Eyewitness accounts play a huge role in general in trials and verdicts, but may be unreliable many times, with certain views placed on evidence provided by children. Unreliability may arise from not being able to recount the identity of the accused, the actions and speech occurring during that time, the relationship of individuals towards the person in question, and many
There was a case study in Houston, Texas regarding Gary Graham. The state accused Gary of murder, and no one had sufficient evidence that he shot another person. After sustaining evidence, they started to realize that they prosecuted an innocent man. The witnesses who testified could not identify who killed the woman. The only evidence that the Law Enforcement officers had was a picture of Gary and a line up which pointed out Graham.
He believed that because Blackburn bore a striking resemblance to a photograph of the offender, he must be the culprit (New South Wales 1990). Furthermore, victim identification of Mr Blackburn through ‘operation photo’ fuelled this opinion despite negative identification and other conflicting evidence. In Addition, direct involvement by senior police into the matter resulted in confusion and miscommunication between the lines of enquiry and command which led to a lack of questioning to check the worth or value of the evidence created through ‘operation photo’ (New South Wales 1990). This essay will argue that the miscarriage of justice for Mr Blackburn was founded on police incompetence and negligence regarding the evaluation of evidence and a failure to objectively and neutrally approach the case. It will do this through critique of the evidence, in particular the identification evidence, presented or ignored which could implicate Mr Blackburn under the law as it stood then and as it stands
Five percent of U.S citizens have been wrongfully convicted. The book “Monster” written by Walter Dean Myers is about Steve who is on trail for a murder that he didn’t commit. There is agreeance with the jury that Steve isn’t guilty because there is a lack of evidence of his involvement and it is inferred that Steve doesn’t have a criminal record. To begin with, there was a lack of evidence of Steve’s involvement. The author wrote “one of the men arguing she points to King”(Myers 114).
This week’s topic was very interesting to learn about how important eyewitnesses can be when a crime and accidents do occur. In the case that was presented in the 60-minute segment of Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson is exactly how legal system can fail us when it comes to the eyewitnesses’ identification testimony and how a person’s perception and memory can be altered. The aspect of psychology and law research from this week’s course material is most relevant to the topic of perception and memory. The memory has different stages the first is encoding the process of entering perception into memory.
Manufacturing Guilt Wrongful Convictions in Canada, follows the theme of the first edition where the authors demonstrate what leads to wrongful conviction. We all know that innocent mistakes happen however, wrongful convictions are usually the result of deliberate actions of those working in the criminal justice system and not unintended errors. By using Canadian cases as miscarriages of justice, the authors argues that understanding wrongful convictions and how to prevent them is incomplete outside the broader societal context in which they occur, particularly regarding racial and social inequality. This book also analyzes how forensic science is used as a resource for prosecutors rather than seeking the truth. What is miscarriage of justice?
Butler, as the guilty one, which he did without having all his facts right. After Mr. Stephens identified Mr. Butler as the one who committed the crime the police took Mr. Butler to the police station where he was practically coerced to confess to a felony he knew nothing about. But when the case reached the court chambers, and aware they had no case to prosecute, the police officers chose to give forceful confessions, which further weakened their case (De Lestrade, 2001). The attorney of the accused (Mr. Butler), Patrick McGuinness, knowing that the prosecution’s case had reeked to high heavens, framed a powerful defense that exposed the false confessions given by the police and the shoddy investigations done by the detectives involved in the case (De Lestrade, 2001). In the end, Mr. Butler gained his rights and freedom back, which were denied to him when the police, the media, and public sentenced him wrongly.
The case highlights the problems associated with flawed eyewitness identification, prosecutorial misconduct, and inadequate legal representation. By addressing these issues through comprehensive reforms, such as improving eyewitness identification procedures, increasing accountability for prosecutors, and providing adequate resources for public defenders, we can work towards a more just and equitable system. The case of Lamar Johnson not only underscores the importance of rectifying individual wrongful convictions but also emphasizes the broader implications for our society and the urgent need for criminal justice
Wrongful convictions are a problem that most government officials won’t admit. The United States and other countries such as Australia have been susceptible to these miscarriages of justice. This can arise from a snowball effect of scenarios such as witness misidentification, perjured testimonies, coercive methods of interrogation, prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective counsel. These are some of the reasons that can potentially lead innocent people to be convicted of crimes they did not commit. The thousands of exonerations in the United States has caused concern for other nations to reevaluate their criminal justice system.
The pursuit of justice has always been rooted in good will, to succeed those who have been wronged. Our system is set in place to protect the people, and acts as a model to prosecute the evil in society. Though, in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, Willingham has faced the harsh reality that the system has failed him. In reality, there is no perfect system, as human incompetence and arrogance plague the road to justice. When the pieces appear to conveniently fall into place for an investigation, the narrow-minded are quick to call a verdict.
Take the case of the case made against the female police officer, the explanation is that most police officers become seen as professionals who are always ready and able because they are mostly needed to ready at all times in case of danger or a certain event. Take the second case of Dr. Grigson who uses the confirmation bias that all people who he is convicting are guilty psychopaths and will commit murder continuously if they aren’t stopped by the police force. Take the case of the last case where Edith James states that the Texas law doesn’t wish to ruin a young man’s life even if the evidence is pointing toward the person and that they aren’t guilty at all since they are still just kids. These three examples suggest that confirmation bias which is where someone believes something and always has it confirmed is used in this case where a certain person was convicted for a crime that he didn’t
There will always be a biased jury, or inconclusive evidence to support that a crime, like that of Tom Robinson’s, to kill a human being. We will be taking an in depth look at the faults of this
She urges jurors to remain skeptical of eyewitness identifications of defendants, and demonstrates how mistakes have been made. This book is built around descriptions of cases in which Loftus has been involved as an expert witness for the defense. The book begins with a brief description
The principle in law that one is innocent until proven guilty has created much discourse. There are those who feel that the moment that one is arrested, there is reasonable belief that they committed the crime. However, there are those who feel that just as the principle states, one is, and should be taken as a victim and the outcome could be either way: guilty or not guilty. In fact, this argument is supported by the many cases of malicious prosecutions and mistaken identities.
Luckily, it is known what causes wrongful convictions and how to fix them. Many wrongful convictions are due to mistaken eyewitnesses, jailhouse snitches, or false evidence. I think many of the wrongful convictions could be solved with harder evidence, more information. A case should not rely on a single eye witness but multiple.
