Common Causes Of Wrongful Conviction
Wrongful convictions happen all over the world. Wrongful convictions are defined as a conviction of a person who was factually innocent, leading them to a live in prison for a certain amount of time. Putting the wrong person in the system can ruin their life and reputation. These people can spend just a few years, a big portion of their life, or even die while incarcerated if they are on death row. The most common causes of wrongful convictions are eyewitness misidentification, improper forensic science, false confessions, government misconduct, informants/jailhouse snitches, and inadequate counseling.
Bruce MacFarlane, a Canadian lawyer said that the single most important factor leading to wrongful convictions is eyewitness misidentification. …show more content…
The misidentification of culprits by eyewitnesses is the number one leading cause of wrongful convictions. Eyewitness misidentification plays a role in 72% of convictions overturned, those of which are from DNA testing. (INNOCENCE PROJECT) In 1999, it was noted that many of the suspects now exonerated by DNA testing would have been indicted prior to its use. This implies that there may have been a false conviction rate in the past of more than 10% for criminal cases where DNA testing is now possible. According to the Innocence Project even after thirty years of social science eyewitness identification is often reliable. Research shows that the human mind is not at all like a tape recorder. People neither record events exactly as they see them, nor recall them like a tape that has been rewound. Witness memory is comparable to other evidence in case in that it must be preserved carefully and retrieved very meticulously or else it can become …show more content…
Brenton was simply walking to a local block buster to fill out a job application when he was stopped by police and question about a murder that happen miles away from his house. The victim was a tourist visiting the city of Jacksonville with her husband. Mary Ann and James Stephens, an older couple, were staying at a local Ramada Inn and had just taken advantage of the hotel’s free breakfast. When they were heading back to their room they were confronted by an African American man that was demanding Mary Ann’s purse with a gun held to her face. Mr. Stephens had a very small amount of time to try and remember the culprit’s face before he shot his wife and ran off with her purse. Brenton Butler was brought to Mr. Stevens who automatically said he was the culprit. James Stephens said he was certain Brenton was the killer. Although Brenton had an alibi he was taken down to the station and the nine hour interrogation
Bruce MacFarlane, a Canadian lawyer said that the single most important factor leading to wrongful convictions is eyewitness misidentification. …show more content…
The misidentification of culprits by eyewitnesses is the number one leading cause of wrongful convictions. Eyewitness misidentification plays a role in 72% of convictions overturned, those of which are from DNA testing. (INNOCENCE PROJECT) In 1999, it was noted that many of the suspects now exonerated by DNA testing would have been indicted prior to its use. This implies that there may have been a false conviction rate in the past of more than 10% for criminal cases where DNA testing is now possible. According to the Innocence Project even after thirty years of social science eyewitness identification is often reliable. Research shows that the human mind is not at all like a tape recorder. People neither record events exactly as they see them, nor recall them like a tape that has been rewound. Witness memory is comparable to other evidence in case in that it must be preserved carefully and retrieved very meticulously or else it can become …show more content…
Brenton was simply walking to a local block buster to fill out a job application when he was stopped by police and question about a murder that happen miles away from his house. The victim was a tourist visiting the city of Jacksonville with her husband. Mary Ann and James Stephens, an older couple, were staying at a local Ramada Inn and had just taken advantage of the hotel’s free breakfast. When they were heading back to their room they were confronted by an African American man that was demanding Mary Ann’s purse with a gun held to her face. Mr. Stephens had a very small amount of time to try and remember the culprit’s face before he shot his wife and ran off with her purse. Brenton Butler was brought to Mr. Stevens who automatically said he was the culprit. James Stephens said he was certain Brenton was the killer. Although Brenton had an alibi he was taken down to the station and the nine hour interrogation