10 Crimes The Police Got Completely WRONG
10 Crimes the Police Got Completely Wrong
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re examining shocking cases in which law enforcement failures—ranging from tunnel vision and flawed forensics to bias and institutional pressure—led to devastating miscarriages of justice
David Milgaard
In January 1969, the brutal assault and murder of nursing aide Gail Miller sent shockwaves through Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Within weeks, suspicion fell on 16-year-old David Milgaard, a teenager traveling through the area. Despite a complete lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime, prosecutors relied heavily on inconsistent witness testimony and statements his friends later criticized as coerced. Milgaard’s alibi was dismissed, at which point he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. His mother, Joyce Milgaard, led a relentless, decades-long campaign to reopen the case, spending decades challenging a justice system slow to admit error. In 1997, new DNA testing finally exonerated Milgaard and pointed to serial offender Larry Fisher as the true killer.
Robert Williams
In January 2020, Robert Williams, a Black man from Detroit, was arrested for a high-end watch theft he did not commit—based largely on a faulty facial recognition match. After police ran grainy surveillance footage through a facial recognition system, Williams was identified as a suspect, despite clear discrepancies between him and the person in the video. He was arrested on his front lawn in front of his wife and daughters, spent a night in jail, and was interrogated for a crime he had no connection to. Williams sued the city, which agreed to a $300,000 settlement. The case was then dismissed. His story became a national flashpoint in debates over facial recognition technology… particularly its documented racial bias and high error rates.
Scottsboro Boys
In 1931, nine Black teenagers were falsely accused of sexually assaulting two white women aboard a freight train in Alabama. In the racially charged climate of the Jim Crow South, the Scottsboro Boys were rushed through sham trials before all-white juries. Despite inconsistent testimony and a lack of physical evidence—along with later recantations—eight of the nine were sentenced to death. Over the next two decades, repeated appeals and Supreme Court rulings reshaped American legal standards, including the right to effective counsel and protections against racially biased juries. Although some convictions were overturned and pardons eventually issued, the Scottsboro Boys still lost years of their lives for crimes that were never credibly proven.
Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer’s reign of terror in Northern California during the late 1960s and early 1970s remains one of America’s most infamous unsolved cases. While the killer taunted police with cryptic letters and ciphers, investigators pursued numerous suspects over the decades—often with limited or circumstantial evidence. Arthur Leigh Allen became the most widely publicized suspect, based on witness statements and circumstantial links, yet DNA testing and handwriting analysis failed to conclusively tie him to the crimes. While no one has ever been formally charged, the Zodiac investigation stands as a cautionary tale about how even massive law enforcement efforts can be derailed by misdirection and uncertainty.
Kirk Bloodsworth
In 1984, Kirk Bloodsworth was wrongly convicted for the murder of nine-year-old Dawn Hamilton in Maryland, based largely on faulty eyewitness identifications. Despite having an alibi and no physical evidence tying him to the crime, Bloodsworth was sentenced to death. In 1993, DNA testing—still a relatively new forensic tool at the time—proved that the biological evidence did not match Bloodsworth. He became the first person in U.S. history to be exonerated from death row by DNA evidence. His case helped accelerate the adoption of DNA testing nationwide and underscored the dangers of relying too heavily on eyewitness testimony. Bloodsworth’s case influenced how the justice system evaluates biological evidence, helping to prevent countless future miscarriages of justice.
Yorkshire Ripper
Between 1975 and 1981, Peter Sutcliffe murdered at least 13 women and attempted to murder seven others across northern England. Officers interviewed him nine separate times during the investigation, including after he was stopped in areas close to murder scenes. One of the most damaging missteps involved hoax letters and an audio tape sent to police by a man claiming to be the killer, known as the “Wearside Jack” hoaxer. Investigators became fixated on the voice’s Geordie accent, narrowing their suspect pool and deprioritizing men from Yorkshire, including Sutcliffe himself. The inquiry’s failures became so notorious that they prompted major reforms in British policing procedures, including the creation of the HOLMES computer system for managing major crime investigations.
West Memphis Three
In May 1993, the murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, triggered a wave of fear that quickly became entangled with the era’s broader “satanic panic.” Investigators focused on teenagers Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin, largely due to Echols’ interest in heavy metal music and his outsider reputation. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on Misskelley’s improperly obtained confession. The statement contained multiple factual errors and inconsistencies, yet it became central to securing convictions. There was no DNA or conclusive physical evidence tying the three teens to the crime scene. In 2011, after nearly 18 years in prison, all three were released via Alford pleas, a compromise that allowed their release without formally exonerating them.
Steven Avery & Brendan Dassey
Steven Avery’s case is inseparable from his earlier wrongful conviction, which saw him spend 18 years in prison for a 1985 sexual assault he did not commit. DNA testing exonerated him in 2003, after which he filed a $36 million civil lawsuit against Manitowoc County for wrongful imprisonment. In 2005, Avery was charged with the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. The investigation raised concerns because Manitowoc County officials—who were named in Avery’s lawsuit—played roles in evidence collection, despite a stated recusal. Brendan Dassey’s involvement added another layer of controversy. At age 16, with documented learning disabilities, Dassey was interrogated for hours without a lawyer or parent present. Portions of his confession were later ruled involuntary by a federal judge, though higher courts ultimately reinstated his conviction.
Richard Jewell
During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, security guard Richard Jewell discovered a suspicious backpack containing a pipe bomb in Centennial Olympic Park. He helped clear the area, likely preventing even greater loss of life. Despite this, the FBI quickly focused on Jewell as a suspect based on a behavioral profile suggesting a “hero bomber” who commits an attack to gain attention. Within days, leaks to the media identified Jewell as a person of interest. His apartment was searched, his phone tapped, and his life placed under relentless surveillance. Although never charged, Jewell was subjected to intense public suspicion for 88 days. The FBI later identified the true bomber as Eric Rudolph, who went on to carry out additional attacks before being captured in 2003.
The Central Park Five
On April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili was brutally attacked while jogging in Central Park. Amid intense public outcry and media frenzy over crime in New York City, police quickly detained a group of teenagers from Harlem. Despite the lack of DNA linking any of the boys to the assault, the confessions became the backbone of the prosecution’s case. The teenagers were convicted and served between six and 13 years in prison. In 2002, serial sex offender Matias Reyes confessed to the crime, and DNA evidence conclusively matched him to the attack. Prosecutors vacated the convictions, and New York City later reached a $41 million settlement with the five men.
Which crime shocked you the most? Are there any we missed? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
