Unveiling Wrongful Convictions: Causes, Consequences, and Reforms in the United States - Paper Sample

Problem Statement

My paper analyzes the consequences of wrongful convictions and the factors associated with justice system errors in the United States. The report provides a wide range of official data statistics, victim experiences, and examination of legal and professional practices to substantiate the issues that lead to the incarceration of innocent people.

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Annotated Bibliography

Wells, D. (2013). Causes, Prevention, Impact, and Outlook for Corrections. National Institute of Justice. www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/244915.pdf.

In this article, Doris Wells discusses the causes of wrongful convictions which include false eye witnessing, misidentification of the victim, and errors in forensic evidence. She then analyses the steps that can be taken to prevent wrongful convictions including creating a follow-up list for investigations and performing DNA tests before the hearing. The impacts of wrongful convictions are analyzed as well and the necessary corrections are taken into consideration. Wells is not only a known author but also the best television actress. She is credited for her work since it's organized chronologically for easy understanding. In this research, the article helps in understanding the financial impact of the victims of wrongful convictions and analyzing the necessary corrections in the American justice system to prevent future false convictions. The article can be used to predict future erroneous cases across the United States and help in ways to save time and money when handling cases.

Walsh, K., Hussemann, J., Flynn, A., Yahner, J. & Golian, L. (2017). Estimating the Prevalence of Wrongful Convictions. Washington. The USA. www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/251115.pdf

This source was authored by Kelly Walsh, Jeanette Hussmann, Abigail Flynn, Jennifer Yahnera, and Laura Golian. The article researches wrongful convictions across the United States by staring at the factors that lead to the conviction of the innocent. Among the factors examined in this article is the physical evidence produced in courts. It states that forensic evidence presented in DNA samples is the most erroneous especially those collected from murder suspects and sexually assaulted victims. The authors' work creates a strong base for forensic knowledge and investigation in the criminal justice system. The article is very important since the authors help educate people on forensic evidence and data collection procedures to help avoid the wrongful conviction of the innocent. Either, the article will assist in creating a strong up-to-date dataset to investigate the prevalence of wrongful convictions and forensic errors in criminal court justice.

Gould, J. B., & Leo, R. A. (2010). One hundred years later: wrongful convictions after a centuryof research. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 100, 3, 825-868. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/231038604.pdf

This article was authored by Jon B. Gould and Richard A. Leo in 2010. It talks about a century of research in the American justice system where it analyses the factors that contribute to wrong convictions as well as their consequences. The authors analyze the common sources of errors and how the system can be improved. They urge people to take into consideration the research and make improvements where necessary. The authors did exclusive research which is substantial in the criminal justice system, they analyzed step-by-step developments in wrong convictions over a century. The article is crucial in this research since it helps in citing the history of wrong convictions and errors that lead to the conviction of innocent people. It also helps in understanding the traditional factors that contributed to wrong convictions.

TCR Staff. (2020). Report: High Levels of Police Misconduct in Convictions of Innocent. https://thecrimereport.org/2020/09/15/report-high-levels-of-police-misconduct-in-convictions-of-innocent/

This article states the high levels of police misconduct in the conviction of the innocent. It is the most recent published by the TCR staff, in 2020. It highlights how official misconduct contributes to the conviction of the innocent. Actions by police officers have been a great contributor, these include the provision of false evidence, violent interrogation, and witness tampering. The article emphasizes the need for professionalism and discipline in the police sector since most misconduct goes unpunished. The report is advantageous since it brings to limelight the misconducts of the police therefore they will be slow in their misconduct for fear of being punished since their deeds will be already known in the criminal justice sector. In this research, the article will contribute greatly to the discussion on professional misconduct as one of the errors that lead to wrong conviction the source will also help in understanding the codes and ethics in the police sector towards criminal justice.

Research Proposal

Wrongful incarcerations are a breakdown of justice and an unfortunate reality that occurs often, in the US Criminal Justice System. Research shows that there are many proven cases of wrongful convictions every year in the US (Walsh et al., 2017). Research has indicated that the number of people exonerated of crimes in the pre-DNA era exceeds 300 in the US. This aspect has led to a series of studies by various researchers to find out the factors that have contributed to wrongful convictions. Data from the National Registry of Exonerations reported by the Criminal Justice Network in a recent report indicated that official misconduct contributed to more than half 54% of the exonerated cases of cases (TCR, 2020).

The reason for the staggering number of wrongful convictions can be attributed to a variety of factors; one such factor is official misconduct. The police play a significant role in wrong convictions by tampering with witnesses. In some situations, police officers are involved in violent interrogations and falsifying evidence (TCR, 2020). In research done on over 2400 defendants who were wrongly accused over a period of 30 years indicated that the misconduct that causes wrong incarcerations is rarely revealed (TCR, 2020). The report also revealed that police prosecutors are among the most significant contributors to false convictions.

More people are being exonerated for crimes they have not committed than ever before. According to a recent study by the National Registry of Exonerations, researchers found that 149 people were exonerated for crimes they did not commit, which is more than any other year in history (Walsh et al., 2017). These men and women had served, more than a decade in prison. Some had been waiting on death row when they were exonerated. According to the report, this unusually high figure shows widespread problems within the system, and “points to a much larger number of false convictions” that have yet to be overturned (Walsh et al., 2017).

Another such factor that commonly comes into play is that of the false confession, which accounted for approximately 20% of the exonerations that occurred in the year 2015, which was a record for that specific area (Wells, 2013). Of those false confessions, a great portion involved homicide cases wherein the defendants were either under 18, intellectually disabled, or both.

One unexpected area where exonerations are made is through the guilty plea, wherein an innocent person pleads guilty (Kent & Carmichael, 2015). This area accounted for nearly forty percent of exonerations for the year of 2015, which set a record (LaPorte, 2018). The reason this is becoming such a commonality is due to defendants being coerced into accepting a plea deal, even if it is for a crime that they had no part in committing.

Capital punishment cases in particular, are seeing a staggering increase in wrongful convictions, as new research has discovered that almost four percent of capital punishment cases in the United States are wrongful convictions (Gould & Leo, 2010). Due to the nature of capital punishment and the possible severity of the consequences of an incorrect conviction, many Americans are beginning to become leery of its continued practice. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2013, approximately thirty-seven percent of Americans are opposed to the death penalty, while fifty-five percent say they still are in favor of it (Gould & Leo, 2010).

A key factor in overturning these wrongful convictions, and thus exonerating the individuals involved, is the implementation of DNA evidence (LaPorte, 2018). To avoid wrongful convictions by way of misidentification, the Innocence Project is currently collaborating with law enforcement establishments to establish several methods to improve the eyewitness identification process. One such way is the blind administration, wherein the officer attending to the lineup would be unaware of who the potential suspect is, thus preventing the eyewitness from possibly noticing any suggestive statements or gestures from the officer.

As evidenced by the above data and testimony, wrongful convictions are still very much a problem in the United States legal system. This is due to numerous factors, with the aforementioned being just a few of the most common. While perfection may be unattainable, there are select areas where improvement can be made in regard to this as the criminal justice system continues to grow in its foundation. Revisions can be made when it comes to laws, but it is harder to compensate for the lost time of a wrongly convicted individual. The Innocence Project makes the case that a wrongly convicted individual should receive immediate health benefits, as well as a set minimum amount for each year served in prison, as the impact of a wrongful conviction can negatively harbor one's ability to procure a job. The effects of a wrongful conviction are costly, both for the government and for the individual, in many ways. While human error may come into play, it is vital to ensure that all precautions are taken to prevent this from taking place.

Reference

Gould, J. B., & Leo, R. A. (2010). One hundred years later: wrongful convictions after a century of research. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 100, 3, 825-868. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/231038604.pdf

Kent, S.L. & Carmichael J.T. (2015). Legislative responses to wrong conviction: Do partisan principals and advocacy efforts influence state-level criminal justice policy? Social Science Research, 52, 147-160. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.01.004

LaPorte, G. (2018). Wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations: Understanding the role of forensic science. National Institute of Justice Journal. 279, 1-16. www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/250705.pdf

TCR Staff. (2020 September 15). Report: High Levels of Police Misconduct in Convictions of Innocent. https://thecrimereport.org/2020/09/15/report-high-levels-of-police-misconduct-in-convictions-of-innocent/

Walsh, K., Hussemann, J., Flynn, A., Yahner, J. & Golian, L. (2017). Estimating the Prevalence of Wrongful Convictions. Washington. USA. www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/251115.pdf

Wells, D. (2013). Causes, Prevention, Impact, and Outlook for Corrections. National Institute of Justice. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/244915.pdf.