Items related to Wrongly Convicted: Perspectives on Failed Justice
Synopsis
The American criminal justice system contains numerous safeguards to prevent the conviction of innocent persons. The Bill of Rights provides nineteen separate rights for the alleged criminal offender, including the right to effective legal representation and the right to be judged without regard to race or creed. Despite these safeguards, wrongful convictions persist, and the issue has reverberated in the national debate over capital punishment.
The essays in this volume are written from a cross-disciplinary perspective by some of the most eminent lawyers, criminologists, and social scientists in the field today. The articles are divided into four sections: the causes of wrongful convictions, the social characteristics of the wrongly convicted, case studies and personal histories, and suggestions for changes in the criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions. Contributors examine a broad range of issues, including the fallibility of eyewitness testimony, particularly in cross-racial identifications; the disadvantages faced by racial and ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system; and the impact of new technologies, especially DNA evidence, in freeing the innocent and bringing the guilty to justice. The book also asks such questions as: What legal characteristics do wrongful convictions share? What are the mechanisms that defendants and their attorneys use to overturn wrongful convictions? The book also provides case studies that offer specific examples of what can and does go wrong in the criminal justice system.
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From the Back Cover
The American criminal justice system contains numerous safeguards to prevent the conviction of innocent persons. The Bill of Rights provides nineteen separate rights for the alleged criminal offender. Despite these safeguards, wrongful convictions persist, and the issue has reverberated in the national debate over capital punishment.
The essays in this volume are written from a cross-disciplinary perspective by some of the most eminent lawyers, criminologists, and social scientists in the field today. The most important single characteristic among wrongful conviction cases, the contributors argue, is chronic denial of the existence of a problem by politicians and prosecutors and their failure to act decisively when evidence of a possible wrongful conviction comes to light.
The articles are divided into four sections: the causes of wrongful convictions, the social characteristics of the wrongly convicted, case studies and personal histories, and suggestions for changes in the criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions. Contributors examine a broad range of issues, including the fallibility of eyewitness testimony, particularly in cross-racial identifications; the disadvantages faced by racial and ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system; and the impact of new technologies, especially DNA evidence, in freeing the innocent and bringing the guilty to justice.
Contributors are: James R. Acker, Hugo Adam Bedau, Adele Bernhard, George Castelle, Mari A. DeWees, Daniel Givelber, William M. Holmes, Richard A. Leo, William S. Lofquist, Elizabeth F. Loftus, Dianne L. Martin, Peter Neufeld, Karen F. Parker, Michael L. Radelet, Barry Scheck, Margaret Vandiver, and Clifford S. Zimmerman.
About the Author
Saundra D. Westerveltis an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is author ofShifting the Blame: How Victimization Became a Criminal Defense(Rutgers University Press).John A. Humphreyis a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and coauthor ofDeviant Behavior and The Administration of Justice.
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- PublisherRutgers University Press
- Publication date2001
- ISBN 10 0813529514
- ISBN 13 9780813529516
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages301
- EditorHumphrey Professor John A
- Rating
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