Wrongful Convictions In Criminal Justice

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A wrongful conviction has become known as factual innocence. A wrongful conviction might refer to a case in which a person with a good defense is found guilty. It may also be applied to a case in which the appellate court reverses the conviction because the defendant’s constitutional rights were violated (regardless of any factual guilt that might be present) (Zalman, M., Smith, B., & Kiger, A., 2008, p. 75). A wrongful conviction is a terrible injustice that is magnified when an actually innocent person spends years in prison or on death row.
Wrongful convictions are not a rare occurance. If they were they could be downplayed as a simple error as a result of a complex system. Due to frequency, this leads to the presumptions that these failing are linked to a systematic problem. As a result, the accuracy and fairness of the criminal justice system are challenged …show more content…
It was involved in 75% of the 312 DNA exonerations (Wise, Sartori, Magnussen, & Safer 2013). Moreover, the American Psycholocial Association estimates that about one of every three witnesses makes an erroneous identification (Perry v. New Hampshire, 2012). Unlike a video recorder, the human memory does not have the capability to record all information that it comes across. As observed in a lecture by Professor Edwards this semester, the human memory loses a lot of informations from the short-term memory. As a result, the recall of facial recognition by a witness may be uncertain. In addition, events that cause stress (focus on a weapon), can decrease a victim and/or witnesses facial recal. Memory is dynamic and malleable. It can change during the recall stage from what was observed under the influence of suggestion (Wise et al., 2013). These and other factors show that eyewitness identification should be received with caution, and yet police, prosecutors, and especially jurors tend to rarely disbelieve eyewitness

Wrongful Convictions Research Paper

Wrongful conviction, a major issue in the criminal justice system, can be analyzed through various sociological perspectives. This paper will explore how wrongful conviction fits with functionalism, conflict theory, feminist theory, symbolic interactionism, and utilitarianism, also known as rational choice theory or exchange theory. Functionalism is a sociological perspective that views society as a system of interconnected parts that work together to maintain stability and order. From a functionalist…

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Wrongful Conviction Cases

Wrongful convictions have a destructible and Irreparable impact on the innocent defendant or people who have sent to prison. Wrongful convictions can weaken the criminal system because they cause the lose of public faith in the fairness where people will no longer trust the criminal justice system. There are various different reasons behind wrongful convictions. However, there a number of common components that frequently appear in wrongful conviction cases, including prosecutorial misconduct, false…

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Wrongful Conviction: the Darryl Hunt Case Essays

Abstract Darryl Hunt is an African American born in 1965 in North Carolina. In 1984, he was convicted wrongfully of rape and murder of Deborah Sykes, a young white woman working as a newspaper editor. This paper researches oh his wrongful conviction in North Carolina. Darryl Hunt served nineteen and a half years before DNA evidence exonerated him. The charges leveled against him were because of inconsistencies in the initial stages of the case. An all-white bench convicted the then nineteen-year-old…

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Canadian Criminal Justice System Analysis

Canadian society, the Criminal Justice System’s power is to responsibly protect and serve the community. Therefore, the fundamental purpose of the Criminal Justice System is to maintain order within society and punish those who commit criminal acts (Robinson & Cahill, 2005). An innocent individual wrongfully convicted of a criminal act infringes the fundamental rights of the person. The sole purpose of the Criminal Justice System is to restrain the people who commit a criminal offence and held accountable…

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Police Misconduct Research

stand, allowing unreliable witnesses to testify, intentionally destroying evidence, and depending on forensic experts that are not accredited and credible (Brandeis University, n.d.). Police misconduct causes wrongful convictions. Law enforcement officers commit perjury in wrongful conviction cases. Some of the misconduct by police officers are filing false police reports, defining…

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Eyewitness Misidentification Research Paper

Within the complex framework of the criminal justice system, eyewitness testimony frequently serves as a fundamental element, exerting a substantial impact on the verdict of cases. Despite its perceived reliability, eyewitness identification is extremely prone to error, resulting in numerous wrongful convictions and ruined lives. The fallibility of human memory, along with extrinsic variables such as stress, suggestion, and time itself, can alter memories beyond recognition. Understanding the gravity…

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Wrongful Convictions Research Paper

many people believe the justice system is just, there is no doubt that many innocent people are put in prison because of misidentification and memory contamination by eyewitnesses, false or coerced confessions, and flawed forensic evidence. 1. An innocent person might be convicted of misidentification. Mistaken identification occurs when a witness or someone in the justice system mistakenly identifies someone as…

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Wrongful Convictions In Court Cases

that reach far and wide. It is essential to recognize that wrongful convictions occur more frequently than people often believe. Improper convictions, characterized as the conviction of innocent people, are more standard than frequently accepted. This exploration reveals that these terrible instances are not detached occurrences, but foundational issues burdening overall sets of laws worldwide. Factors contributing to wrongful convictions include eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, inaccurate…

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Canadian Criminal Justice System Essay

In nowadays’ Canadian society, a good criminal justice system is necessary for the overall protection and safety of our community. In order to ensure the well being of all citizens, it is important that our criminal justice system carries out justice to all Canadians. Not only must our system be capable of balancing out the punishment of offenders and the protection of victims, but it also must be able to prevent and reduce crimes. As the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees to protect…

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Wrongful Convictions Research Paper

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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