It’s important that you know your rights — even when you’ve been accused of a violent crime. Everyone has the right to defend themselves, and for that matter everyone is innocent before being proven guilty. Of course, there are some crimes that are more serious than others; and in many cases, the accused parties are subject to intimidation tactics and a lot of pressure from the police. At the same time, just because the police think that a person is guilty doesn’t mean that they are. This is why murder defense lawyers, domestic violence defense attorneys, and drunk driving defense attorneys exist, among many others. If you’ve been accused of a crime as serious as these — especially murder — your first instinct may be to panic. But a murder defense lawyer is a right given to anyone accused of murder. With that being said, some murder defense lawyers are more competent than others — and the same goes for a variety of other types of defense lawyers. Of course, sometimes the accused is not capable of choosing their own attorney, for whatever reason. In that case, the task could be left to a family member — if the funds are available, you don’t have to stick with a public defender. Get the best defense possible, and you or your loved one can be exonerated — even after a conviction.
Do Wrongful Convictions Really Happen?
Wrongful convictions are often painted as the stuff of movies. But the fact is that they really do happen, and at a higher frequency than the legal system wants you to know about. It’s estimated that about 10,000 people are convicted of serious crimes in the United States each year — but just because they’ve been convicted doesn’t mean that they are all truly guilty. For it’s also believed that a total of 3,944 years in prison have been served people innocent people. In fact, some people who’ve been wrongfully convicted have been sent to death row, with many only exonerated after their executions. A murder defense lawyer can work with a person after conviction. Now that DNA evidence can be more easily used, people find that murder defense lawyers can use it to have convictions overturned. Over 300 convictions have been overturned due to DNA evidence since 1989. This can happen with a variety of different crimes — in fact, murder convictions can be overturned. The key is hiring a highly respected lawyer and taking these cases on in a serious light.
How Does A Murder Defense Lawyer Work?
It’s important that you understand how a good defense attorney works — whether you’re looking out for yourself or for a loved one. A poor defense attorney can result in a wrongful conviction. While a wrongful conviction can be overturned, as mentioned above, this is a difficult process that will take years. A defense lawyer will work in a different manner depending on what degree of murder their client has been charged with. Typically, the defense styles for first degree murder cases fall into two different categories: the first is the claim that the defendant didn’t commit the crime in question. The second is that while the person did commit the killing, they didn’t commit murder in the first degree. This could be handled with a self defense argument, an insanity defense, or a variety of other strategies. It’s important that you hire a lawyer that can practically evaluate the chances of success with each strategy.
What Should People Look For In A Defense Attorney?
Many believe that the best attorneys are those that come from the top-ranked law schools. And while a great education is an important factor when choosing a lawyer, it doesn’t always equal the attorney that you’ll need. A good lawyer will come with a high success rate, and references from happy clients. The lawyer that you need will also be motivated to fight for you or your loved one — that’s the main thing you should expect, above anything else. Good references here.
