Wrongful Conviction: the Darryl Hunt Case

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

Every time an innocent person is exonerated based on DNA testing, law enforcement agencies look at what caused the wrongful convictions. There are many issues that contribute to putting guiltless lives behind bars including: eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, imperfect forensic science, and more (Gould and Leo 18). When a witness is taken into a police station to identify a suspect, it is easy for their memories to be blurred and their judgment influenced. This can lead the witness to identify a suspect who is actually innocent. Flawed forensic science practice also contributes to wrongful imprisonments. In the past, analysts have been inaccurate due to carelessness, testified in court presenting evidence that was not based

Many of us are naive to believe that race no longer exist in our criminal justice system. Darryl Hunt is not the only black man to be accused of a crime that he did not commit. In 1979 James Newsome was charged with armed robbery, and murder of a white proprietor of a grocery store in Chicago. The prosecutors did not find any physical evidence at the crime scene, and his fingerprints were not found on any items that the killer touched in the store. Mr. Newsome had a strong alibi, but three witnesses identified him as the killer. Similar to Darryl Hunt, James Newsome was convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to life in prison. After fifteen years in prison AFIS compared the fingerprint found at the crime scene and identified another man as the killer (Chapter 5, slide 5).

The first DNA-based conviction in the United States occurred shortly after in 1987 when the Circuit Court in Orange County, Florida, convicted Tommy Lee Andrews of rape after DNA tests matched his DNA from a blood sample with that of semen traces found in a rape victim (Calandro, 2005). It was two years later that DNA was again ruled admissible in a Virginia state ruling. In the years that followed the use of DNA in trial proceeding was not disputed. It was not until the technique of obtaining the evidence was more largely used did the practice become questionable.

Despite the growing consciousness of a flawed criminal justice system, many cannot identify with being wrongfully convicted, weakening public demand for change. Nevertheless, reforms designed to reduce miscarriages of justice take hold. The issue should not be viewed as a partisan issue but one of vital concern to all criminal justice stakeholders and the public. A leading wrongful conviction authority outlines the matter.

Race especially seems to have a significance impact when it comes to how criminals are processed and punished. Research shows that minorities are disproportionately represented in 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).

As science and technology have evolved over the years we have become accustomed to many advantages that we did not have in the past. From the ability to talking on the phone no matter where we are to major advancements in medicine we have entered an age where just about anything is possible. This includes the ability to exonerate those who have been wrongfully convicted.

Many of the consequences of how race affects the larger criminal justice system can be seen in innocence-related efforts. “An analysis of the 297 DNA exonerations reveals minorities make up approximately 70% of those proven innocent through DNA testing. Similarly, African-Americans represent the vast majority of these exonerations – 63% of those exonerated by DNA testing.”(Edwin Grimsley, Innocence Project Case Analyst) As this quote

The Innocence Project was established in the wake of a landmark study by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Senate with help from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Schneider, 2013). This study found that there were numerous reasons why people are wrongfully convicted including, but not limited to eye witness identification, perjured testimony, improper forensic science techniques, and government misconduct (Roberts & Weathered, 2009) The original Innocence Project was founded twenty two (22) years ago as a part of the Cardoza School of Law of Yeshiva University in New York City, New York (Davis, 2012). The Innocence Projects primary goal is to exonerate those whom have been convicted of a crime when there is DNA evidence available to be tested or re-tested (Mitchell, 2011). DNA testing has been possible in five (5) percent to ten (10) percent of cases since 1992 (Risinger, 2007). On the other side, other members of the Innocence Project help to exonerate those have been convicted of a crime where there is no DNA evidence to test. A goal of the Innocence Project is to conduct research on the reasons for wrongful convictions, how to fix the criminal justice system, as well as advocate for those who have been wrongfully convicted (Steiker & Steiker, 2005). The members of this organization strive to teach the world about the dangers of wrongful convictions. To date, this non-profit legal organization, has freed three hundred eighteen (318)

Even with vast majorities of new technology today, DNA testing still finds people guilty in trials even when they didn’t commit the crime. America is known for having one of the most fair-minded criminal justice systems. We give every person, who is arrested, the chance to be proven innocent until they are found guilty through evidence. Within these trials, DNA tests account for a majority of the convictions or exonerations.

The case of Michael Dunn murdering Jordan Davis showed injustice in our nation’s court system because of the ultimate denial of the truth. Although Dunn was eventually charged, the time frame of rebuttal due to racial profiling is unacceptable. The injustice was a result of the Stand Your Ground Law which gave Michael Dunn a slight chance of walking away free. This nation must start making progress on racial injustice instead of letting it reach such epidemic

The purpose of this report is to show the evolution of DNA testing throughout the years helping solve crimes efficiently and quicker, the advantages that DNA testing has made for people wrongly accused of crimes.

Now that the advancement in technology on databases it has become easier to convict criminals as well. Many different cases have now been exonerated due to the advancement of DNA. Like shown in the case of Dallas Dupree in 2011. Dallas Dupree spent thirty years in prison after being convicted for rape, robbery and abduction. After finding new DNA evidence, questions were asked if the was the individual Dupree that committed the crime. At last many cases like Dupree’s where exonerated which sets the individuals free from prison after many years of being wrongfully convicted. For

In the “Innocence Project” founded by lawyers Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, as many as 343 wrongful convictions have been overturned as a result of DNA testing.7 Details of those cases can be found on their web page. Many had been wrongly convicted and sentenced as many as 36 years to life with the evidence gathered and analyzed on ambiguous blood type. With the help of DNA technology and assiduous attorneys, those people have regained their freedom taken away by