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Essays on wrongful convictions
Wrongful convictions law and justice
Wrongful convictions
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The topic I chose involved criminal justice. I narrowed my search by deciding to focus on cases where people are wrongly accused of a crime, how that happens and how it impacts people that go through it. The reason I picked this for the passion project is because I have always liked reading about criminology and different criminal law cases. I also am interested in doing something involving that in college and for a career. To narrow my search, I am looking at the general idea of wrongful accusation, and also reading about specific cases where this actually happened. An interesting piece of information that I learned was that there are many different causes of wrongful conviction. For example, government officials take steps to ensure that
At the time of the murder of which David Milgaard was accused of committing he was just 16 years old. He was a hippie, constantly in trouble. Even before he was a teenager he was getting into trouble. His parents and teachers considered him impulsive; he resisted authority (Regina Leader Post, 1992, as cited in Anderson & Anderson 1998). He was removed from kindergarten because he was considered to be a negative influence on the other children. When he was thirteen he spent time in a psychiatric centre (Anderson & Anderson, 1998)
The three topics I picked are gender, race, and religion. However, my views on these subjects have not changed because I considered myself to be a very open-minded person. After reading "The Berdache Tradition" I learned that the several Native American tribes had a different kind of cultural construction of gender within their group. I was very fond of their origin myth that was about several worlds and crossing over them to find equal ground for everyone. I found this reading to be very interesting because it seems that no one takes the chance to mention the subject of having more than one gender. Usually people are focused on physical differences of sex and the expectations that are associated with gender. The same goes for the group in
Wrongful conviction is an issue that has plagued the Canadian Justice System since it came to be. It is an issue that is hard to sort out between horrific crimes and society’s desire to find truth and justice. Incidences of wrongful conviction hit close to home right here in Saskatchewan as well as across the entire nation. Experts claim “each miscarriage of justice, however, deals a blow to society’s confidence in the legal justice system” (Schmalleger, Volk, 2014, 131). Professionals in the criminal justice field such as police, forensic analyst, and prosecutors must all be held accountable for their implications in wrongful convictions. There are several reasons for wrongful convictions such as racial bias, false confessions, jailhouse informants, eyewitness error, erroneous forensic science, inappropriate, professional and institutional misconduct and scientific limitations that society possessed prior to the technological revolution (Roberts, Grossman, 2012, 253 – 259). The introduction of more advanced DNA analysis has been able to clear names and prevent these incidences from occurring as often. As well as the formation of foundations such as The Association of Defense for the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC). Unfortunately, mistakes made in the Canadian Justice System have serious life altering repercussions for everyone that is involved. Both systematic and personal issues arise that require deeper and more intense analysis.
Wrongful convictions in Canada is a very sensitive and disturbing topic that has created concerns as to why individuals are being wrongfully convicted. As people in Canada read about cases involving wrongful conviction, such as Guy Paul Morin, Rubin Carter and David Millguard, it often undermines their faith in the criminal justice system. Tunnel vision, the use of questionable DNA evidence, and eyewitness misidentification are the three main causes of wrongful convictions in Canada. Recognizing and addressing these concerns has led to a reduction in cases of wrongful convictions in Canada.
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.
were not previously seen, such as hostile or mistrustful attitude towards the world, social withdrawal, feelings of emptiness or hopelessness, a chronic feeling of threat, and estrangement.” Although psychological issues develop in anyone incarcerated, those discussed are particular from the perspective of a victim wrongfully accused.
Majority of cases have made mistakes and convicted the wrong people due to the wrong information due to the forensic science which LaPorte mentioned in the article “Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations: Understanding the Role of,” that “One of the greatest tragedies in the criminal justice system is when a person is convicted for a crime he/she did not commit.” It has been multiple times that mistakes were made yet today there is still problems occurring. No one will ever be perfect but their results need to be around 90% to make sure they have enough information to make the arrest and to send to person away for life. In order to prevent his, there needs to be more test, people who can be tested with this sensitive information. There
Since 1978 over 280 death row inmates have been granted clemency. Most of the reasons someone is granted clemency is because of doubt about the guilty or judgments about the death penalty by the governor. Clemency is an act of grace, based on the policy of fairness, justice, and forgiveness. Clemency is a privilege and is not a right, and one who is granted clemency does not have the crime forgotten, as in amnesty, but is forgiven and treated more leniently for the criminal acts. Even though clemency is considered a privilege some states require a clemency review before the execution. Ohio requires a clemency review forty-five days before the execution. Clemency is used at the discretion of the governor and other officials,
I chose the topic of transgenderism. Transgender is when an individual tries to switch genders. Transgender comes from the Latin words trans, meaning “across.” Transgender literally means “across gender.” Many trans-individuals decided later on in their lives that they want to switch genders, and other people argue that they were born the wrong gender. Trans-people experience many difficulties throughout their lives. Switching genders makes their lives more challenging, because of many reasons. Their lives are more challenging because of their religion, whether or not they are accepted. The military is very strict, and will not accept trans individuals whatsoever. Insurance companies sometimes will not accept them as well. Trans people are not always accepted by certain occupations. Growing up in schools, trans people are all treated differently regarding to which bathroom/locker room to use. There is a huge debate whether or not trans students are even allowed to participate on sports teams, and if they are, which team to be on. Other obstacles such as birth certificates, passports, and driver’s licenses are all major issues as well. Trans people have to decide if they are willing to come forward, and say ‘This is who I am.’ But before trans-people can come out to other, they must come out to
Mr. Stephens identified Brenton Butler as the person who shot his wife, Mary Ann. In the field of Forensic Psychology, and declared by The Innocence Project, that eyewitness mistakes are one of the greatest cause of wrongful convictions around the world. When James Stephens was being cross-examined by Ann Finnell (Butler’s attorney), he testified that he hadn’t seen no one or head footsteps and just recalls seeing a gun. With that statement we can assume that the Weapon-Focus Effect had affected Mr. Stephens and influence him to mistakenly identify Brenton Butler. The Weapon-Focus Effect refers to the visual attention that a witness pays to the weapon of a perpetrator during the course of the crime. In other words, an individual pays more attention to the
If Mr. Smith is found Guilty only of II.B.5.a: The gravity of Mr. Smith’s offense is low for this case. Mr. Smith did not intentionally leave his phone during the exam, nor did he use it during the exam. While he did violate the procedures of the exam administration, the Defense wishes to point out that he did not do so intentionally. His intent was not to gain an unfair advantage over the other students in the PYSC 101 taking that exam. The weight of the final exam, 30%, is less than the combined weight of the two prior midterms (45%) that he had done well on before (Evidence B-3). Additionally, Mr. Smith has had no priors with the Honor System.
I choose project 1a: Being a Deviant for a day because I was interested in the reaction of others post to my deviant action in attempting to violate a social norm. One social norm that I observed while I was grocery shopping one day was people automatically claim the items belong to them once it is placed in their basket. Even though technically it is not it still belongs to the store until purchased.
The topic I have chosen was The NASA Space Shuttle Program, and the reason I had chosen it was because I have always been interested in going into outer space. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to be able to float around in a little shuttle in outer space. Just the thought of feeling weightless has fascinated me.
I have chosen the topic of social psychology and its uses within business. I chose this topic due to my pursuit of a Bachelors degree in Business Management. I am also in the process of starting my own company and know that it is important to not only know what your customers want and need, but also your employees. I have gained this insight as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Being able to use the techniques researched and their effects will have a positive impact on my future career.
The topic that I choose is mental health education for teenagers in school. Mental health is a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being. In schools we have classes focusing upon the physical and educational well-being of students but has ignored the mental well-being. The lack of mental health education results in people not knowing how to properly interact with mental illness both in others and with themselves. Not only is the knowledge of how to deal with mental illness an issue but the stigmatization that has derived from the lack of understanding creates a negative environment in confronting these illnesses.