Confidential Tatoos Research Paper

This paper explores deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) collection and its relationship to solving crimes. The collection of DNA is one of the most important steps in identifying a suspect in a crime. DNA evidence can either convict or exonerate an individual of a crime. Furthermore, the accuracy of forensic identification of evidence has the possibility of leaving biased effects on a juror (Carrell, Krauss, Liberman, Miethe, 2008). This paper examines Carrells et al’s research along with three other research articles to review how DNA is collected, the effects that is has on a juror and the pros and cons of DNA collection in the Forensic Science and Criminal Justice community.

“Although numerous cases of wrongful convictions have been documented in the literature and in the media, criminologists have yet to devise a methodology for estimating the extent of such errors in the criminal justice system.” (Poveda, 2001) Since DNA testing has been utilized in the justice system, wrongful convictions have become less frequent and exoneration rates have increased. “There are many factors involved when consider the causes of wrongful convictions. Eyewitness misidentification is a leading cause for wrongful convictions.” (Innocence

During recent studies from several researchers it has been concluded that there is a fault within our criminal justice system. Researchers discovered there is a high wrongful conviction rate within the United States judicial system. After, extensive research, it was found that wrongful convictions are caused by eyewitness error, false confessions, flawed forensic science, an informant, bad lawyering, and government misconduct. Without a doubt, this issue has shocked society, due to the fact we rely on the system for pure justice. Within my findings, it is apparent that victims of wrongful convictions suffer numerous affects when

After Jennifer Thompson-Cannino was raped in 1984, she identified a man in a police lineup and in court as her attacker. The detective conducting the lineup told Jennifer that she had done great, confirming that she had chosen the suspect. Eleven years later, DNA evidence proved that the suspect, Ronald Cotton, had been wrongfully convicted of the rape. A man named Bobby Poole, who Thompson testified she had never seen before, was the man who actually raped her. Ronald and Jennifer's book, picking cotton, portrays common factors that contribute to erroneous convictions. Although it addresses a variety of important issues, the most crucial is how subtle factors like eyewitness misidentification, confirmation bias and nature of a defendant can

In recent years, there have been multiple high-profile cases of people being exonerated, often by DNA testing, after giving a false confession to a crime they did not commit. People who often fall into this trap are juveniles or those with a diminished mental capacity (Redlich, 2009). DNA testing has helped many innocent people that gave false confessions be free again. This trend brings up the question of how were they able to give a false confession.

One hundred and sixty-six exonerations took place in 2016, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, setting a new record (“Exonerations 2016” 3). Indeed, misconvictions are now seen as part of the normal judicial process(“Exonerations 2016” 17). However, why are there so many mistakes in convicting individuals? One of the largest causes may be biases within the courts. Implicit bias in the American judicial system may seriously impact the underprivileged in receiving impartial verdicts in the legal system and access to quality lawyers.

With the number of DNA exonerations growing in the recent years, wrongful convictions reveal disturbing trends and fissures in the justice system. It shows how broken the system is, and why it needs urgent fixing. According to Huff (1996), over ten thousand people are convicted wrongfully for serious crimes each year. This study established that factors leading to wrongful convictions are false eyewitnesses, a prejudiced jury, incompetent prosecutors, and suspects’ ignorance. Where DNA evidence clears a suspect, array of reasons emerge; misconduct, mistakes, to race and class factors. It is important to make DNA data available to attorneys in order to enable them mount a strong

237). Race is looked at with these wrongful convictions. Of 350 high cases that was viewed about 40% of them involved African Americans that were wrongfully accused (Gabbidon & Greene, 2013). Misconduct from police and prosecutors is if they did not do their job correctly such as if they are racist which causes them not to do their job. The interrogations done by police of the accused should be taped to make sure things are done by the books(Gabbidon & Greene, 2012, ch7 ppt). Legal counsel should also be there when identification take place. When DNA came about it help release people that was wrongful convicted based on eyewitness error or mistaken identity and etc. There has been unequal numbers of African American and Hispanics that have been wrongly convicted. To help with mistaken identification and eyewitness error, Huff made a statement that qualified expert witnesses need to use to help with this issue (Gabbidon & Greene, 2012, ch7 ppt). There should be innocence commissions to handle these types of situation that could and have happen in

With the initiative of the innocence project, many of these convictions are being overturned, allowing families to be reunited. There are many reasons why these wrongful convictions happen. The most common among them is false eyewitness identification, which has played a role in more than 75 percent of wrongful convictions overturned by the Innocence Project initiative. Once presumed to be incontrovertible, the ever growing body of evidence now tells that eyewitness identifications are unreliable (please see image A2 for the trending of exonerations year by year). In approximately, 25 percent of DNA exoneration cases, innocent people were coerced into making false confessions. Of the 292 people freed by the Innocence Project, 28 actually pled

In the year of 1996 the 250th person to be freed by DNA testing since the year of 1992. Those 250 “ex-convicts” served a total of 3160 years between them all. Which still leaves the conspicuous question… How many innocent people are still incarcerated? In today’s society, there are many false convictions to all sex, gender. The Innocence Project was designed to assist wrongly convicted individuals. This paper attempts to identify how many cases with organization adopts per year and determine the accuracy rate of cases tried within the criminal justice system.

Since 1923, when Judge Learned Hand said that the American judicial system “has always been haunted by the ghost of the innocent man convicted,” the issue of wrongful conviction has been acknowledged to man (Halstead, 1992; Huff, Rattner, Sagarin, & MacNamara, 1986). After the judge made his innocuous statements, serious study of this phenomenon began. Contrary to the statement the judge made, time and technology have revealed that an unquantifiable number of wrongfully convicted persons have served prison terms and even been executed for crimes they did not commit and some that did not even occur. Research into wrongful conviction was virtually nonexistent until Professor Edward Brochard of Yale University published his book Convicting the Innocent in 1932. This book documented 65 such cases, addressed the legal causes of miscarriage, and offered suggestions to reform. Subsequently, numerous other researchers began conducting case studies and publishing findings that affirmed that wrongful conviction represents a systematic problem within the American judicial process (Huff, 2002).

If an attractive woman and an unattractive man committed the exact same crime, would their punishments be identical? Logically, it makes sense that the same crime would lead to the same recommended punishment but this is often not the case. Evidence suggests that gender and level of attractiveness lead to biased perceptions and can greatly influence the decisions made by jurors. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of gender and attractiveness on jury decision-making.

Technology and entertainment today have given people a sense of confidence in their understanding of criminal justice. They sit at home on their couch and watch an endless stream of crime dramas and believe they have a solid understanding of how the justice system is run. Television shows do not have to operate in reality, the audience has access to all the necessary information to solve the crime and the show ends with a feeling that justice has been served. In reality, investigations hit road blocks, complications and dead ends. Investigators must sort through honest and dishonest witnesses, determine factual evidence from planted or tampered evidence, and they must ensure that they complete all of their duties, investigations, and documentation completely, accurately and maintain the integrity of the case. Investigations are often susceptible to mistakes, human error and an array of outside factors they have little to no control over. The varying factors in each investigation can sometimes create a situation that ultimately leads to a wrongful conviction. There are also people in the justice system that deliberately fabricate information or evidence, manipulate a situation or witness, or influence the case in some way to achieve the outcome they desire. The prevalence, causes and cases of wrongful convictions play an important role in understanding and preventing wrongful convictions for the innocent and ensuring justice is served to the guilty.

There are often mistakes made that falsely determine an individual’s sentence. Sloppy police work and loss of documents are examples of careless errors. There is also some room for error with determining the results of a DNA sample that do not fall under the human error category. Many times there may not be ample DNA samples at a crime scene. Only a fraction of crimes reveal DNA. Drive-by shootings and bombings often do not provide DNA for investigation purposes. “There is a public perception that DNA is the cure-all for these kinds of mistakes. DNA is not the whole answer.” (Dieter, Richard) Eye witnesses cannot solely and accurately determine a person’s fate 100 percent of the time. There are numerous amounts of cases in which those found guilty were indeed later found innocent. Many times, these individuals have already served time in jail. Many argue that the time inmates spend in

Crimes are committed every second of the minute, but out of the many that are, how many have a conviction? How many of these crimes is the correct person held responsible and brought to justice? “According to the Innocence Project, 25% of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence involve a false confession and many of those false confessions contained details that match the crime-details that were not made to the public” (False Confessions). None too many times is there an individual that may has been arrested and interrogated regarding a crime that he/she may not have committed. One way of this happening to an individual is when there’s a mistaken identity claim from law enforcement. An individual being picked up off the streets by police officers only because he/she may fit the description of the suspect, because you know the saying “how we all have a twin out here” then they are brought in for questioning in a small private room for the interrogation process.