Eyewitness And, False Confessions, And Snitches - 1285 Words

There have been many innocent people wrongfully convicted due to eyewitness confessions in court. Eyewitness memory is one of the oldest forms of evidence used and has been a powerful evidence for judges. Although judges see this information credible, studies have shown that eyewitness memory is not reliable in courts and is the leading cause of wrongful convictions. There are reasons why eyewitness is said to be unreliable in the courtroom. There are four common causes for wrongful convictions, which are eyewitness misidentification, invalidated forensics, false confessions, and snitches. â€Å"Indeed, a detailed analysis of those DNA exoneration cases reveals that more than 70% involved eyewitness misidentifications† (Mickes 2015). There have been hundreds of cases were people are being wrongfully convicted because they choose the wrong person. One of the cases is the Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson case, in which Cotton was convicted of raping Thompson. He was se nt to jail for 10 years being accused of a crime he did not commit. Misidentification was a huge role in this case. Even when Thompson said she had studied the face of the man who raped her, she still chose the wrong person. It is very easy to choose the wrongly, our memory may not recall the persons face but when it is lined up with others it may recognize the face of the wrong victim. Eyewitness memory is not reliable because the memory of the witness may change throughout the case. The witness mayShow MoreRelatedRape And Murder Of Dawn Hamilton1335 Words   |  6 Pagesextremely likely that numerous other false convictions occur, which are simply missed (Garrett, Convicting the Innocent 263-264). And yet the problems that cause wrongful convictions are not limited to cases in which DNA testing is available. They are caused by four main factors: eyewitness misidentification, forensic science error, false confessions, and jailhouse informants, commonly known as â€Å"snitches.† The most common cause of wrongful convictions is eyewitness misidentification, occurring in aboutRead MoreThe Emergence Of Dna And The Innocence Project1392 Words   |  6 Pagesof what DNA testing was, and how it was created. The only downfall of getting them exonerated, is that DNA and the Innocence project could not help all of them get back on their feet. There were no solutions to this problem in the book either. Eyewitness identifications is a noteworthy topic. Victims see their attackers from time to time, but when they give descriptive characteristics of the offender it is usually wrong. Throughout the Actual Innocence the perpetrators of rape cases always seemRead MoreThe Use Of Dna Tests For Hair And Blood Samples897 Words   |  4 Pagesinvestigative process. Police misconduct or mistaken eyewitness testimony can ruin the rest of a person’s life. The criminal justice system can be changed to prevent the latter by reforming the type of evidence allowed to be used when convicting a person. Most cases of wrongful conviction are either police initiated, which begin with the assumption that a specific person is guilty, or witness initiated, which contains an articulate eyewitness testimony. Police Initiated Police investigationsRead MoreWrongful Convictions And The Criminal Justice System1933 Words   |  8 Pagessurface in recent years that wrongful convictions are a big problem with our criminal justice system. Researchers have discovered the causes of wrongful convictions to be bad lawyering, government misconduct, informants, false confessions, flawed forensic science and eyewitness error. Furthermore, this paper explores the affects victims face due to a wrongful conviction. As society has begun to steadily realize that miscarriage of justice is a possibility, researchers have considered reforms to theRead MoreEyewitness Identification, Criminal, And Criminal Law Essay1487 Words   |  6 Pagesanyone on eyewitness testimony only, without any other physical or forensic evidence. In eyewitness identification, in criminal law, evidence is received from a witness who has actually seen an event and can so testify in court.† (Law.com Legal Online Dictionary) While this could be an important piece of the investigation, it can never take the place of DNA, or forensic evidence. Unfortunately, that happens all too much, with our overburdened legal and criminal justice systems. â€Å"Eyewitness misidentificationRead MoreThe Wrongful Conviction Of Wrongful Convictions Essay1365 Words   |  6 Pagesa result of criminal proceedings that are rooted in miscarriage of justice. The defendants are convicted for crimes not committed where errors are not proven until their death or having served a lot of jail time. Wrongful convictions are fueled by false witnesses, incompetence of defense lawyers and inadequate evidence among others. However, with the emergence of forensic DNA in collection of evidence, the rate of wrongful convictions has decreased in the past few y ears. This paper focuses on theRead MoreWrongful Convictions : Innocent Until Proven Guilty? Essay1316 Words   |  6 Pagescommit, except it isn’t being grounded or their parents they re worried about, its sitting behind bars, no longer a free citizen, fighting for their freedom with most likely one of the following things happened such as an eyewitness identified the wrong individual, false confessions, Perjury, maybe even forensic science error. Imagine as a child how you felt being grounded in the comfort of our own home. Just picture how an individual would feel wrongfully convicted in a cold, 10x10 box with a coldRead MoreWrongful Convictions1773 Words   |  8 Pagescoerced or false confessions and suggestive interrogations; eyewitness error; forensic science errors, fraud and incompetence; misleading lineups; improper use of informants; overzealous prosecutors or law enforcement officers; pressure from community for a conviction; and the â€Å"ratification of error †. Often, the problem arises due to a number of factors; besides, interaction effects between these factors could also contribute to the problem (Huff amp; Killias, 2010). Coerced or false confessions andRead MoreIdentifying Innocent People On Death Row1381 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Research in the United States has consistently found that the principal factors contributing to wrongful conviction include eyewitness error; over-zealous law enforcement officers and prosecutors who engage in misconduct, including withholding evidence; false or coerced confessions and suggestive interrogations; perjury; misleading line-ups; the inappropriate use of informants or ‘snitches’; ineffective assistance of counsel; community pressure for a conviction; forensic science errors, incompetence, andRead MoreThe Major Sections Of Wrongful Convictions1796 Words   |  8 PagesIn this paper it will be discussing the two major sections of Wrongful Convictions. The first section will cover in detail the false confessions. The second section will cover about informant testimony and its importance. The third will be covering in detail the improper use of fore nsics and last but not least the paper will discuss witness misidentification. III. Common Causes In his 2008 Columbia Law Review Article â€Å"Judging Innocence,† Brandon L. Garrett claims that there are four major factors