Wrongful Convictions: Why Do They Occur
Introduction
Never has a criminal justice system of the United States been fair and flawless. Ever since the American Revolution, the U.S. Constitution granted protection of freedom for innocent, and restricted the freedom for criminals. But not all criminals have been punished, and not all innocent remained free. This problem still exists in the modern days, and in some ways, it is even worse than it used to be. Wrongful convictions are causing many problems in our society other than putting innocent behind the bars or on the execution table. It also triggers distrust of the civilians in our criminal justice system and law enforcement agencies and officers. To find the ways to prevent such errors …show more content…
122). But how exactly can an eyewitness give the wrong information about a suspect or a crime, and most importantly, why? Eyewitness can play a fundamental role in identifying a suspect, convicting him/her, and charging. But not all of them are always right. Typically, the eyewitnesses are asked to identify the suspect in a photograph or police line-up. The crucial role here plays the officer, who should choose the fillers for the fair lineup, and give the eyewitness instructions before the lineup. The eyewitnesses, in most cases, will suggest the suspect’s facial features as the main factor in identification. Thus, the police lineup should consist of the fillers with the similar appearance as the suspect, to avoid any of them standing-out in the lineup. If the actual suspect has a distinctive feature, the police should either conceal or replicate it (Zarkadi, Wade & Stewart, 2009, p.1448). This will decrease the chances of eyewitness …show more content…
The way the evidence is handled is critical. One wrong step and the evidence is no longer valid. But not always it is known that the crime scene has been contaminated or evidence has been mishandled. This evidence is then being examined, and goes to court. One minor mistake can result in convicting the innocent. Lastly, because of the fact that new technologies have only emerged recently, many of the old cases have been “successfully” closed after convicting the innocent based on little or no reliable
Introduction
Never has a criminal justice system of the United States been fair and flawless. Ever since the American Revolution, the U.S. Constitution granted protection of freedom for innocent, and restricted the freedom for criminals. But not all criminals have been punished, and not all innocent remained free. This problem still exists in the modern days, and in some ways, it is even worse than it used to be. Wrongful convictions are causing many problems in our society other than putting innocent behind the bars or on the execution table. It also triggers distrust of the civilians in our criminal justice system and law enforcement agencies and officers. To find the ways to prevent such errors …show more content…
122). But how exactly can an eyewitness give the wrong information about a suspect or a crime, and most importantly, why? Eyewitness can play a fundamental role in identifying a suspect, convicting him/her, and charging. But not all of them are always right. Typically, the eyewitnesses are asked to identify the suspect in a photograph or police line-up. The crucial role here plays the officer, who should choose the fillers for the fair lineup, and give the eyewitness instructions before the lineup. The eyewitnesses, in most cases, will suggest the suspect’s facial features as the main factor in identification. Thus, the police lineup should consist of the fillers with the similar appearance as the suspect, to avoid any of them standing-out in the lineup. If the actual suspect has a distinctive feature, the police should either conceal or replicate it (Zarkadi, Wade & Stewart, 2009, p.1448). This will decrease the chances of eyewitness …show more content…
The way the evidence is handled is critical. One wrong step and the evidence is no longer valid. But not always it is known that the crime scene has been contaminated or evidence has been mishandled. This evidence is then being examined, and goes to court. One minor mistake can result in convicting the innocent. Lastly, because of the fact that new technologies have only emerged recently, many of the old cases have been “successfully” closed after convicting the innocent based on little or no reliable