Why is it that our justice system uses so little research when there is so much at stake? During my research, I found that the limited extent of research done has caused many innocent human beings to be punished with their entire lives, many years of their lives which they will never get back, and often times they pay with their lives. The frequency of innocent people going in the system, at no fault of their own, and the price they pay brings me to the conclusion that exoneration needs more support from the Innocence Project which would result in less exonerations. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, exonerations are typically the result of a defendant who has “been acquitted of all charges related to the crime that placed …show more content…
Instead, state governments should provide more funding and training for county coroner’s so they can do their jobs well with the proper facilities and equipment. Coroners are important elected officials and should not be replaced by appointed medical examiners who are not accountable to the public (“Coroners and Forensic Science”). Electing coroners with little medical experience and allowing them to perform autopsies with no real regulatory oversight is a deeply flawed and outdated method for conducting death investigations. As stated in the article, “autopsies should be performed only by licensed physicians, preferably those specializing in forensic pathology, and in offices run by certified medical examiners (“Coroners and Forensic Science”).” Furthermore, the U.S. should have a federal department that can impose a uniform set of standards for death investigation in every county, instead of the confusing hodgepodge of systems it has …show more content…
Pollack states that an exoneration occurs when a person who has been convicted of a crime is officially cleared based on new evidence of innocence. Then he goes on state what he found in his research about exonerees. In a Scientific American article entitled, "Many prisoners on death row are wrongfully convicted," it was reported that researchers estimated, using the NRE database, that more than 340 U.S. inmates who could have been exonerated were sentenced to death since 1973. This came to a 4.1 percent rate of false conviction (Pollack). Freedom from false incarceration is always a long shot. Being exonerated is the ultimate
The case had a many important questions to it. In one question: is physician-assisted suicide morally, ethically, legally correct, and/or fair to anyone?
“The number of wrongly convicted persons cannot be known with certainty, because no federal or state agency keeps track of exonerations, let alone wrongful convictions (Criminal Justice, p.1).” Wrongful convictions occur when an innocent person is found guilty. Our justice system tries to reveal the truth but not always in the best way. Wrongful convictions will most likely to happen because of how our justice system deals with cases. Our Justice System gets innocent people to confess to the wrongdoings that they have not committed. They also use jailhouse informants to fabricate a story that can convict the accused. Tunnel vision is also a big part of why people are getting wrongfully convicted. The injustice of being convicted for a crime
This interview was conducted by Professor Zalman and Ron Keine and is about Ron’s exoneration. Ron Keine was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a college student in Oklahoma. The duration of this case was full of corruption and ended in Ron being convicted and sentenced to death row. While being on death row, Ron thought he was going to die for a crime that he did not commit. There are so many aspects in this case, but to start the Detroit News conducted an investigation and what was uncovered was procedural misconduct. The coverage from the Detroit News was not enough for Keine and his friends to be allowed to go free, and they all remained on death row. Ron was released in 1976 after the murder weapon was found to be in possession of a
In fact, having a coroner position on hands actually makes for an incredibly efficient office. Coroners take care of the paperwork part of the investigative process. If the coroner position is eliminated, that workload falls upon the shoulders of the medical examiners, who are, according to a study in Massachusetts, already incredibly overworked. According to national standards, no more than 250 autopsies should be conducted per medical examiner each year. However, previously to 2008, Massachusetts, a state which only allows board-approved MEs, medical examiners were performing up to 800 autopsies a year, which is outrageously high compared to the national recommendation (Rocheleau). Not only were they performing the autopsies, but they were also testifying in courts and gathering police and medical data. Comparatively, in states with elected coroners, it is the coroner’s job to gather the data and testify the findings in courts, which leaves the medical examiners to their job of performing autopsies. It is a well-found balance in the system that makes for an quick and efficient
There are many legal and ethical issues when discussing the topic of physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The legal issues are those regarding numerous court cases over the past few decades, the debate over how the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution comes into play, and the legalization vs. illegalization of this practice. The 14th Amendment states, “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, §1). PAS in the past has been upheld as illegal due to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment of the constitution, but in recent years this same 14th amendment is also part of the reasoning for legalizing PAS, “nor shall any State deprive any person of…liberty” (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, §1). The ethical issues surrounding this topic include a patient’s autonomy and dignity and if PAS should be legalized everywhere. This paper is an analysis of the PAS debate and explores these different issues using a specific case that went to the supreme courts called Washington et al. v. Glucksberg et al.
Since Herrera, concern regarding the possibility of executing the innocent has grown. Currently, more than 80 death row inmates have been released because of innocence since 1973. In November, 1998 Northwestern University held the first-ever National Conference on Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty, in Chicago, Illinois. The Conference, which drew nationwide attention, brought together 30 of these wrongfully convicted inmates who were exonerated and released from death row. Many of these cases were discovered not as the result of the justice system, but instead as the result of new scientific techniques, investigations by journalism students, and the work of volunteer attorneys. These resources are not available to the typical death row inmate.
“Exonerated Death Row Inmate Speaks Out.” Dec. 2003. The New Abolitionist. 13 Apr. 2007 < http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/newab030/06_Exonerated.html>.
In conclusion, all should firmly believe that physician assisted suicide should not be legalized in any state. Although it is legalized in Oregon it is not wise for any other state to follow that example. By now, all should strongly believe the growing public support for PAS still remains a very dangerous trend. The role of our physician is that of a healer, not a killer. It must be understood that in some cases the only way to relieve someone from their pain is to let them go. On the contrary, each human life has an
2. Kirsch, Laura. “Diagnosis: DEATH.” Forensic Examiner 15.2 (2006): 52-54. Criminal Justice Periodicals. ProQuest. USF Mears Library, Sioux Falls, SD. 24 Apr. 2008 http://www.proquest.com/
Criminal Law declares what conduct is illegal and proscribes a penalty. Although, we rely on our court system to administer justice, sometimes the innocent are convicted (Risinger). Most people would not be able to imagine a person who is convicted of a crime as innocent, sometimes that is the case. Imagine what a variance that is: an innocent criminal. In an article by Radley Balko he asks the question, “How many more are innocent?” In his article, he questions America’s 250th DNA exoneration and states that it raises questions about how often we send the wrong person to prison. The other issue that follows is the means of appealing the court’s decision and who they can turn to for help.
The article first section is about the people already fortunate enough to be exonerated. This article uses the 250 exonerations that were achieved by January 1, 2010 (as of November 19, 2013 there have been 311 exonerated). This article talks mostly about men since they are 90% of the exonerated are men. Similar to the percentage of the amount of men to women, about 75% of the exonerated are from minorities. The most common way the exonerates achieved their freedom was through DNA testing. Unfortunately not everyone has that avenue to pursue to prove the...
... more than twelve million people tuning in to watch CSI (Shelton, n.d.), and with science and technology continuing to evolve so rapidly, we will continue to see a substantial influence on American criminal justice through their impacts on potential juror expectations. Our criminal justice system should seek to adapt to these changes as supposed to fight them, the way the system is set up juror verdicts are expected to be a reflection of our society’s values. With those value will change and jury verdict will reflect those changes in popular culture. In adapting to such changes, we must invest in funding and training law enforcement to collect and analyze scientific evidence. While we adapt to those changes it is crucial that the jury is carefully instructed about the nature of such evidence as well as properly selected by a Voir Dire process to identify biases.
The word “Autopsy” means ‘to see with one’s own eyes,’ (2) and is a procedure that has been performed since the time of (LOOK UP IN NOTES). Not every death that occurs is subjected to an autopsy – this would be time consuming and expensive. Yet the situations that require such a procedure are different for every state. In fact, there is no federal standard when it comes to autopsy requirements or procedures – a surprising fact, considering the sheer number of years the human race has been practicing the procedure.
The criminal investigation process is able to achieve justice to a great to a great extent. They are effective in achieving justice, as they are able to balance the rights of the victim, offenders and society and also provide fair and just outcomes. For these reasons, the criminal investigation process is largely able to achieve justice.
Locke, Mandy. “Study: End Death Cases, Save Money.” The News and Observer (2009). ProQuest. Web. 22 February 2010.