The Law: The Boy Who Wanted to Die

(2 of 2)

"When someone is arrested and charged in Florida," said Judge Gene Williams, who presided over Shea's second trial, "he is supposed to be taken before a committing magistrate to be advised of his rights. That is not being adhered to by our investigators, and it wasn't followed in this case. There is another law that when the person is under 21, his parents have to be notified, and he is not allowed to plead before they arrive. Shea confessed before he saw his parents." Even so, said Judge Williams, state precedents prevented him from tossing out Shea's confession; the jury had to rehear the entire case before voting just once, and unanimously, for his acquittal.

It Is You. With so much awry, it was remarkable that Shea's conviction had not been appealed or reversed in the federal courts years ago. Although prosecutors are supposed to seek fair verdicts, the U.S. system of criminal law heavily relies on the defense to present its own case as strongly as possible. Shea's cooperation with the prosecution made his defense extremely difficult—especially since his parents and his attorney thought he was probably guilty. During his six years in prison, the guilt-ridden defendant even complained that "this woman I killed keeps standing at the foot of my bed and screaming at me." Without the probing stirred up by a trio of responsible citizens, he might still be serving his life sentence. "It is you who must stand between the man and a case like this," said second-trial Defense Attorney Eugene Spellman to the jury, "or God help the little man on the street who confesses to every crime."