse of the children and the mother of complicity in the crimes. Although both parents were totally innocent, their lives, and the lives of the children, turned into a nightmare.
Tags: Sweden; authorities; protective custody; sexual abuse; wrongful accusation
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"Beyond the Verdict"
After a minivan struck a school bus causing a wreck that killed four children, Olga Franco was accused of driving the van, convicted and sentenced to prison. Franco, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, maintains her innocence and says her then-boyfriend was operating the vehicle; however, he was not found in the vehicle when authorities arrived to the scene. The KMSP team investigates her claims to determine if the wrong person is in prison for the terrible tragedy.
Tags: Cottonwood MN; Olga Franco; Shakopee; Francisco Mendoza; DNA; illegal immigration
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Mistaken Identities
DNA-based exonerations of wrongly convicted men hit a record high after it was discovered that police used suggestive lineups procedures and pressured witnesses to pick out a suspect. Sometimes shaky identifications were preserved by withholding evidence that would lead to other suspects in the cases.
Tags: accusation; eyewitness; false conviction; DNA test; genetic; rape;
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Where Doubt Remains
This is an online multimedia series about two criminal convictions involving former police chief Lee Jones and Joe Lavigne, both of whom may have been wrongly accused. In 1998, it was alleged that Jones sexually abused two boys and Lavigne was convicted of raping his fiver-year-old daughter in 1996.
Tags: rape; accusation; perley-isacc reed school; WVU; West Virgina University;
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The Cantu Case: Death and Doubt
An exclusive investigation into the case of a teenaged accused murderer executed in 1993 in Texas.The story documented for the first time substantial new evidence, including statements from the lone prosecution witness, the co-defendant, and the alibi witness, that strongly suggests Cantu was wrongly executed. Also the lone eyewitness may have been urged to identify Cantu by the sergeant in charge of the case.
Tags: juvenile offender; Texas; murder; murderer; evidence
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At Large
The story uncovered a deeply flawed investigation by an overmatched and overconfident police agency that led to the wrongful arrest and prosecution of a Bay Area man accused of being the freeway sniper.
Tags: police; sniper; San Francisco; the freeway sniper; wrongful arrest
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Suspicion in the Ranks
This is the story of a young man in the army who served as an Islamic chaplain during the time of September 11th. He set out trying to answer questions about Islam, but eventually his superiors became suspicious of him and he got caught up in an international investigation accusing him of treason.
Tags: Muslim; Army; soldier; Guantanamo Bay; Islam; chaplain; treason; espionage; traitor; spy; military; 9/11; September 11th; wrongful charges
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"Politicians' Telecoms Wronged Consumers"; QAI: A legacy of success or slams?; Commerce official's past includes telecom trouble
This special report by the Pioneer Press exposes ties between the Governor and Auditor of Minnesota and New Access Communications, a telephone company accused of fraud. According to the report, Gov. Tim Pawlenty was a director of NewTel Holdings, New Access' parent company, when complaints were filed against New Access. The complaints accused New Access of "overcharging some customers and tricking others into changing their telephone services." Auditor Patricia Awada was the owner of Capitol Verification, which was a company designed to verify that customers really wanted to change their phone service. However, according to the report, Awada's company did not always complete that goal.
Tags: FOIA; Investigating politicians; Fraud; FCC; New Access Communications
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Waiting for Justice
A Sheriff's office had a witness wrongly testify against two men accused for the murder of a high school senior. As this investigation reveals the sheriff's department was holding these men only on the basis of this fraudulent testimony. Later the men were released from jail when the witness changed her testimony exposing how the Sheriff had forced the witness to testify earlier.
Tags: Sheriff's department; wrong testimony; murder of teenager; murder of high school senior
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Lost in translation; Retaliation will not be tolerated; The FBI's dirty little secret
CBS 60 Minutes investigates flaws in the FBI system. The first story reveals that FBI's Language Department is delaying translations crucial for terrorism investigation in order to appear overworked and demand higher budget for next year. The second story shows how Sibel Edmonds, a whistleblower translator, has been fired for exposing the deliberate delays. The third story is about the wrongful conviction of the suspected mobster Joseph Salvati, who was arrested in 1968 for a murder he did not commit. Then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was aware of Salvati's innocence, but the accused man still spent 32 years in prison, as challenging the government conviction took him more than 25 years.
Tags: organized crime; Mafia; mob; intelligence; Sept. 11; Robert Mueller; Justice Department; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT