PSY 626 Discussion 3

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Southern New Hampshire University *

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Law

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Jan 9, 2024

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Perpetuating the Presumption of Guilt The Role of Implicit Racial Bias in Forensic Testimony A commentary on a recent article in the Criminal Law Bulletin The brutal murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor set America back to the days of the Civil War. The police brutality on national television was an outrage to citizens of every color. It was confirmation that racism is still alive and well in the United States. And it doesn’t end with an arrest on the streets. Racial prejudice is embedded within every evil of the criminal justice system (Kaplan & Puracal, 2022). While Black Lives Matter rallies are demanding police reform, racial prejudice is growing and spreading in the courtrooms. Hundreds of innocent men have sat on death row or sat 20 years at the hands of an inaccurate expert testimony. And the possibility of racial prejudice in forensic testimony is an area that frequently is overlooked (Kaplan & Puracal, 2022). Lawyers, judges, and jurors love a guy on the stand in a suit. And they are believable. Retired dentists become bite mark experts and retired cops become blood splatter experts. Sometimes they were paid to lie, and sometimes they were simply incompetent. Other times the prosecution came up with a theory about his guilt due to race, religion, or sexual orientation so they molded their story for the good of society (Kaplan & Puracal, 2022). Kaplan & Puracal (2022) delves into the devastating impact of blatant racial bias in forensic testimony and explore proactive measures to prevent wrongful convictions. They provide an explanation of implicit bias, then exposes the prosecutor creating a presumption of guilt that disproportionately affects people of color in a court of law. The article notes the concerning lack of attention given to implicit racial bias in forensic reform efforts. Kaplin emphasizes the widespread acceptance of forensic evidence as objective and impartial when it could not be further from the truth. The guilty parties in this perpetuation of implicit racial biases in forensic testimony, contributing to the presumption of guilt for people of color. The National Academy of Science (2009) finally published a study that discredited these so-called expert witnesses. They were appalled with their junk science being presented as solid evidence and making a mockery of the courtroom. The NAC clarified that toolmark impressions, bite marks, bloodstains, blood spatter, fiber analysis, latent prints, hair samples, fiber analysis, tire impressions, and handwriting --- not scientific evidence. These methods rely on subjective judgment rather than objective standards, which can lead to biased opinions. Examiners may be influenced by irrelevant contextual information,

resulting in predispositions towards guilt. Objective standards and awareness of biases are needed to ensure accurate and unbiased determinations (Kaplan & Puracal, 2022). Kaplan & Puracal (2022) concluded their article by offering positive ways to curtail racism in our society. Furthermore, they suggested establishing independent forensic labs htat are separate from law enforcement. I addition, conducting audits of state forensic labs performing root cause analyses in forensic labs and subjecting the government's forensic experts to rigorous cross-examination regarding potential biases. Like the NAS, they feel that federal committees working on the state level could remedy much of the evidence discrepancies. Granted, comprehensive efforts have been made to address the impact of blatant racial bias in the criminal justice system, but the injustice never ends, does it? It is always two steps forward three steps back with an elderly Jewish man murdered in New York City or a transgender college student mutilated in an alley. The hate crimes based on is obsession with our difference's seeps into the society of our youth. How many brutal school shootings are hate-crime based? necessitate acknowledging and confronting the role of forensic testimony in perpetuating the presumption of guilt for people of color. Kaplan, A., & Puracal J., 2022. Perpetuating the Presumption of Guilt: The Role of Implicit Racial Bias in Forensic Testimony. Criminal Law Bulletin, 58. Kassin, S.M., Dror, I.E., & Kukucka, J., 2013. The forensic confirmation bias: Problems, perspectives, and proposed solutions. Journal of applied research in memory and cognition, 2, 42-52. National Academy of Science (NAS). (2009).

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