...plenty of mistakes. Jurors are influenced by what eyewitnesses have to say and usually base their decision on the eyewitness’s testimony and evidence. They sometimes rely too much on them which cause problems in the legal system. This issue and problem has occurred on numerous occasions and had led to many wrongful convictions. In the Greene book, it states that errors can occur at the moment the crime is committed at any of the three phases of the memory process: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Also, questioning and new experiences can alter what is remembered from the past. It is good ideas to have psychologists testify as expert witnesses so they can point out the problems in eyewitness testimony and to be able to question their memory. In the Ronald Cotton case, he was charged with rape and burglary and sentenced to life in prison plus 54 years. When the case was sent to appeals, his sentence was overturned because one of the victims picked out a different man in the lineup and none of the DNA matched Cotton. A man who was convicted of similar crimes admitted to the crimes that were associated with Cotton. This just shows eyewitness misidentification and how innocent people can remain in prison for several years for a crime committed for by someone else. These two articles integrate because eyewitnesses are not always correct and they claim they are positive about certain information when they are truly not. Eyewitnesses confuse people with other people and sometimes confuse...
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...Witness Misidentification Freddricka Harris CCJ 4360-001 Monekka Munroe Misidentification can be defined as making a falsely or inaccurate identification. Witness can be defined as one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced. (American Heritage Dictionary) When you put these two words together, you get witness misidentification which 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...
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...I’m here to talk to about capital punishment or as you know it the death penalty. The death penalty dates back to the 10th century when the British would hang people. We still do it in the 21 century. So I ask you why? I when no better than people from 900s. If you believe so then we must stop death penalties. In the Constitution in the 8th amendment we have written that we shall not preform cruel and unusual punishment. Well the death penalty is cruel but not unusual. In April 2005, in the British medical journal The Lancet, a team of medical researchers found serious flaws in how lethal injections were being administered, causing extreme suffering to the prisoners being executed. The report found “that in 43 of the 49 executed prisoners studied the anesthetic administered during lethal injection was lower than required for surgery. On December 13, 2006, Angel Nieves Diaz was the victim of a botched execution so terrible that it led Florida’s Republican Governor and death penalty enthusiast Jeb Bush to issue an executive order halting executions in the state. On December 13, 2006, Angel Nieves Diaz was the victim of a botched execution so terrible that it led Florida’s Republican Governor and death penalty enthusiast Jeb Bush to issue an executive order halting executions in the state. Technicians wrongly inserted the needles carrying the poisons that were to kill Diaz. The caustic chemicals poured into his soft tissues instead of his veins, as intended. This left Diaz struggling...
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...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 to a 1979 rape and robbery he did not commit, because of one eyewitness. Cornelius was freed in 2011 through new DNA evidence. Derrick Williams imprison in Florida was freed through DNA evidence after spending 18 years in prison for a rape based on one eyewitness misidentification. Johnny Pinchback, a Texas inmate convicted of a 1984 rape based on one eyewitness misidentification he was freed...
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...A Failed/Corrupt Criminal Justice System Management ABSTRACT Is the U.S. Justice system a failing system? Are policemen allowed to take the law into their own hands? Are crime labs paid to send innocent people to prison? In my brief research paper we will look at some of the injustices facing U.S. citizens in today’s society and we will discover solutions to some of these problems plaguing our society. A Failed/Corrupt Criminal Justice System The United States of America is well known for her justice system catering to the wealthy (ones who can afford the top lawyers) and no so much to the less fortunate. Those who cannot afford to be represented by their own lawyers are faced with a tough upward struggle proving their innocence in an arena that would label them guilty before any true defense begins. How far does this injustice go? Are innocent people being persecuted based on race, social standings and incentives for prosecution? Is there an issue with law enforcement carrying out their duties? Is there truly justice in our justice system? There has been, in recent months, an upheaval in the U.S. Justice system due to the procedures done by officers detaining criminals. The actions, which have been perceived by many to be infringement on civil rights, leave the lives and the law totally into the officer’s hand. It reminds me of one of my favorite movies growing up, Judge Dredd, where the police can also act as the jury, judge and executioner with no penalty to...
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...death penalty goes against everything that we are taught in life and everything that our parents have taught us. The death penalty cost New Mexico between three to four million dollars per year and New Mexico doesn’t have the death penalty. As of April 1, 2012 there are 3,170 inmates on death row in the United States. Since 1973 140 people have been exonerated or let go off death row and freed from death row. “The death penalty is much more expensive than life in prison without the possibility of parole because the constitution requires a long and complex judicial process for capital cases.” (deathpenalty.org 2012) If the death penalty was replaced with life in prison it would save each state millions of dollars and it would take away the chance of permanent mistake. The permanent mistake is executing someone on death row that is really innocent of the crime that they are charged for. Life in prison without the possibility of parole means you spend 23 hours a day in a cell and there is no way to get out of prison unless you can prove your innocence. There are five methods of execution in the United States; lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, hanging and firing squad. All states have lethal injection as the primary method. “New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009. However, the act wasn’t retroactive, leaving two people on the state’s death row.”(deathpenaltyinfo.org 2012) Daily (2012) found “As of January 23, 2012 there have been 140 people in 26 different...
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...Audience May Reject Our Idea There are many reasons that the audience may reject our ideas. The death penalty is quite controversial, and it seems as many people supporting the death penalty, twice as many oppose it. Reasons the audience may reject abolishing the death penalty are emotion, lack of facts, and peer pressure. Most often people favor the death penalty over life in prison as an emotional reaction. People are adamant about what they have experienced, seen or heard on television or newspapers and make choices based on their emotional decision. The issue that our team sought to resolve was the incidents of innocent lives lost when those wrongfully convicted were sentenced to death. As a team we believe that the only way to solve this issue is to abolish the death penalty. Anticipated Audience Objections The death penalty gives closure to the families of the victim's. The family members of the victims will never get over the tragic loss of their loved ones but the death penalty may provide some closure for these families. If the criminal is allowed to survive by serving life in prison the families will be reminded daily that the criminal survived although their loved one did not. The...
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...Problems within the Criminal Justice System In the United States Abstract: This research paper explores some problems faced within the criminal system justice in the United States. Larry J. Siegel’s book “Criminology” gives us a history of the criminal justice system, how it operates, and some of the problems we experience with this system. Some of the problems detailed in this paper include the right to equal justice; which he explained the different kind of judgment that people receive based on their race, gender and class, the criminal justice system spends more money on criminals instead of improving technology for the police apprehending them, the criminal justice system lacks of sentencing disparity, reliance on eyewitness and modern technology can lead to conviction of innocent citizen, and finally the rehabilitation model which is set up to educate criminals and eventually let them free because of the belief that they are changed people and have been rehabilitated. According to the definition from the text “Criminology”, the term criminal justice system refers to “the components of government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating criminals, and correcting criminal conduct” (Siegel, 2009, p. 558). According to Siegel, the criminal justice system is essentially “an instrument of social control: society considers some behaviors so dangerous and destructive that it either strictly controls their occurrence...
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...be just a piece of the puzzle wherever possible and not the only means to solve a crime. Investigators must work diligently to reduce bias when working with eyewitnesses as people of all ages, races, and backgrounds are susceptible to suggestion. Starting with the interview questions and comments made by the detectives; their words must be chosen carefully while the eyewitness is being interviewed and while he or she is attempting to make an identification. Even what the investigator says after the identification can factor into witness confidence. In the case of Ronald Cotton, an off-handed comment suggesting that Cotton was who the detective thought the culprit was after she made the identification through a photo lineup influenced Jennifer Thompson’s confidence that she had identified the correct suspect (Costanzo & Krauss, 2015, p. 133). Due in part to that comment, Thompson also identified Cotton in a physical lineup and at trial. An important element of confidence is that it increases over time (Costanzo & Krauss, 2015, p. 143); that coupled with the detective’s comment cemented in Thompson’s mind that Cotton was the guilty party. There was no physical evidence and another victim could not identify Cotton; based almost entirely on Thompson’s false eyewitness identification Cotton spent eleven years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. Had the detective not suggested to Thompson that Cotton was who they thought was guilty she may or may not have picked him...
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...eliminate the death penalty is that utilizing the death penalty will cost the tax payers 2-5 times more capital versus keeping the prisoner in jail for their life. The reason of this is that there will be an “endless number of appeals, and additional required procedures” (Balanced Politics). The death penalty violates the “Cruel and unusual” clause in the Bill of Rights. The Bill or Rights is the foundation this country was built on, and the reason the United States has lasted as long as it has. Who gives us the right to take these guaranteed rights away? The “eye for an eye” mentality will never help anything. This will just lead to an endless cycle of violent crimes. What we are actually doing is murdering someone that also murdered. Life in prison is exponentially worse. The death penalty gets the pain over instantly,...
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...The Innocence Project: James Bain Eyewitness identification is the process in which police presents eyewitnesses with a lineup or an array of photos, with the purpose of identifying a suspect ("Eyewitness Identification," 2011). The process of eyewitness identification involves placing the subject or the photo of a subject among others not suspected of committing the crime, in order for the eyewitness to identify the perpetrator ("Eyewitness Identification," 2011). However, research indicates that eyewitness identification is often unreliable due to the human mind’s inability to remember events exactly as it happened ("Eyewitness Misidentification," n.d). As a consequence eyewitness testimony is known to be one of the greatest causes of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in nearly 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing ("Eyewitness Misidentification," n.d). One of the most notorious cases in the State of Florida regarding eyewitness misidentification is the case of James Bain, who was convicted to life in prison as a teenager in 1974 for raping and kidnapping a nine year old boy. The perpetrator who was described as a 17-18 year old teen with a mustache, bushy sideburns and with the name of “Jimmy” by the victim; was identified by the victim’s uncle as Jimmy Bain ("James Bain," n.d.). As a result of such identification, the uncle who was the assistant principal of the school where Bain studied, provided the police department with a photograph of Bain;...
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...Since 1973, 161 people have been released from execution after later review of evidence that pointed to their innocence (“The...the USA”). For a man named Carlos DeLuna, his story had a very sad and unjust ending. DeLuna was accused of murdering Wanda Lopez on February 4, 1983 at a gas station in Corpus Christi. Due to his background of robbery and conviction of attempted rape, the police had no trouble taking DeLuna in as their perpetrator. The only hard evidence that investigators had against DeLuna were the “eyewitnesses” who supposedly saw him stab Lopez and run from the scene. DeLuna’s testimony said that he was across the street at a bar at the time of the crime, but prosecutors refused to believe this accusation because the case was pretty much closed. A woman that was with DeLuna at the bar testified against him, saying that she was at her baby shower (Carlos DeLuna...Team Says”). Sadly, there are more cases like Carlos’. As of 1973, there have been a total of 161 exonerations in the United States (Innocence...Death...
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...And the crimes they're convicted of have many minimum years attached to them, for example, Robert Cotton's sentencing. No one deserves to have their entire life snatched away because someone thought they "saw" something. This has happened way too many times and has destroyed many lives. It disgusts me to think of someone being released after more than 20 years in prison-20 years of freedom gone because the brain is so malleable. Those people will never be the same again and some even face the wrath of the public who will refuse to believe their innocence. How could an eyewitness forgive them self after realizing they've single-handedly gotten someone imprisoned for a crime they never committed? Every case that has an eyewitness account needs to be validated for authenticity. This is the best way with few errors to prevent innocent citizens like Francisco Carrillo and Robert Cotton from being wrongfully...
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...sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The verdict of Hatchett's case relied heavily on the misconduct of Gerard Williams' sole eyewitness testimony which overlooked evidence that initially identified the true perpetrator (Innocence Project). Using the works of Loftus’s (2015) and Rattner’s (1983), I will examine how the primarily causes for cases of wrongful convictions consist of faulty eyewitness testimony and the exposure of the false memories. To begin, Loftus suggested that the identification of defendants from criminal cases were predominantly determined by witnesses (2015). In fact, studies have established that the possibility of misidentifying an individual tends to be increasingly high due to...
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...is a type of homicide. Below is the Georgia state law on murder. Murder; felony murder: A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being. Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of another human being which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart. A person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, or by imprisonment for life ("Georgia Code", 2013). On October 18th, two eyewitnesses said the defendant Stu Dents entered into apartment number 156, which was the victim’s apartment. Uma Opee’s body was found October 19th; it was located behind an abandoned building, which is approximately 5 miles from her residence. The victim’s mouth was stuffed with a cloth, her arms and legs were tied with rope restraints, having been stabbed to death. In Uma Opee’s apartment there were spots of blood found on the carpeting in the living room as well as rope particles that matched the rope used to tie her hands and feet. A blue tablet known as ecstasy that had a “thumbs-up” imprint was located under a table that...
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