b. When DNA testing became more advanced prisoners that have always known they were innocent and serving long prison times or ones that were on death row for crimes that did not happen but were convicted of them as well as ones who were wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit these people started to petition for DNA testing. 2. The size and scope of the Wrongful Conviction Problem in the United States a. DNA testing is usually only done when it comes to high end capital cases because there is more to generate from which gives greater assistance to avoid executions. When it comes to assault, robbery, and burglary cases there will be typically more error due to eyewitness identification and circumstantial evidence.
Everyone has different features even if we are of the same race. People have tattoos, piercings and birth marks that can make them stand out. Therefore, eyewitnesses in any criminal case should be more accurate when choosing a suspect. Society needs to think about all the innocent people. The Criminal Justice System locks up innocent people and yet innocent people are still getting killed.
Both prosecutors and law enforcement, sometimes knowingly ignore this behavior, in hopes that their testimony will secure a conviction in their favor. Law enforcement who work closely with the crime lab in their department will often try to influence Pathologists to tailor their analysis and testing of evidence to suit their needs in assurance of a solid conviction. Consequently, Pathologists are criminally mishandling and presenting false testimony of the evidence and tests. Regardless of their underpinning of excuses, we must find some means of addressing these issues on a broader scope within the criminal justice system. Dr. Ralph Erdmann is a prime example of one who would
When misconduct or mistakes are made it can have very damaging effects on individuals and their lives, but also to the credibility of the criminal justice system. This can happen and does on occasion (Meyer & Grant, 2003). How can we improve consistency in how prosecutors accept case work? When assessing possible improvements to the consistency of how prosecutors accept case work, there are no simple answers. Putting strict demands on what a prosecutor
Deception Deception is used by law enforcement to help them gather facts or the truth about a crime committed. Deception is one of the most used tools in investigation, interrogative, and the testimonial process and some believe that telling a little “white lie” to catch a criminal is not a problem. Criminal activities are increasing at a fast rate in the United States and law enforcement needs some type of help in catching a criminal and sometimes saving a life. One of the questions posed by some not in law enforcement could be if it is ethical to lie to obtain the truth. This paper will discuss that topic along with if it is a conflict between the code of ethics and how law enforcement is conducted.
Ethical Considerations for the Investigator and Prosecutor in Homicide and Rape The investigator and prosecutor play very critical roles, roles that are only fairly fulfilled if all parties are as ethical as possible. Failing to act ethically can lose a case, set a criminal free or could even mean someone innocent going to prison. While ethics in every single type of case are important we are going to examine homicide and rape. Both homicide and rape leave the public hungry for answers. We must be sure that finding those answers are done ethically from the crime scene to trial.
The identification was ruled too suggestive. I feel like eyewitness testimony is too unreliable for the simple reason that the identification is able to be so suggestive. Recently I have been doing a lot of research on wrongful execution, and there have been people wrongfully put to death due to eyewitness testimony. It is a miscarriage of justice for an innocent person to spend one day in jail, it is a tragedy for an innocent person to be put to death. One innocent person punished in any way for the crime of another is one too many.
The fact that officers know that illegally obtained (but true) evidence will quite possibly be thrown out, and therefore dangerous criminals will be freed, will encourage them to follow the proper procedures. (Woodfin, 2009) In addition, there are already several exceptions to requiring a warrant, such as “stop-and-frisk”, airport and school searches, voluntary searches, and emergency situations (Scheb, 2008) While these arguments supported the continued use of the exclusionary rule, there are also many argue against its value to our criminal justice system. One of the most
A rule that does so little to protect the law as it was made. The exclusionary rule allows criminals to go because evidence was illegally obtained, but what about the victims of the crimes. It is almost a turntable and they have become a victim for a second time. I am going to discuss the three main reasons why we as citizens should get rid of the rule. One is the releasing the guilty back into society, next is the slowing down of the criminal process and the last thing is the behavior and consequence of the police officers involved in the cases.
Running Head: Wrongly Convicted Wrongly Convicted - The Innocent are Finally Free XXXX XXXX University Professor XXXX XXXX XXXXX X, 2011 Too many people have served time in prison for crimes they did not commit. What can we do as citizens to help change the criminal justice system which have caused these inexcusable errors and destroyed the lives and future of innocent people? Here, you will find an overview of prisoners who were falsely accused for crimes they did not commit; why wrongful convictions occur and what can be done to stop them. “A study conducted by judges, prosecuting attorneys, public defenders, sheriffs and police suggests that about 10,000 people in the United States may be wrongfully convicted of serious crimes each year” (http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/ronhuff.htm). Here are the statics: “Since 1989 when the first DNA exoneration occurred, 328 defendants have been exonerated in the United States after being convicted of serious crimes such as rape and murder.