Malicious prosecution is when the police or prosecutors accuse or convict someone of a crime they did not commit. While it is entirely possible for someone to be falsely accused of a crime for understandable reasons, in many other cases it is the result of retribution, revenge, or some other underhanded motive. Here are six potential signs that you may have been the victim of malicious prosecution:
- Case was dismissed, or conviction was overturned
- One of the core elements of proving malicious prosecution is showing that you did not commit the crimes you were accused of. This means that either your case must have been dismissed, such as from a lack of evidence, or you must have been able to get your conviction overturned. The more faulty the case against you, the more potential evidence there is of a malicious prosecution.
- Arrest occurred after witnessing or reporting police misconduct
- Another factor to consider is the context in which the arrest occurred. For example, if you were arrested after witnessing or reporting some kind of police or prosecutorial misconduct, that can be a sign you were arrested and charged as a kind of revenge. In that case, the police or prosecutors may be abusing the system to try to silence reports of their misconduct, or to deter future whistleblowers.
- Police report contains false or misleading information
- In theory, police reports should contain an accurate statement of a crime scene as witnessed by the police officer who wrote it. However, a dishonest officer might lie on the report, or phrase information in such a way as to sound more incriminating than it actually is. This could be a sign that they were intent on prosecuting you, regardless of the evidence against you.
- They coerced you into giving a confession
- Another sign of a potential malicious prosecution is that they used illegal tactics to force you to confess to the crime you did not commit. This could include something as blatant as the use of torture, or more subtle tactics like denying you access to food, water, or a bathroom. They could also use deception, like falsely promising leniency in exchange for a confession.
- Witness testimony is falsified or unreliable
- The same sorts of coercive tactics that police can use to falsely elicit a confession can also be used to obtain false or unreliable witness testimony. Often, this will become apparent when the witness themselves is put under examination on the stand in court, but issues with witness testimony may not always become apparent until later.
- Evidence was tampered with
- When police engage in malicious prosecution, they often must tamper with evidence to make their case seem more reasonable. This may mean falsifying evidence, changing it to better go along with their story, or trying to conceal evidence that goes against their case. Prosecutors may also try to hide evidence they have that exonerates you, in the hopes of convincing you to take a plea deal before the weaknesses in their case are exposed.
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