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Pros And Cons Of Wrongful Convictions

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The five factors associated with wrongful convictions are as follows, adversarial process, eyewitness identification, forensic evidence misconduct/ error, interrogation and confessions, and informants/ jailhouse snitches. The adversarial process relies on the skills and resources of the defense and prosecution. Eyewitness identification includes evidence from a witness who has seen the event and can pick out a perpetrator. Forensic evidence misconduct/ error involves forensic evidence that has been collected poorly or handled wrong down the line and tampered. Interrogation and confessions have exonerated about 20% of the wrongful convictions cases, but with this can lead to false confessions. Lastly, informants/ jailhouse snitches about 15% of DNA exonerated cases have involved this …show more content…

These points can effect the counsel and lead to wrongful convictions. Yaroshefsky discussed the Strickland standard which involves the sixth amendment right to counsel but is violated by the inadequate performance of the counsel. Not only should the council received a fair trial but they also need it to be adequate. The example used in the article for bad lawyering was the Earl Washington Jr. trial. Cases involving the death penalty take months of preparation, with many witnesses and experts to testify. The case of Washington only lasted five hours and included two defense witnesses. Washington’s inadequate performance of his counsel led to him being put to death. With a better counsel he would have most likely had a different outcome, and not have been charged. The type of representation given can affect the case and cause wrongful convictions. Eyewitness misidentification causes about 70% of wrongful convictions. In Memon’s article about cognitive interviews being superior over regular interviewing, because it offers more accurate details, and allows the witness to recall more information.

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During the trial, the doctor who analyzed Perry’s sanity, Dr. Jones, testified his opinion: “‘From your conversations and examination of Perry Edward Smith, do you have an opinion as to whether he knew right from wrong at the time of the offense involved in this action?’... Answer yes or no, do you have an opinion?’ ‘No’” (Capote 296). He then follows this up with a lengthy and detailed description of how the Doctor would have defended his response had he been allowed by the prosecution to elaborate.

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It can be argued that the jury was not a proper representation of his peers. Along with other factual errors surrounding Dixon’s false conviction,

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The Court noted that future regulation of pretrial stages with the adoption of police codes and other safeguards of fairness might render a stage not critical and vitiate the constitutional need for counsel. Regarding the case at hand, the Court held that violation of the counsel requirement did not necessitate reversal of the conviction. The conviction could be upheld if the prosecution could show by clear and convincing evidence that the in court identification of Wade as the robber was based on the witnesses ' observations of him during the crime. The Court vacated the decision of the Fifth Circuit and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.

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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?

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During Adnan’s trial, there were many flaws that could’ve contributed to an unfair trial such as a bias jury, an attorney who made mistakes, and the failure to investigate other murder

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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

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When on the topic of murder trials, one cannot help but imagine the poor moral values of the attorney defending the suspected evil doer, but we hardly ever wonder rather or not the attorneys are mentally effected themselves. More often than not, most attorneys can find themselves alone with the dark secrets of their wicked clients. This is due to a client’s right in the justice system known as the attorney-client privilege. The attorney-client privilege is the client’s right to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications between the client and the attorney. One well known example of just how far this “privilege” can go is the murder case of Robert Garrow.

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These lawyers cared more about pinning the crime on someone and closing the case, than actually figuring out who committed the crime. Stevenson represents cases in a way that shows how critical and important it is for the court to truly think about their decisions. Stevenson states that: "The Court's ruling had become increasingly hostile to death row prisoners and less committed to the notion that 'death is different,' requiring more careful review" (Stevenson 78). The court system and the conduct of: police men, lawyers, judges, and juries, had become so strayed from the path of justice that the court system would rather kill then try to save a persons life. Instead of allowing a retrial of someone who had inadequate legal representation or had mental disabilities the court simply wanted to let them die.

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Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong In Brandon L. Garrett 's book, Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong, he makes it very clear how wrongful convictions occur and how these people have spent many years in prison for crimes they never committed. Garrett presents 250 cases of innocent people who were convicted wrongfully because the prosecutors opposed testing the DNA of those convicted. Garrett provided simple statistics such as graphs, percentages, and charts to help the reader understand just how great of an impact this was.

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With millions of criminal convictions a year, more than two million people may end up behind bars(Gross). According to Samuel Gross reporter for The Washington Post, writes that also “even one percent amounts to tens of thousands of tragic [wrongful conviction] errors”(Gross). Citizens who are wrongfully convicted are incarcerated for a crime he or she did not commit. Many police officers, prosecutors, and judges are responsible for the verdict that puts innocents into prison. To be able to get exonerated many wait over a decade just to get there case looked at, not many are able to have the opportunity of getting out.

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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

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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.

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There are many reasons why people get convicted of crimes, and even more varieties in the sentencings of those crimes. Another category to consider are those who have committed a crime and recieve an alternative punishment to that crime, outside the norm. Juries listen to circumstances and must determine a fair and appropriate sentencing for individuals with unique situations; specifically when a person commits an unlawful act and is exempt criminally. Reasons of mental insanity, when a person is not mentally capable of knowing what they are doing, and self-defence, when a person uses a reasonable amount of force to eliminate a threat, are the two main justifications used before juries. Mental insanity can be defined in many different ways,

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This remarkable courthouse only hosted approximately seven trials in its first year and since then has dropped even lower (Dzur, 2013). The early 20th century was the last time a jury was considered the normal process for dealing with criminal cases, and now the plea deal is king (Dzur, 2013). Simple fact is, today juries hear only a very few cases across the nation (Dzur, 2013). High-ranking members working in the justice system fear that the competence of a jury today is declining with the scientific evidence that is now available (Dzur, 2013). The statistics seem to support this fear.

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1479 Words | 6 Pages

Today our justice system has a multitude of options when dealing with those who are convicted of offenses. However, many argue that retributive justice is the only real justice there is. This is mainly because its advantage is that it gives criminals the appropriate punishment that they deserve. The goals of this approach are clear and direct. In his book The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr Howard (2002), illustrates that the central focus of retributive justice is offenders getting what they deserve (p. 30).

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