The Insane True Story That Inspired 'The Fugitive'

Publish date: 2024-05-04

In fairness, there's far more to Sheppard's conviction than incriminating clues. Criminal investigators, for instance, had treated the doctor's guilt like a foregone conclusion. On one hand, that sounds fairly reasonable. Sheppard was the only obvious suspect in his wife's death and seemingly acted the part. Furthermore, he shot himself in the foot with a scandal-filled syringe by concealing his infidelity. On the other hand, it's hard to ensure justice when officials aren't interested in seeking it.

Court records revealed a slew of investigative improprieties. It seemed that Dr. Gerber, the coroner in the case, had actively sought to paint Sheppard as the killer. After inspecting the crime scene, he reportedly proclaimed, "Well, it is evident the doctor did this, so let's go get the confession out of him." Gerber then made the questionable choice to question Sheppard, who was sedated at the time, during a hospital examination.

The cops similarly wore their prejudice like a badge. Soon after the coroner cornered Sheppard, police swooped in. Officers repeatedly declared him guilty and urged him to confess straightaway. That could explain why Sheppard ducked other interrogations like a frightened boxer. He knew he was a walking bull's-eye. Even then, there were multiple occasions when he willingly met with detectives sans attorney.

The most blatant display of police bias occurred during the trial. Before Sheppard took the stand, law enforcement publicly branded him a "bare-faced liar." Clearly, justice wasn't blind; it just had tunnel vision.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCElHBqbmeZo8CiusRmq6utlWLAtbvRsmSipqOltrOxw2aroZ1dm8KotdOirZ5n