Introduction To the Criminal Justice System In the complex world of criminal justice, the death penalty is one of the most controversial issues in the world. Particularly, the unsettling reality of wrongful convictions has cast a shadow over the system. This paper aims toward the current Doherty students perception of these issues and their impact on trusting our justice system vs. facts taken from court cases and victims themselves. In this paper I will identify wrongful convictions; what they are…
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intro How many people in prison do you think are innocent? The answer is about 5%. That’s around two innocent people a day. Due to this, a nonprofit was created called The Innocence Project. An organization dedicated to keeping innocent people out of jail. The Innocence Project is really important for those innocent people who are still in jail. Even if they reach out, there is no saying how long it might take before they can be released. Even though many people believe the justice system is just…
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react to the negative and positive electrical charge to separate the small and large strands of DNA to determine a profile considering only 0.1 % is unique to each individual except for identical twins. I also found it interesting that today, DNA analysis only requires a small portion that can be obtained off of something as simple as a cigarette butt compared to old methods requiring a much larger portion to be collected. In addition, another factor that made me feel more comfortable about DNA collection…
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The lack of technology in many cold cases is the reason they’re left unsolved. Because of this, these cases should be opened based on improved DNA and genealogy, advances in forensic analysis, and the closure and justice brought to these victims' families. Genealogy in cold cases plays an important role in murders where little evidence can be found. One example of this is the Golden State Killer, aka Joseph James DeAngelo, who was charged with 13 murders and 13 rape charges from 1975 to 1986. For…
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wrongful convictions nationwide, with nearly 75% of the convictions overturned through DNA testing. There have been 260 exonerations across the country based on forensic DNA testing with 3 out of 4 involving cases of eyewitness misidentification. (Innocence Project 1999) In 1907 or 1908, Hugo Munsterberg published “On the Witness Stand”; he questioned the reliability of eyewitness identification. As recent as 30 or 40 years ago, the Supreme Court acknowledged that eyewitness identification is problematic…
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experiences of the victims. On the Innocence Project website, I conducted my qualitative interview on "Why Do Wrongful Convictions Happen?" and went over the five bullet points that followed. However, the common threads in their stories about why mistaken convictions occur were that a person could be unfairly convicted as a result of eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, official malfeasance, coerced pleas, and misapplied forensic science. The description and analysis of qualitative data that would…
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presented hair analysis evidence and witness testimonies (Polk, 2010). During the 1982 trial, DNA technology was in its infancy and it was not validated as a courtroom science, so scientists were only able to provide hair analysis testimony from what they observed underneath a microscope (Polk, 2010). Scientists from the FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police both testified that underneath a microscope the scalp hairs were consistent with those of Wayne Williams; however, the expert hair analysis conducted…
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Poem Analysis After much time and deliberation I chose to memorize and analyze Nick Flynn’s imaginative free verse poem, Cartoon Physics, part 1, which seamlessly incorporates multiple noteworthy themes that resonate with the reader. Throughout the entire poem, the author meticulously introduces powerful life lessons that have also abetted me to personally grow as a person and as a student. There are evident themes that project the importance of remembering to appreciate life as it comes and to always…
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Celia Wheeler Professor Zahi Zalloua IRES 220 29 March 2024 Synthesis of Environmentalism and Indigenous Sovereignty As our planet continues to be increasingly changed by rising temperatures, interest, and participation in environmentalism has increased as well. Oftentimes, this environmentalism comes with little to no regard for Indigenous sovereignty, which can be thought of as Indigenous belonging, dignity, and justice as opposed to settler sovereignty, which is thought of as supreme power. The…
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The Plea for Life “The time has come, these dark, cold walls serve as witness for my sentence. Anxiously I await for the tall figures to enter once again, one last time, and put an end to my existence. Sweaty, shaky hands are guided by chains to the last room I’ll ever be in, to the last breath I’ll ever take. Repentance overflows my being, but it’s too late now, the sharp venomous needle has found its way to my skin.” Many debates and controversies have been linked to capital punishment and people’s…
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