Jeffrey Deskovic has a unique story, and with it comes a perspective that can help us all understand the American criminal justice system a bit better than before. You see, Mr. Deskovic spent 16 years in prison for a murder and rape for which he was innocent.

Arrested when he was only 16 years old, the police coerced a false confession from the teenager after 7.5 hours of interrogation. Using that conviction, Deskovic was convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life, even though: (1) DNA evidence showed that semen inside of the victim; and (2) hair found on the victim were not a match for Deskovic, supporting his claims of innocence.

It was only through the efforts of the Innocence Project that Jeff Deskovic was freed – and this was not due to the courts reversing his case on appeal. No.

The only way that Mr. Deskovic was freed was because the Innocence Project collected the DNA evidence, compared the DNA to the state database, and discovered the real evildoer. Once again, thank God for the Innocence Project.

Now that he’s fully exonerated, Jeffrey Deskovic devotes his time to fighting against wrongful convictions in this country. One of the ways that he does this is via the internet, and at his website, you can read about:

1. Mr. Deskovic’s speechmaking around the country, including his national fight against the death penalty (he points out that if he had been 18 and not 16 when was convicted, he may well have been executed before he could have been exonerated under the current death row timelines);

2. Mr. Deskovic’s articles that published in various media across the country, urging the repeal of the death penalty in various states as well as on the federal level;

3. Forum discussions where site members (membership is free) discuss topics of interest, such as the position of Judge Sotomayor on the death penalty (FYI, Jeff Deskovic is against Sotomayor being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court).

VISIT Recommended Website: Jeffrey Deskovic Speaks.