In June of 1979, a 17 year old girl was found brutally murdered near Fort Peck, Montana. 17 year old Barry Beach was a classmate of hers and learned of her death on the news. He was interrogated by police three times, and all three times was told he was cleared and no longer a suspect. Several years later, while living with his father in Louisiana, Barry’s step-mother had him arrested for supposedly helping her 14 year old daughter run away. Police found out Barry had been questioned for the Montana murder, and decided to question him for other Louisiana murders they needed to solve. After threatening him with the death penalty, Barry caved under pressure and confessed to the murder of his classmate back in Montana. Because he had been cleared three times before, Barry expected to go back to Montana and be cleared again. But that did not happen. The prosecution presented his confession and the jury convicted him – sentencing him to 100 years in prison without the possibility of parole. 

To learn more about false confessions:

https://lavaforgood.com/false-confessions/

To learn more and get involved, visit:

http://montanansforjustice.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012873916456

https://centurion.org/

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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