FALSE JUSTICE - A Former State Attorney General Exposes 12 Myths That Convict the Innocent

Aug 6, 2026

FALSE JUSTICE presents three multi-count felony cases in which innocent men were convicted and sentenced for crimes they did not commit, following wrongful conviction patterns that deeply affected the justice process. As a former Ohio Attorney General, the authors analyze six primary contributors to conviction error and connect them to twelve ingrained national misconceptions. The book outlines how witness identification failures, misconduct, perjury, misleading forensic science, false confessions, and inadequate legal defense are amplified by false beliefs, undermining truth and redemption in real cases.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages348

Reading Time8 h 56 min

AccessFree to download

Part I: Failed Justice

Chapter 1: The Devil Cheats Justice

Chapter 2: A Haunting Doubt

Chapter 3: Relentless Pursuit

Chapter 4: Proving Innocence

Chapter 5: Life After Exoneration

Chapter 6: Proving Guilt

Chapter 7: Years Later, Where They Are Now

Chapter 8: Political Genes

Chapter 9: Advocating for a Victim

Chapter 10: Rising to Opportunity

Chapter 11: The Calling Card

Chapter 12: How Many?

Chapter 13: A Compelling Witness

Chapter 14: Flaws and Faulty Forensics

Chapter 15: Closing Arguments

Chapter 16: Surviving Injustice

Chapter 17: Truth and Redemption

Chapter 18: Dissecting Error

Part II: PURSUING TRUTH

Chapter 19: Prisons and Executions

Chapter 20: Capital Punishment Disclosures

Chapter 21: Classic Misconceptions

Chapter 22: Lies and Other Disgraces

Chapter 23: Expert Mumbo Jumbo

Chapter 24: When the Good Guys Aren’t

Chapter 25: Why We Can’t Believe Our Eyes

Chapter 26: Observations on Eyewitnesses

Part III: DOING JUSTICE

Chapter 27: When the DNA Is Gone

Chapter 28: Advocacy After Politics

Chapter 29: Discerning Guilt and Innocence

Chapter 30: Seeking Assurance

Chapter 31: Arguing from the Other Side

Chapter 32: A Higher Authority

Chapter 33: Waiting Eighteen Years for Fifteen Minutes

Chapter 34: Tough Decisions

Chapter 35: A Partial Victory

Chapter 36: Brady’s Catch-22

Chapter 37: Pesky Issues

Chapter 38: On and On

Chapter 39: Addressing Unacceptable Error

Chapter 40: A Defining Moment for DNA

Chapter 41: The Supreme Court’s Divided Opinion

Part IV: DISPELLING TWELVE MYTHS

Chapter 42: Myth 1—Everyone in Prison Claims Innocence

Chapter 43: Myth 2—The Conviction of an Innocent Person Is Extremely Rare

Chapter 44: Myth 3—Only the Guilty Confess

Chapter 45: Myth 4—Wrongful Convictions Are Accidental and Unintentional

Chapter 46: Myth 5—Eyewitness Testimony Is the Best Evidence

Chapter 47: Myth 6—Conviction Errors Get Corrected on Appeal

Chapter 48: Myth 7—Questioning a Conviction Dishonors the Victim

Chapter 49: Myth 8—The Pros Will Fix the Justice System

Chapter 50: Myth 9—Forensic Science Is Trustworthy

Chapter 51: Myth 10—Juries Are Prepared and Qualified to Decide Cases Fairly

Chapter 52: Myth 11—Innocent People Never Plead Guilty

Chapter 53: Myth 12—Our System Delivers Fair and Equal Justice for All

Chapter 54: Encouraging Progress

FALSE JUSTICE [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) FALSE JUSTICE A FORMER STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONFRONTSOUR BROKEN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND EXPOSES 12 MYTHS THAT CONVICT THE INNOCENT Revised and Updated Third Edition JIM PETRO AND NANCY PETRO [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) The Globe Pequot Publishing Group, Inc. 64 South Main St. Essex, CT 06426 [www.globepequot.com](www.globepequot.com) Copyright © 2026 by Jim Petro and Nancy Petro First edition published in 2010 by Kaplan Publishing Second edition published in 2015 by Taylor & Francis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available ISBN 9781493098460 (cloth) | ISBN 9781493094318 (paperback) | ISBN 9781493094912 (epub) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISOZ39 .48-1992. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Dedicated to our children and their spouses John, Emily, Corbin, and Jessica and our grandchildren Rees, Joshua, Brooks, Conley, and Marlyn And to The National Registry of Exonerations [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) CONTENTS Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents ANote to the Reader Preface Acknowledgments PART I: Failed Justice CHAPTER 1: The Devil Cheats Justice CHAPTER 2: A Haunting Doubt CHAPTER 3: Relentless Pursuit CHAPTER 4: Proving Innocence CHAPTER 5: Life After Exoneration CHAPTER 6: Proving Guilt CHAPTER 7: Years Later, Where They Are Now CHAPTER 8: Political Genes CHAPTER 9: Advocating for a Victim CHAPTER 10: Rising to Opportunity CHAPTER 11: The Calling Card CHAPTER 12: How Many? CHAPTER 13: A Compelling Witness CHAPTER 14: Flaws and Faulty Forensics CHAPTER 15: Closing Arguments CHAPTER 16: Surviving Injustice CHAPTER 17: Truth and Redemption CHAPTER 18: Dissecting Error PART II: PURSUING TRUTH CHAPTER 19: Prisons and Executions CHAPTER 20: Capital Punishment Disclosures CHAPTER 21: Classic Misconceptions CHAPTER 22: Lies and Other Disgraces CHAPTER 23: Expert Mumbo Jumbo CHAPTER 24: When the Good Guys Aren’t CHAPTER 25: Why We Can’t Believe Our Eyes CHAPTER 26: Observations on Eyewitnesses PART III: DOING JUSTICE CHAPTER 27: When the DNA Is Gone CHAPTER 28: Advocacy After Politics CHAPTER 29: Discerning Guilt and Innocence CHAPTER 30: Seeking Assurance CHAPTER 31: Arguing from the Other Side CHAPTER 32: A Higher Authority CHAPTER 33: Waiting Eighteen Years for Fifteen Minutes CHAPTER 34: Tough Decisions CHAPTER 35: A Partial Victory CHAPTER 36: Brady’s Catch-22 CHAPTER 37: Pesky Issues CHAPTER 38: On and On CHAPTER 39: Addressing Unacceptable Error CHAPTER 40: A Defining Moment for DNA CHAPTER 41: The Supreme Court’s Divided Opinion PART IV: DISPELLING TWELVE MYTHS CHAPTER 42: Myth 1—Everyone in Prison Claims Innocence CHAPTER 43: Myth 2—The Conviction of an Innocent Person Is Extremely Rare CHAPTER 44: Myth 3—Only the Guilty Confess CHAPTER 45: Myth 4—Wrongful Convictions Are Accidental and Unintentional CHAPTER 46: Myth 5—Eyewitness Testimony Is the Best Evidence CHAPTER 47: Myth 6—Conviction Errors Get Corrected on Appeal CHAPTER 48: Myth 7—Questioning a Conviction Dishonors the Victim CHAPTER 49: Myth 8—The Pros Will Fix the Justice System CHAPTER 50: Myth 9—Forensic Science Is Trustworthy CHAPTER 51: Myth 10—Juries Are Prepared and Qualified to Decide Cases Fairly CHAPTER 52: Myth 11—Innocent People Never Plead Guilty CHAPTER 53: Myth 12—Our System Delivers Fair and Equal Just

FAQs

What kinds of cases does FALSE JUSTICE focus on?

FALSE JUSTICE focuses on three multi-count heinous felony cases: the rape and murder of a grandmother and rape of her granddaughter; the rape of a terminally ill patient during treatment; and the daylight abduction and rape of adult twin sisters. Each case ended with the conviction and sentencing of innocent men.

What six primary contributors to wrongful conviction are identified?

The authors identify six primary contributors: mistaken witness identification, official misconduct, perjury or false accusation, false or misleading forensic science, false confession, and inadequate legal defense. They use these to structure how conviction error occurs.

How do the twelve myths relate to wrongful convictions?

The book argues that twelve misconceptions deeply ingrained in national thinking empower the contributors to wrongful conviction and blind people to truth. Although introduced early, the myths are explained in detail in Part IV to show how they derail justice across the cases.

Aug 6, 2026

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