Convenient Scapegoats: Juvenile Confessions and Exculpatory DNA in Cook County, IL
Cardozo Journal of Law and Gender, Vol. 18, p. 631, Spring 2012
55 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2012 Last revised: 29 May 2012
Date Written: February 23, 2012
Abstract
In the Winter of 2011-2012, in two different cases known as the Dixmoor Five and the Englewood Four, nine men were exonerated of rapes and murders based on exculpatory post-conviction DNA testing. Seven of these nine men actually confessed to the crime. This article explores these two cases and how the Cook County law enforcement agencies, including the State's Attorney's Office, dealt with the powerful new DNA results.
Keywords: Cook County, false confessions, Dixmoor, Englewood, wrongful convictions, Robert Milan, Anita Alvarez, DNA
JEL Classification: K10, K19, K30, K30, K49
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation