WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: REASONS, REMEDIES, AND CASE …

WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: REASONS, REMEDIES, AND CASE STUDIES

A Thesis by

BRITTNAY LEA-ANDRA MORGAN

Submitted to the Graduate School at Appalachian State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE

May 2014 Department of Government and Justice Studies

WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: REASONS, REMEDIES, AND CASE STUDIES

A Thesis by

BRITTNAY LEA-ANDRA MORGAN May 2014

APPROVED BY:

Marian R. Williams Chairperson, Thesis Committee

Catherine D. Marcum Member, Thesis Committee

Twila A. Wingrove Member, Thesis Committee

Kathleen M. Simon Chairperson, Department of Government and Justice Studies

Edelma D. Huntley, Ph.D. Dean, Cratis Williams Graduate School

Copyright by Brittnay Lea-Andra Morgan 2014 All Rights Reserved

Abstract WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: REASONS, REMEDIES, AND CASE STUDIES

Brittnay Lea-Andra Morgan B.S., Appalachian State University B.S., Appalachian State University M.S., Appalachian State University

Chairperson: Marian R. Williams

Wrongful conviction is defined as the conviction of a factually innocent person and is estimated to occur in about 1 to 5 percent of all convictions in the United States. Wrongful convictions encompass both culpability issues and procedural issues found to have a substantial effect on the initial conviction. While an individual may be released and found not to be criminally liable, he/she may still face repercussions stemming from the charges, such as civil suits, as well as a criminal record indicating prison time served. In order for the charges, as well as possible prison time served, to disappear, a defendant must seek exoneration, which has been shown only to be granted in a small proportion of wrongful conviction cases (Smith, Zalman, & Kiger, 2011). Exonerations are official declarations of innocence by a governor's pardon, a court's dismissal of charges, acquittals after retrials, and acknowledgements of innocence for those inmates who died in prison (Konvisser, 2012; Smith et al., 2011). While eyewitness evidence has been suggested to be the

iv

leading cause of wrongful convictions, there are many other sources of error that are likely to be possible causes of wrongful convictions. These sources of error include suggestive lineups, false confessions, perjured testimony, forensic error, tunnel vision by police and prosecutors, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, issues with the criminal justice system, and the racial history of the United States (Davies & Hine, 2007; Gould & Leo, 2010; Penrod & Cutler, 1995; Smith et al., 2011). Each of these reasons can greatly affect the possibility of a false conviction alone or serve to combine with other issues to produce a culminating effect on individual cases. Wrongful conviction has been shown to have an incredible amount of human cost, both physical and monetary. Those who have been wrongfully convicted are subject to a loss of liberty and freedom, preventing many of them from taking part in normal daily activities, even after release, as well as the pains of imprisonment, including increased risk of psychological issues associated with incarceration (Konvisser, 2012). Additionally, it has been estimated that overall, as of 2011, about $87 million has been spent on the 250 exonerates reported nationwide (Smith & Hattery, 2011). As it is clear that wrongful convictions are harmful to innocent citizens, as well an already overburdened criminal justice system, it is even more important to right the wrongs of these mistakes and prevent future mistakes. Suggestions for improvement include increased use of compensation lawsuits for those wrongfully convicted, increased access to postconviction DNA testing, more reliable evidence preservation, eyewitness identification reforms, increased forensic oversight, recording of interrogations, and increased formation and use of innocence commissions nationwide.

v

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download