...Forensic Evidence Analysis of The Innocence Project data shows that there were errors in the forensic science in 63% of their cases (Cole, 2012). Forensic science is solely based on subjective opinion, and with few processes being backed scientifically, are usually unreliable. Hair comparisons, fingerprint comparisons, bite-mark analysis, shoe print comparisons and voice comparisons have been pointed out as having poor accuracy. Another problem comes with expert testimony, as testifying on a technique with an unknown accuracy should hold no value. The Innocence Project data stated that 61% of 153 cases had invalid expert testimony. Phrases such as “consistent” and “similar” are often used during forensic expert testimony, and while they hold no inherent meaning, they are seen as very valuable to a jury. (Cole, 2012). Forensics in the case The cases against Jessie Miskelley and Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin seem to be circumstantial on hearsay. Not a lot of forensic...
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...Over the years numerous cases have been reported, where wrongfully convicted criminals have been exonerated. Exonerated meaning, someone has been absolved from blame for a fault or wrongdoing. These individuals spent years some a lifetime in a prison cell for a crime they have never actually committed but yet were still put in jail. In extreme cases individuals are even sentenced to death. This issue has been around for decades and has been researched by numerous scientists. Hugo Bedeau and Michael Radelet published their studies in the Stanford Law Review claiming that 350 individuals have been wrongfully convicted in capital cases. Their work inspired many people to begin researching this issue. The public plays a more important role in everyone’s everyday life then people think. Often there is a struggle for the exonerees to return back to a normal life. The things they experience while incarcerated change their lives forever and often people don’t understand that they are in fact innocent and never committed a crime. The main causes of wrongful conviction include: eyewitness misidentification, improper forensic science, false confessions, and informant misconduct. Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of the wrongfully convicted. Research has shown that humans have difficulty recalling events that have happened, since the human brain is not videotape we cannot be certain about the details of an event that occurred. Jurors often rely more on what people...
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...be investigated thoroughly to better understand the causes of wrongful convictions. First, many jurors do not understand how memory works and put too much trust in eyewitness statements. Secondly, forensic science testimonies by prosecution experts are sometimes invalid due to misunderstanding or misrepresentation of details. Third, interrogators contaminate confessions in many ways, by providing evidence to people being interviewed, which can persuade a false confession. Fourth, police informants can be motivated to provide false statements that incriminate the defendants. Fifth, defense attorneys are often underpaid and underprepared to properly defend their clients. Eyewitness misidentification is the most frequent contributor to wrongful conviction cases. In the fall of 2003, a company by the name of Hart Research worked together with attorneys at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Dr. Elizabeth Loftus prepared a survey to test average jurors understanding of which eyewitness testimonies are more or less reliable than others (Schmechel, O’Toole, Easterly, Loftus, 2006). It consisted of twenty questions regarding the juror’s opinions on eyewitness identification, as well as their opinions on which factors would make an eyewitness testimony reliable. In late February of 2004, Hart Research conducted the survey by phone using randomly chosen phone numbers with a District of Columbia area code, which resulted in 1,007 potential jurors completing the survey...
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...Wrongfully Convictions Introduction: Each year, many people that are innocent are dished out short or long term prison term for crimes that they did not commit. These innocent people have been “wrongfully convicted”. Sometimes these wrongfully convicted charges are unbeknownst to the judge and or jury; other times, they are just wrongfully convicted due to corrupt law enforcement officers. This corrupt issue is very wrong and should be done away with immediately, which is my reason my choosing this topic. In this research paper, I plan to find reasons for wrongful convictions, the actual number, statistics, of individuals that have been wrongful convicted, and those individuals who have stepped up to make a difference in this dilemma. Although there aren’t any statistics kept by the Criminal Justice Department on the number of crimes that were recorded as wrongful convictions, research has estimated about 5% of the cases that are tried annual result in a false conviction. Since 1989, 1,241 people have been wrongfully convicted and later cleared of all charges based on evidence that they were innocent, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, a project of the law schools at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University (Clark 2013). The Michigan Innocence Clinic was the first clinic of its kind to work on non-DNA exonerations. Their work has revealed particular circumstances far too often seen in cases of wrongful conviction. These cases show us how...
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...double-blind along with sequential lineups and is used to ensure that there are no relative judgments. This is an idea for solving false eyewitness identification. Every crime laboratories in the country should be accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors / Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB). Also, it should undergo periodic proficiency testing so it would be in good hands of certified forensic examiners. Defense attorneys, prosecutors, and judges should learn about the different forensic testing techniques. The standards of comparison testing, “such as hair microscopy, bite mark comparisons, firearm tool mark analysis and shoe print” (Innocence Project, 2007) have never been properly validated. Any forensic evidence must be taken with extreme caution and proper methods must be used to ensure that the findings are valid. Also, the next step for all forensic experts is to be honest by not making false testimonies at court. Lastly, interrogation should be reformed by videotaping the entire interrogations. The videotaping must begin before the interrogation starts. Videotaping is a way to determine if the interrogation was coercive, and would be reviewed by the perjury judges. The police would feel that they are at disadvantage, but they are not because they can benefit by taping the confessions live. Confessions by guilty suspects are among the most influential evidences in court. In the United States, there is no time limit on interrogations, and they are...
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..."Tough Guy" Case Study by Team #1 "Tough Guy" Case Study In this case study Chip uses a leadership style of forcing and competing in order to meet his desired needs. This gives him the delusion of power and superiority both by using intimidation and condescending remarks coupled with situational abuse. These characteristics are the shark style of conflict and never questioning a leaders’ authority. If an opinion is desired it will be formulated and given to the other party. Chip manages his employees and associates with ridicule, put downs, and threats to obtain the desired objectives. An immediate reaction might be to fight fire with fire but there may be more to this case than the initial burn of a shark bite. The problem is coworkers fear Chip. He subscribes to a kiss-up and kick-down mantra of management. Chip is using strong forces, which results in no emotional motivation for his team. Without the emotional connection, the vision of the company moves further and further away. This company is in need of a face-to-face conversation involving the entire employ to tear down narrow thinking. The teams and bosses are working together albeit out of fear. There is an abuse of personal time with the possibility of sexual abuse staging. Chip goes out of his way to discredit other while never admitting his own indiscretions. Physical violence in the workplace when exercised by throwing objects at other employees instills fear of one’s personal security. Visible temper tantrums...
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...captured on film that fateful day, September Eleventh, 2001, visual documentation of violence continues to captivate these United States. During the Civil War, capturing a photo was in its infancy. Despite the primitive technology, there may be no better way to express the horrific events that transpired inside of Andersonville prison, as well as the overall feel of the Civil War in general. The visual of malnourished inmates dying a slow, agonizing death invokes emotion to most that view them. Despite all of this horrible negativity surrounding the prison, did anything good come out of Andersonville? Was it as awful as documented or simply a necessary evil of the war itself? I liken this to a high budget Hollywood blockbuster, horrible comparison but it seems to be what comes to mind. In most major motion pictures, the “winner” is placed upon a pedestal for all to cheer. The “loser” on the other hand, that’s normally the villain of the story. Certainly the Union had to have prisons set up where similar acts were being enforced, right? Is Andersonville so well regarded as the worst of the worst simply because the south have the stank of loserdom all over them? Located in Andersonville, Georgia, this Confederate Civil War prison was perhaps the most notorious. Many people know this hostile locale as simply Andersonville. All though, in fact, Camp Sumter is the proper name of this infamous facility, named after the county in which it resided. Prisoners were marched into the...
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...A GUIDE IN FORENSIC CHEMISTRY Forensic chemistry is a branch of chemistry that deals with the application of chemical knowledge, principles, and procedures to matters involving civil or criminal law and to all questions where control of chemical compounds, products, or processes is involved. Forensic Chemistry is an interdisciplinary field of Chemistry tasked to solve cases that can only be explained or resolved by applying analytical methods of investigation and instrumentation with chemistry as the main core of discussion. Forensic chemistry is a broad and diversified field of science. It includes all branches of chemistry and the application of its principles to solve crimes when it arise in the administration of justice. Significantly, Forensic chemistry is vital in crime detection when the components or chemical composition, structure of physical evidence/s collected from the scene of the crime are needed to support in the speedy solution of crime. Application of forensic chemistry is legally applied to the following: 1. Primarily, Forensic Chemistry deals in the recognition, identification, preservation, packaging & transportation of physical evidence collected at the crime scene. 2. In crime detection, it is applied in the identification of poisons, blood, semen, feces, urine, saliva, and other body fluids whether fresh or dried. It also include other stains of interests from ob-gynecological origin, mineral stains, fruits and/or vegetable stains. 3. It is...
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...RULE 101. SCOPE; DEFINITIONS (a) Scope. These rules apply to proceedings in United States courts. The specific courts and proceedings to which the rules apply, along with exceptions, are set out in Rule 1101. (b) Definitions. In these rules: (1) “civil case” means a civil action or proceeding; (2) “criminal case” includes a criminal proceeding; (3) “public office” includes a public agency; (4) “record” includes a memorandum, report, or data compilation; (5) a “rule prescribed by the Supreme Court” means a rule adopted by the Supreme Court under statutory authority; and (6) a reference to any kind of written material or any other medium includes electronically stored information. RULE 102. PURPOSE These rules should be construed so as to administer every proceeding fairly, eliminate unjustifiable expense and delay, and promote the development of evidence law, to the end of ascertaining the truth and securing a just determination. RULE 103. RULINGS ON EVIDENCE (a) Preserving a Claim of Error. A party may claim error in a ruling to admit or exclude evidence only if the error affects a substantial right of the party and: (1) if the ruling admits evidence, a party, on the record: (A) timely objects or moves to strike; and (B) states the specific ground, unless it was apparent from the context; or (2) if the ruling excludes evidence, a party informs the court of its substance by an offer of proof, unless the substance was apparent from the context. (b) Not Needing...
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...ch y Psychology can assist law enforcement by profiling criminal suspects assessing in truthfulness of suspects and evaluating the validity of their confessions. Psychological theory and techniques can be used to improve police officers evaluations of criminal suspects. * Profiling is usually performed at the beginning of criminal investigation when the police need help focusing on certain types of people who might be the suspect * Once a suspect has been identified law enforcement officials use other procedures to determine whether any of them should be charged. * Police look for visual and verbal cues to determine whether they are giving truthful responses Suspects are sometimes given a lie detector test to encourage them to confess. * The tests provide more information about their guilt or innocence. * They conflict with some psychological findings about their accuracy. * Sometimes they are submitted into evidence. * Many psychologists question the validity of the test. The police interrogate suspects and encourage them to confess because the confessions make it more likely that suspects will successfully prosecute and eventually convicted the suspects. Psychological finding often conflict with the courts evaluations of a voluntary confession. There is some evidence psychological characteristics are linked to behavioral patterns and they can be detected by a psychological analysis of crime scenes. * Criminal profiling is used to...
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...Elements of an Essay/Research Paper Writing Process The series of steps that most writers follow in producing a piece of writing. The five major stages in the writing process are finding a topic and generating ideas (discovering), focusing on a main or controlling idea and mapping out an approach (organizing), preparing a rough draft (drafting), reworking and improving the draft (revising), and proofreading and correcting errors. Discovering – The first stage in the writing process. It may include finding a topic, exploring the topic, determining purpose and audience, probing ideas, doing reading and research, planing and organizing material. Discovery usually involves writing and is aided considerably by putting preliminary thought and plans in writing. Organizing – The sequence in which the information or ideas in an essay are presented. Drafting – The stage in the writing process during which the writer puts ideas into complete sentences, connects them, and organizes them into a meaningful sequence. Revising – The stage in the writing process during which the author makes changes in focus, organization, development, style, and mechanics to make the writing more effective. Editing – The last stage in the writing process during which the writer focuses on the details of mechanics and correctness. Discovering Audience – The readers for whom a piece of writing is intended. Many essays are aimed at a general audience, but a writer can focus on a specific group of readers...
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...Page 1 of 39 Runcit Malaysia Magazine Issue 12 Tinjauan Runcit Welcome to our Halal Issue You might be surprised to know that the halal industry is worth billions of Ringgit in Malaysia alone. It impacts consumers, retailers and manufacturers. As such, we felt it was time we explored halal in more depth. Read our cover story and be inspired to discover ways to profit in ‘Era Halal.’ Runcit Media Sdn Bhd’s (RMSB) Field Supervisors are constantly telling us that readers want to see more articles on financial management. To fulfill this popular request, we teamed up with RHB Bank to bring you a Wang Runcit article on loan financing for retailers like you. Being informed about product categories is very important. Be sure not to miss our category profiles on Bottled Water and Hot Cereals. It is an opportunity for you to get to know the market leading brands like SPRITZER and QUAKER OATMEAL. We also present CINTAN, a treasured household brand in the instant noodles category. CINTAN has been in the market for 40 years now. Read our article about the brand. You might even get to know Malaysia’s celebrity Chef Wan better, too. RUNCIT MALAYSIA was fortunate to be able to interview him when he went down to the trade, to introduce the two new CINTAN variants he created. Happy Reading! WILLIAM KHOO Executive Director Infovantage Sdn Bhd william.khoo@runcit.com.my Page 2 of 39 Runcit Malaysia Magazine Issue 12 Rencana Runcit THE HALAL ERA From a symbol that assures religious...
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...Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 4B7 www.mavenpublishing.com Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication: Royal, Brandon The little gold grammar book : mastering the rules that unlock the power of writing / by Brandon Royal. ISBN 978-1-897393-30-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2009909354 In addition to the paperback edition, this book is available as an eBook and in the Adobe PDF file format. Technical Credits: Cover Design: George Foster, Fairfield, Iowa, USA Editing: Jonathan K. Cohen, Irvine, California, USA This book’s cover text was set in Minion. The interior text was set in Scala and Scala Sans. Contents Introduction Chapter 1: The 100-Question Quiz Subject-Verb Agreement Pronoun Usage Modification Parallelism Comparisons Verb Tenses Diction Review Idioms Review Answers to The 100-Question Quiz Chapter 2: Grammatical Munchkins The Eight Parts of Speech Parts of Speech vs. The Seven Characteristics Other Grammatical Terms Chapter 3: Word Gremlins Diction Showdown 200 Common Grammatical Idioms Chapter 4: Putting It All Together 30 All-Star Grammar Problems Answers and Explanations Editing I – Tune-up Editing II – Punctuation...
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...I. Introduction 1.1 Significance of the Study The comparison between China and India is a popular topic in social sciences. Since these two very similar countries gained independence around the same time, one democratic in 1947 and another communist in 1949, many world leaders and scholars have come to view the economic, social and political performance of the two Asian giants as the best testimony of which is the better approach to modernity for developing countries (Gilley 21). Current scholarly interest tends to focus more on evaluating the different development models that China and India embrace. It is easy to find works contrasting the two countries’ economic reforms, political systems, social progress and human development, yet direct comparison between China and India’s building of soft power is lacking. However, the understanding of how China and India build their soft power strength is essential as the two Asian giants, both of which have splendid cultures and a long history, are on the rise and eager to shine in the world stage. To address such inadequacy, this paper intends to present an assessment on China and India’s soft power building and find out who has the lead in the race. 1.2 Structure of the Study The paper is divided into several sections. It begins with a literature review that goes over studies on China and India’s soft power strength. Then, it proceeds to explain the key concept “soft power” using Nye’s classic theoretical framework. Concerning...
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...“Bring Back the Sun”: The Historical Significance of the Castrati Chuck Harris Music 425 Dr. HM Lewis December 15, 2009 The Castrato has long been a subject shrouded in controversy and mystery. Castration has been used in many cultures and religions since the dawn of time (Eunuchs). We don’t know exactly when castration started to be used specifically for the voice but we have records dating back to the 16th century. These documents hint towards it being done because of Christianity. This paper will look at one Castrato in particular, Carlo Broschi more commonly known as, Farinelli. I will use the film Farinelli and other historical and educational articles and books to help discuss this paper. One of the final scenes of Farinelli, Il Castrato, dir. Gerard Corbiau (Sony Pictures Classics, 1994), shows a solar eclipse witnessed, eighteenth-century style, by members of the court of Philip V of Spain around 1740. Restless spectators squint through pieces of tinted glass prepared in the smoke of a small fire. It is a precious visual detail, a jolt of history in this sumptuously though often inaccurately detailed film that offsets the melodrama to follow. Without warning, a wind, helped along by corny, time-lapse photography, ushers in a sea of Goya-like clouds. A murmur passes through the entourage; eerie blackness falls on the court. The King is shrouded in another kind of darkness: his famous, chronic melancholy (we would call it 'clinical depression'). He pronounces...
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