Wrongfully Convictions

Forensic science is defined as the practice of utilizing scientific methodologies to clarify judicial inquiries. The field of forensic science contains a broad range of disciplines and has become a vital aspect of criminal investigations. Some forensic disciplines are laboratory-based; while others are based on an analyst’s interpretation of observable patterns (Kourtsounis, 2009). According to the Innocence project’s website; in greater than fifty percent of wrongful convictions, the use of invalidated or improper forensic techniques played a role in cases; which were later

This book exposes critical issues in our criminal justice system which was established to protect the innocent and punish the guilty in the failure of bringing a monster to face justice.

Therefore in this scenario the identification of the suspect is unnecessarily suggestive and there is a legitimate chance of misidentification because of the personal bias of the police officer (Hall, 2015). Furthermore, in the case of Steven Avery, officers responding to scene of the rape may have influenced the victim’s identification of Steven Avery (Ricciardi & Demos, 2015). In the documentary, one of the on-scene officers overhears the victim’s description of the rape suspect, and replies that sounds like Steven Avery (Ricciardi & Demos, 2015). Subsequently, the victim identifies Steven Avery in a photo array and he is convicted of rape (Ricciardi & Demos, 2015). Consequently, I feel the circumstances surrounding photo arrays can be too suggestive, although police officers follow protocol when the photo array is

Almost every day, we hear about justice being served upon criminals and we, as a society, feel a sense of relief that another threat to the public has been sentenced to a term in prison, where they will no longer pose a risk to the world at large. However, there are very rare occasions where the integrity of the justice system gets skewed and people who should not have been convicted are made to serve heavy prison sentences. When word of this judicial misstep reaches the public, there is social outcry, and we begin to question the judicial system for committing such a serious faux pas.

In Canada, the leading cause of wrongful conviction is due to the factor of eyewitness account. It has been proven that individual’s minds are not like tape recorders because everyone cannot precisely and accurately remember the description of what another person or object looks like. The courts looks at eyewitness accounts as a great factor to nab perpetrators because they believe that the witness should know what they are taking about and seen what occurred on the crime scene. On the other hand, eyewitness accounts lead to a 70 percent chance of wrongful conviction, where witnesses would substantially change their description of a perpetrator.

    A review of false convictions that involved forensic science and can help identify critical lessons for forensic scientists as they perform testing, interpret results, render conclusions, and testify in court from the national institute of justice.

Wrongful convictions aren't solely a tragedy for those directly involved. When innocent people are behind bars, the real criminals are still on the street committing crimes. Over the last century, considerable research has been conducted on wrongful convictions, not only uncovering the most common factors but also recommending remedies for the sources of wrongful convictions. Innocent people are being convicted of crimes that they have not committed. These serious

The United States prides itself on having robust, deeply entrenched measures implemented across its core agencies, including the police and criminal justice system, to safeguard against wrongfully convicting people who, after further reflection, are factually found to be innocent. As citizens, we have been educated to trust, among other things, that our systems protect the notions that one is innocent until proven guilty and that prosecution must prove any charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Yet, wrongful convictions are more prevalent than we might think. In particular, the publicity of hundreds of cases over the last few decades has put a spotlight on this indisputable

Have you ever been in a situation to try to prove your innocence? And could you save yourself from wrongful convictions? Director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade had produced the movie, Murder in a Sunday morning, in 2001. This movie won the award for best documentary ceremony at this year. De Lestrade’s movie was really helpful to aware public about overwhelming innocent people rights. He showed that how lawyers can save their defendant’s life. The story is about a black American young boy, Brenton Butler, who was accused of murdering a white tourist, Mary Ann Stephens, at a parking lot in Florida. He had been identified as the killer by the victim's husband and later confessed by enforcement of detectives. Polic officers did not investigation completely,

On the surface, studying and examining the causes of wrongful conviction is important so that we can be informed and thus attempt to avoid these causes. However, the benefit of the examination of these causes foes deeper than that. By examining the causes of wrongful conviction one can attempt to disassemble and examine the systems set in place that allow for such errors or misuses of power to exist in the first place. By doing this a person can then critically examine the criminal justice system which could lead to taking the necessary next steps in essential

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

“Wrongful convictions happen every week in every state in this country. And they happen for all the same reasons. Sloppy police work. Eyewitness identification is the most- is the worst type almost. Because it is wrong about half the time. Think about that.” (Grisham). Wrongful convictions can happen to anyone, at anytime. Grisham implies wrongful convictions happen for the same reasons, careless police work as well as eyewitness identification. An eyewitness identification is a crucial aspect in detective work because it essentially locates the person at the crime scene. This is the worst cause of wrongful convictions because it is wrong half the time.

It is obvious that the U.S. Criminal justice system favors convictions over justice. In the criminal justice system, someone should be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but we live in an era where once arrested, someone is immediately guilty until proven innocent. Of course, there are occasions where someone is caught at the moment which does not require a trial for someone to know that this person is guilty. Because of the pressure to get a conviction, prosecutors tend to engage in misconduct l get the pressure off their backs, they know that the systems care more about a conviction rather than finding the truth. It is hard to encourage justice over conviction because in this era people are guilty as soon as they are

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).