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King’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim breaks down how Barbados nearly railroaded an innocent man — even after the victims said police arrested the wrong suspect.
Pilgrim has spent 32 years defending the accused and challenging convictions built on shaky confessions. He tells the unbelievable story of Derrick Crawford: two tourist victims went to police and court to say the man charged was not their attacker, yet the case kept moving and Crawford stayed locked up. Pilgrim explains why this happens in small Caribbean states—pressure to “solve” high-profile crimes fast, overreliance on confession evidence, and a culture that treats police narratives as truth.
He also walks through Haynes and Edwards, a murder case where the only real evidence was a disputed, unrecorded confession. That case reached the Caribbean Court of Justice and helped force a major shift: Barbados finally moved toward mandatory audio-video recording of interrogations in serious cases, cutting down the space for coercion, fabrication, and “he said, they said” convictions.
Key Themes
➤ How confession-driven policing fuels wrongful convictions
➤ Why “solve it fast” pressure leads to bad arrests and prosecutions
➤ The Derrick Crawford case: victims tried to free the accused
➤ Haynes & Edwards and the CCJ’s warning on confession-only cases
➤ Why recording interrogations changes everything
➤ Judge-alone trials, jury reform, and shrinking bail in the region
➤ Remand time credit, plea deals, and the push for real evidence
Chapter Breakdown
00:00 — Victims Say “Wrong Man”
03:49 — Confessions Ran the System
07:09 — How Crawford Became the Target
10:31 — Why the Case Kept Going
14:11 — Rare Exoneration: Child Returns
15:46 — CCJ: False Confessions Are Real
16:21 — Haynes & Edwards Explained
18:49 — CCJ Raises the Evidence Bar
20:28 — Barbados Finally Records Interviews
21:48 — Juries, Bail, and Backlog Fights
Brought to you by The Wave on The Frequency Network.
More About Andrew Wildes
Explore the work of Andrew Wildes—Jamaican lawyer, journalist, and host of Stuck: Wrongful Convictions in Jamaica. His mission is to expose systemic injustice, amplify the voices of the wrongfully imprisoned, and drive meaningful legal reform through storytelling and advocacy.
For updates, insights, and behind-the-scenes content, follow Andrew across platforms and join the conversation on justice in Jamaica.
Production, Distribution, and Marketing
Produced by Massif Studio & Production and The Tallawah Group.
For inquiries/sponsoring: email [email protected]
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
By The Frequency Network: The WaveKing’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim breaks down how Barbados nearly railroaded an innocent man — even after the victims said police arrested the wrong suspect.
Pilgrim has spent 32 years defending the accused and challenging convictions built on shaky confessions. He tells the unbelievable story of Derrick Crawford: two tourist victims went to police and court to say the man charged was not their attacker, yet the case kept moving and Crawford stayed locked up. Pilgrim explains why this happens in small Caribbean states—pressure to “solve” high-profile crimes fast, overreliance on confession evidence, and a culture that treats police narratives as truth.
He also walks through Haynes and Edwards, a murder case where the only real evidence was a disputed, unrecorded confession. That case reached the Caribbean Court of Justice and helped force a major shift: Barbados finally moved toward mandatory audio-video recording of interrogations in serious cases, cutting down the space for coercion, fabrication, and “he said, they said” convictions.
Key Themes
➤ How confession-driven policing fuels wrongful convictions
➤ Why “solve it fast” pressure leads to bad arrests and prosecutions
➤ The Derrick Crawford case: victims tried to free the accused
➤ Haynes & Edwards and the CCJ’s warning on confession-only cases
➤ Why recording interrogations changes everything
➤ Judge-alone trials, jury reform, and shrinking bail in the region
➤ Remand time credit, plea deals, and the push for real evidence
Chapter Breakdown
00:00 — Victims Say “Wrong Man”
03:49 — Confessions Ran the System
07:09 — How Crawford Became the Target
10:31 — Why the Case Kept Going
14:11 — Rare Exoneration: Child Returns
15:46 — CCJ: False Confessions Are Real
16:21 — Haynes & Edwards Explained
18:49 — CCJ Raises the Evidence Bar
20:28 — Barbados Finally Records Interviews
21:48 — Juries, Bail, and Backlog Fights
Brought to you by The Wave on The Frequency Network.
More About Andrew Wildes
Explore the work of Andrew Wildes—Jamaican lawyer, journalist, and host of Stuck: Wrongful Convictions in Jamaica. His mission is to expose systemic injustice, amplify the voices of the wrongfully imprisoned, and drive meaningful legal reform through storytelling and advocacy.
For updates, insights, and behind-the-scenes content, follow Andrew across platforms and join the conversation on justice in Jamaica.
Production, Distribution, and Marketing
Produced by Massif Studio & Production and The Tallawah Group.
For inquiries/sponsoring: email [email protected]
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices