“UNDUE PROCESS” WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS AND VIOLATIONS OF CIVIL LIBERTIES Latrina Dickerson Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Clayton State University, Morrow, Georgia February, 2013 “UNDUE PROCESS” Wrongful Convictions and Violations of Civil Liberties Abstract: Over the past twenty years, advancement in DNA technology has directly led to the exoneration of nearly 300 people in the United States. In addition to these scientific advancements, a growing body of
subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law….” Double jeopardy is very complex, but there are certain principles involved that are clear in violation of ones constitutional right not to be placed in jeopardy twice for the same offense. Although, double jeopardy protects defendants from being prosecuted more than once
general manager, were prosecuted for shipping misbranded or adulterated products in interstate commerce in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The jury acquitted the corporation but convicted Dotterweich, who was sentenced to a fine and probation for 60 days, although under the statute he could have been sentenced to imprisonment for a year. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding that the statute required no mens rea at all with respect to whether those charged knew or should
cases, however, was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his fight for civil rights for all people. Civil disobedience, though a purposeful violation of one or more of society’s laws, has been used successfully to communicate, as well as change, the unfair, unjust treatment of groups of people within a society. Civil disobedience is morally justified when it is believed that laws or the interpretations of laws are in violation of the social contract between the
Thus applying that the Bill of Rights pertains to the idea of substantive law; substantive law is statutory or written law. Substantive law embraces the fact of civil rights and duties, also keeping responsibilities in civil law. Due to the fact the four amendments in the Bill of Rights dealing with the criminal justice system apply to civil rights and requirements in the court system to give proper representation; it is more closely correlated with substantive law over the law of criminal procedure
DNA fingerprinting, some supporting the idea, and some against it. The pros of genetic fingerprinting vary; • Taking a DNA sample is generally less invasive than taking a blood sample • By using DNA fingerprinting it reduces the number of wrongful convictions, if used in combination with other high end forensic tools and evidence. DNA is an extremely resilient molecule and can last for a long period of time, making them easily accessible for analysis of crime scenes that have been discovered for
(141) have now abolished the death penalty in law and practice” (The Death Penalty and International Human Rights Standards, 2012). I find it very disturbing that the United States is ranked in the top five countries that are notorious for civil rights violations (China), state sponsored terrorism (Iran and Yemen), and mentally unstable dictators (North Korea). The United States is one of the biggest members of the United Nations and yet they are refusing to obey the policies and laws that have been
to violence and further offenses/ harm the first amendment has rejected such awful forms of expressions placing a fence to one of the civil rights granted by the United States. Although the first amendment stands as part of the democratic ideals granting the people in the United States freedom of expression, the government should appropriately limited this basic civil right, with the attempts of preventing violence, or unlawful methods of terrorism restricting. Article 19 states that every person
The "eye for an eye" mentality will never solve anything. A revenge philosophy inevitably leads to an endless cycle of violence (ACLU, 2012). E Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil liberties and is inconsistent with the fundamental values of our democratic system (The American Civil Liberties Union, 2012).The death penalty system in the US is applied in an unfair and unjust manner against people, largely dependent on how much money they have, the skill of their attorneys, race of
sentence3. In this paper, the National Commission seeks to demonstrate the urgent need for the abolition of the death penalty from Kenya’s statutes. This is because the death, penalty is a violation of the fundamental right to life. The death penalty The death penalty entails the taking away of a person’s life after conviction on a capital offence by a competent court. This form of punishment has existed in almost all civilizations although the modes of its execution have varied from country to country.