...DNA Exonerations and Race Thomas ****** **** College Course:**** Dr. *** **** October 18, 2015 . Originally I planned on doing my paper on African Americans and the death penalty. After doing research for a few days it hit me that there was a whole other topic that I should be doing. Under most instances I support the death penalty but I came across an article that gave an opinion that all death penalty inmates should have their evidence reexamined and DNA tested if they were convicted in a pre DNA era. After that I looked into the statistics of people that had been exonerated after serving years in prison by reexamining the DNA from their cases. I was amazed that there had been so many people exonerated out with such limited resources. I now knew that I wanted to know more about DNA exonerations what the statistics were with race and those wrongfully convicted. I think the two subjects African Americans and the death penalty and DNA exonerations could be really enlightening as it shows that the American Justice System in the past surely has executed wrongfully convicted men in the past. So I used Google to search “Exonerated by DNA and Race” and began to read not only their cases but also their stories. The next day I was already questioning my stance on the death penalty. Not only did I think about how their lives will never be the same I thought about all the time they lost and can never get back. Time stood still for them while their families...
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...has been referred to as the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, with nearly 75% of the convictions overturned through DNA testing. There have been 260 exonerations across the country based on forensic DNA testing with 3 out of 4 involving cases of eyewitness misidentification. (Innocence Project 1999) In 1907 or 1908, Hugo Munsterberg published “On the Witness Stand”; he questioned the reliability of eyewitness identification. As recent as 30 or 40 years ago, the Supreme Court acknowledged that eyewitness identification is problematic and can lead to wrongful convictions. The Supreme Court instructed lower courts to determine the validity of eyewitness testimony based on irrelevant factors, like the certainty of the witness, the certainty you express in court during the trial has nothing to do with how certain you feel two days after the event when you pick a photograph out of a set or pick the suspect out of a lineup. It has been said that you become more certain over time. (The Confidential Resource September 15, 2010) An eyewitness viewing a simultaneous lineup tends to make a judgment about which individual in the lineup looks most like the perpetrator relative to the other members of the lineup. This is particularly problematic when a lineup only contains innocent people. Research has shown that the effective use of fillers when composing a lineup can help combat the tendency for the relative judgment process to lead to the identification of an...
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...“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 the criminal justice system is in need of much repair and how the Michigan Innocence Clinic can combat troubling trends of the system. In each case that have been worked on, the Michigan Innocence...
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...Ethical Issues Paper 2 There are certain rights that criminal defendants involved in the criminal justice system have. These rights are in place to ensure that criminals are not receiving a punishment that is not conducive to the crime. Sometimes though the justice system fails and innocent people are required to spend time incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, and for extended periods. There are many reasons for wrongful convictions including mistaken eyewitness testimony and suggestive lineups; false confessions; perjury by perpetrators, witnesses, jailhouse snitches, and forensic examiners; “junk science;” sloppy laboratory procedures; “tunnel vision” by police and prosecutors and failures to obtain exculpatory evidence; prosecutor...
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...post-conviction DNA exonerations in the history of the United States. Although the number is high, there are still many more wrongfully convicted people who’s still incarcerated and have yet to be considered for retrial. Unaddressed wrongful conviction cases show the weaknesses in the U.S. justice system. This paper will touch on the causes that lead to wrongful convictions and discuss possible solutions. The main factors of wrongful convictions are eyewitness misidentification, misleading/unreliable forensics, false confessions (coerced/intimidated), witness perjury, prosecutorial misconduct, insufficient lawyering, racism and implicit bias. Since the first DNA exoneration conviction in the United States case that...
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...Miscarriages of justice are routine, even mundane features of the criminal justice system” (Goldhill, 2014, p.1). The understanding that the criminal justice system was able to prevent innocents from being found guilty has now given way to the idea that it is possible for this system to find guilty those same innocents. This has lead to courts, government and scholars, working in the criminal justice arena to research and implement strategies to prevent wrongful convictions (Weathered, 2013). As such, this paper will explore the topic of wrongful convictions in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States by analyzing elements of each criminal justice system. Moreover, this paper will examine the similarities and differences between the approaches to dealing with wrongful convictions in the above mentioned countries and will argue that the United Kingdom has the better...
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...Johnny J. Stewart Jr. Strayer University SCI 110 Professor Nina Walker July 21, 2014 ABSTRACT There are many different reasons why the reliability of eyewitness testimony in the United States judicial system today is all but flawed. There is only one way a witness can identify a suspect who has committed a crime, and it is called face to face recognition. Just getting a glimpse, bad weather, and bad lighting can hinder what a person can truly see. There have been several accounts of individuals that have been convicted, imprisoned, and put to death off of flawed testimonies by an eyewitness. In this I will attempt to show you my discussions of several statistics, convictions, exonerations, and key cases that will test the views of anyone when eyewitness testimonies are concerned. Within the past 30 years crimes were committed, and the people who witness these crimes made the cases have different outcomes. It used to be when a crime was committed, and someone came forward saying, “They have witnessed a crime”. History shows us when it comes to a traumatic experience dealing with crimes; the victims are different and as such react in many different ways. Most individuals panic, some are very calm, while others have no reaction whatsoever. The question has been raised about how reliable an eyewitness testimony truly is. Those who follow crime and courts trials know the stories are familiar and unnerving. Here is one case Cornelius Dupree spent 30 years Texas prison due...
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...Toni Howard Mrs. Arnold Revolutions December 20, 2014 Galileo Galilei’s Legacy Today Galileo Galilei, a man ahead of his time, began the scientific revolution. He challenged accepted theories of his day causing conflict among multiple religious leaders, making Galileo a powerful figure in all of science. Most commonly known for his astronomical observations, he also made significant contributions in the areas of physics, philosophy, and mathematics. He destroyed Aristotle’s geocentric idea that the earth was the center of the universe, and he proved with a collection of evidence that his heliocentric idea was right about the sun being the center of the solar system. Although this breakthrough triggered problems for himself, including house arrest until he died, he was seen as a fearless man not scared to show off what he believed in. Looking at Galileo Galilei’s early life as a scholar, researcher, and inventor, we are able to see the contributions he made to multiple sciences and how his legacy still is continuing today. Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564. He was the first child of 7 from his father Vincenzio Galilei and his wife Giulia. Vincenzio wanted the best for Galileo so he began his education with a private tutor until the family moved to Florence in 1574. Galileo then attended the monastery of Santa Maria Vallombrosa, where he spent his time learning alongside Camaldolese monks. By the age of 17, his father suggested that he would further...
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...with modern science and technology in trials. These high expectations result in part from the amalgamation of public awareness, use, and availability of modern science and technology derived from a variety of sources, including, but not limited to, mass media. The CSI effect does not only exist in criminal cases it also exists in civil litigations. Although the CSI effect may not be from a television show, it is enhanced by mass media and television programs. A trial attorney should go in the courtroom with skills to go against unrealistic expectations. (Dysart, 2012) No other forensic science technique has received as much attention as DNA analysis. To date, DNA has exonerated more than two-hundred people in the United States. These exonerations are a reminder that our system is flawed, and they have shed light on serious problems with the criminal justice system, including forensic science. While many assume that forensic science is a near-perfect tool for discovering the truth in criminal cases, a recent study found that false or misleading forensic expert testimony is a leading contributing factor in wrongful convictions.(Justice...
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...Innocence Project Research Paper Since 1992 The Innocence Project has exonerated 289 people in the United States. To be exonerated of a crime means that a person is acquitted for their crime and released back into society. These wrongful convictions are due to unvalidated or improper forensic science, eyewitness misidentification, and false confessions. In this paper I am going to tell the story of Clarence Elkins and why wrongfully convicting a person is a problem in the United States. It all started on June 6th, 1998 in Summit County, Ohio. Clarence Elkins’ niece was sleeping over at her grandmother’s house, only to be woken in the middle of the night to hearing her grandmother screaming. So his niece ran into the kitchen to see her grandmother being beaten by a man. She ran back into her bedroom to be followed by this man. The niece was sexually assaulted by him. Her next memory was waking up to see her grandmother dead in the kitchen. She then proceeded to run to her neighbor’s house to call the cops. While the cops were on the way the niece proceeded to tell her neighbors that the man she saw last night looked like her uncle Clarence Elkins. Elkins was immediately brought in for questioning and he was the police’s number one suspect. Biological evidence, including hairs, was found at the crime scene and from the victim’s body. Mitochondrial DNA testing was done on pubic hairs from the victim’s bodies. This testing excluded Elkins as a possible contributor...
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...Innocence Project Research Paper Since 1992 The Innocence Project has exonerated 289 people in the United States. To be exonerated of a crime means that a person is acquitted for their crime and released back into society. These wrongful convictions are due to unvalidated or improper forensic science, eyewitness misidentification, and false confessions. In this paper I am going to tell the story of Clarence Elkins and why wrongfully convicting a person is a problem in the United States. It all started on June 6th, 1998 in Summit County, Ohio. Clarence Elkins’ niece was sleeping over at her grandmother’s house, only to be woken in the middle of the night to hearing her grandmother screaming. So his niece ran into the kitchen to see her grandmother being beaten by a man. She ran back into her bedroom to be followed by this man. The niece was sexually assaulted by him. Her next memory was waking up to see her grandmother dead in the kitchen. She then proceeded to run to her neighbor’s house to call the cops. While the cops were on the way the niece proceeded to tell her neighbors that the man she saw last night looked like her uncle Clarence Elkins. Elkins was immediately brought in for questioning and he was the police’s number one suspect. Biological evidence, including hairs, was found at the crime scene and from the victim’s body. Mitochondrial DNA testing was done on pubic hairs from the victim’s bodies. This testing excluded Elkins as a possible contributor...
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...| Death Penalty: | What’s the problem? | | Michael Stender (14354787) | 11/27/2012 | What is the good of killing our inmates if the violence around us continues to grow more and more out of hand? This paper examines a single perspective of societies position on a difficult but necessary evil. | Death Penalty: Why do so many citizens oppose the death penalty? In today’s society the rate of crime, specifically those that involve crimes which can be tried as a capital punishment cases, continue to increase; domestic killings, predatory crimes against children and innocent victim crimes have all continued to rise; Meanwhile the public’s belief and support in our justice systems ultimate punishment continue to fall. The death penalty although looked at as cruel or inhumane by some, can be viewed as a necessary evil. Society as a whole must feel that our system of laws is protecting us. Locking up non-violent and common criminals and attempting to rehabilitate in order to join society is a continuing effort and with some success. However, most studies have found that an increasing number of prisoners today are repeat offenders with sentences for more violent crimes. A study recently done found that 56% of violent felons are repeat offenders and 61% of all felons are repeat offenders. The study also found that most are being punished outside the walls of prison due to their criminal past. After the inmate is released he’s sent back out to society...
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...Death penalty was once considered as natural as life itself. It was usually applied to those criminals who had conducted grave crimes and no one would feel pity for the criminals in the past. However, with the development of human beings, different voices about death penalty appear more and more often. Some people argue that in modern society where life is highly valued, death penalty that deprives of a person’s life would be too cruel. Therefore, campaigns are launched for the purpose of abolishing death penalty. However, there are still some other people who firmly support death penalty. As a result, in today’s society, death penalty has become an extremely controversial issue, both sides of which have its own supporters and reasons. This paper explores to the different sides of death penalty, to find whether death penalty is necessary or not in today’s world. In the coin of death penalty, side A stands the firmly supporters of death penalty, claiming that death penalty is a cruel necessity in today’s world. A latest Gallup poll shows that 64% of the Americans support death penalty and 29% oppose it. For especially atrocious crimes, the support rate rises to 80% (Jones, Jeffrey M). Another Quinnipiac Poll in Connecticut indicates that more than 65% of the interviewed people are in favor of death penalty for murder (DeSanctis, Chris).There are three basic reasons for people to support death penalty. To begin with, the biblical phrase "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” has...
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...THE DOCTOR WILL SUE YOU NOW by Ben Goldacre The shocking and previously unpublishable new chapter from his book Bad Science. This is an extract from BAD SCIENCE by Ben Goldacre Published by Harper Perennial 2009. You are free to copy it, paste it, bake it, reprint it, read it aloud, as long as you don’t change it – including this bit – so that people know that they can find more ideas for free at www.badscience.net ISBN 978-0-00-728487-0 This work is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ The Doctor Will Sue You Now This chapter did not appear in the original edition of this book, because for fifteen months leading up to September 2008 the vitamin-pill entrepreneur Matthias Rath was suing me personally, and the Guardian, for libel. This strategy brought only mixed success. For all that nutritionists may fantasise in public that any critic is somehow a pawn of big pharma, in private they would do well to remember that, like many my age who work in the public sector, I don’t own a flat. The Guardian generously paid for the lawyers, and in September 2008 Rath dropped his case, which had cost in excess of £500,000 to defend. Rath has paid £220,000 already, and the rest will hopefully follow. Nobody will ever repay me for the endless meetings, the time off work, or the days spent poring over tables filled...
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...Areiann Johnson Final Paper April 16, 2012 False Confessions She was killed Mr. Cope. She was raped and murdered! You are in shock. You are confused. You feel indescribable, unbearable pain. This pain is so emotional that it affects you physically too! Someone has ripped your heart out of your chest and made you watch as they relentlessly take a knife to it. All hope is lost. You will surely die from this ordeal. At least you wish you could! Your heart is weak; it drops into your stomach making you nauseated. How will you ever heal? You have been broken. Now every thought that runs through your mind is consumed with your desire for revenge. You want nothing more than to catch the person that has taken someone so precious from you; to make them suffer as you have. Police ask you to come in for questioning. You want to help them do their job and find the perpetrator. You have no idea that the real reason they asked you to come in is because you are their main suspect. They believe you did it. They think that you have taken your own daughters life and have sexually abused her, your little princess…impossible! Billy Wayne Cope is a religious man and has spent numerous hours in church activities with his twelve year old daughter Amanda. On November 29, 2001 Amanda was found on her bed raped and strangled to death. Billy Wayne Cope became police detectives’ main suspect. He initially thought he was helping catch the person that has done this horrific thing...
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