It is unbelievable the number of exonerees who have been convicted for a crime they did not commit. An exoneree is a person who has been proven innocent after being convicted for a crime they did not do. To exonerate means to release them when proven innocent. There are many factors taken in place and mistakes done by the criminal justice system that has led to wrongful conviction and even death sentences. Why are innocents convicted? There are three factors that can lead someone to be wrongfully convicted: false confessions made by the innocent person, inaccurate systems used by the criminal justice system, and lack of DNA evidence.
The first cause is false confession. A false confession is an admission of guilt in a crime in which the confessor …show more content…
Why would anyone admit to a crime they did not do? There are many suspects who confess falsely because of fear of violence, ignorance of the law, intoxication, mental impairment, and many other reasons. The main reason anyone would confess falsely would be because of pressure from the authorities. There are four types of false confessions: Voluntary, Stress-complaint, Coerced-complaint, and Coerced-persuaded. All these lead to some sort of pressure caused by the investigator. Voluntary confessions are offered without interrogation, or there’s minimal pressure. Maybe the suspect is protecting someone or is confessing because they are mentally ill. Stress-complaint is where the stress of the custodial question stresses the suspect to think that the only way to end the process of questioning is by just confessing and they comply because of the stress. The suspect might not know the consequences of their confession and think that it is easily the way out, little do they know this could lead to many years in …show more content…
This Truth Verification System is a voice analyzer that has no scientific study that shows it’s an accurate instrument, yet many police departments around the country pay thousands of dollars to test whether a person is lying or not. This so called “doctor” who discovered it, is not even certified as a doctor. Dr. Humble claims the system is accurate and sells it with a clear conscience. This was the only thing the criminal justice system was relying on without any other evidence of Michael. The judge finally denounced it when they discovered clear evidence that led to his innocence. This is why science such as DNA should be strongly considered to help prove the guilt or innocence of the defendant; it’s essential. In order to fix this issue, there has to be improved police training, video recordings, and provision of expert witness testimony in order to have clearer evidence and confessions. Police reports can be also be sloppy if the officer does not get complete and accurate
The first cause is false confession. A false confession is an admission of guilt in a crime in which the confessor …show more content…
Why would anyone admit to a crime they did not do? There are many suspects who confess falsely because of fear of violence, ignorance of the law, intoxication, mental impairment, and many other reasons. The main reason anyone would confess falsely would be because of pressure from the authorities. There are four types of false confessions: Voluntary, Stress-complaint, Coerced-complaint, and Coerced-persuaded. All these lead to some sort of pressure caused by the investigator. Voluntary confessions are offered without interrogation, or there’s minimal pressure. Maybe the suspect is protecting someone or is confessing because they are mentally ill. Stress-complaint is where the stress of the custodial question stresses the suspect to think that the only way to end the process of questioning is by just confessing and they comply because of the stress. The suspect might not know the consequences of their confession and think that it is easily the way out, little do they know this could lead to many years in …show more content…
This Truth Verification System is a voice analyzer that has no scientific study that shows it’s an accurate instrument, yet many police departments around the country pay thousands of dollars to test whether a person is lying or not. This so called “doctor” who discovered it, is not even certified as a doctor. Dr. Humble claims the system is accurate and sells it with a clear conscience. This was the only thing the criminal justice system was relying on without any other evidence of Michael. The judge finally denounced it when they discovered clear evidence that led to his innocence. This is why science such as DNA should be strongly considered to help prove the guilt or innocence of the defendant; it’s essential. In order to fix this issue, there has to be improved police training, video recordings, and provision of expert witness testimony in order to have clearer evidence and confessions. Police reports can be also be sloppy if the officer does not get complete and accurate