The West Memphis 3, the Norfolk Four, and yes, the Central Park Five: All gruesome and horrible crimes, but did all involve false confessions? The only time that I’m pretty sure that I locked up the wrong man was during a gang war in the South Bronx, a few years ago. There were five or six shootings, and about a dozen people were hit. No one died, and I don’t think any of the incidents made the papers. My case involved a young man I’ll call J, who suffered a graze wound to the head. He told me that K had done it. Most of the shootings in our precinct should have been as amenable to quick arrest as that one, but one of the more dispiriting aspects of being an inner city detective is how much...
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