Too bad all of the popular crime shows portray a black-and-white scenario where dedicated and hard-working cops and prosecutors fight the odds and bring down evil perpetrators. Not many cover prosecutorial misconduct, witness coaching, jailhouse informants, evidence tampering -- or vindictive, spurned women spinning lies.
The Economist article I linked in the previous page paints a pretty disheartening picture of what happens when one is accused of a serious crime and falls into the gears of the criminal-industrial complex in the US.