Stephen Truscott Case
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The lack of the basic values of our Justice system- The Right to a fair trial and Presumption of innocence, has profoundly affected the course and the result of the Steven Truscott trial. Evidence, something that can greatly help turnover a conviction did the opposite for Steven Truscott. Uncertain witnesses who helped the prosecutions case were considered more reliable than those who were certain. Moreover, the role of the police and their conduct towards the conviction of Truscott has been the central factor throughout the entire trial. Mr. Truscotts innocence was replaced with a guilty conviction because of these factors. In all cases, evidence- which is any form of proof is used to support facts made by both the Defense and the Crown. Accurate evidence used to support these facts is one of the principles in that right to a fair trial. Evidence used in the Truscott case, however, seems to lack that notion of accurateness.
Situation: Shortly after Lynne Harper was raped and murdered, Steven Truscott was arrested by the police. During his trial, many variations of evidence incriminated Truscott and also supported the fact that he was innocent. The issue is: how this evidence was used and not used which in the end sent a young athletic teenager to jail as the youngest deathrow inmate.
According to Steven Truscott, Lynne Harper had asked him if he could give her a ride down to the highway. Heading in that same direction to the bridge, Truscott agreed. Steven Truscott was a fourteen year-old, popular and athletic boy in school, who spent
some of his time down at the river beside the bridge. Lynne Harper was a twelve year-old
girl, a daughter of an Air force officer stationed at the Clinton base, and a schoolmate of Truscott. On June 9, 1959, Steven Truscott dropped off Lynne Harper on Highway no.8 then rode to the bridge to watch the other boys play. As he glanced back at the Highway, he saw a Chevy 59 pull up close to Lynne. On the contrary, according to police investigators, they believe Steven lured Lynne into the bush and killed her.
A witness is a form of evidence, the person provides a testimony on his or her experience according to what they believe the saw or heard. The testimonies from school children were inaccurate or just not believed, nevertheless, the prosecution made a great effort to find such evidence to support their inaccurate conclusion. One particular testimony made by Jocelyn Gaudet helped this conclusion. She testified that just before six on the evening of the murder Truscott stopped by her house to remind her of their date in the bush. However, police notes from her previous confessions contradict her statement, saying that she was actually looking for Lynne. Another witness nicknamed “Butch” would also have discrepancies within his story. These discrepancies were what the prosecution needed to convict Truscott. The single-minded investigation and trial carried on against Truscott. The possible credible evidence from children who said they
saw both Steven and Lynne cross the bridge on a bicycle were dismissed and forgotten. It seemed as if evidence which supported Stevens