The Forensics –
Every year, about 2,000 innocent individuals are wrongfully convicted and incarcerated (Siegel & Worrall, 2018, p. 452). Forensic science is a significant component of the criminal justice system, especially when presenting evidence in trial; most of this comes from a forensic science or crime lab. With the looming pressures to convict a suspected criminal and put them behind bars, the expectation of getting through the trial as efficiently, effectively, economically, and quickly as possible to proceed with the punishment process is significantly pushed on those involved in the criminal justice system. A legal system that is broken on many accounts fails minorities too often and results in innocent lives being drastically changed or even ruined. Wrongfully convicted individuals, many of them placed on the death penalty or are serving a life sentence, have little chance for exoneration, as once they are incarcerated, their case is often forgotten. Innocence projects exist nationwide with the end goal of exonerating innocent individuals. Wrongful convictions happen at an alarming rate; even with all the advances in the criminal justice process, innocent people still are continually being put behind bars as evidence, eye witness testimonies, procedural errors, confessions, perjury, and inadequate legal representation are failing those who are sentenced wrongfully.
The Problem
This is not a new problem; wrongful convictions on some scale have occurred for decades. In 2023, there were over 3,000 cases of wrongful convictions in the US, with only 375 being successfully exonerated (NIJ, 2023). This alarming statistic shows the extent to which the justice system is failing the innocent.
Forensic evidence
While technological advances have significantly influenced accuracy in evidence and convictions, like anything, it isn’t without its flaws. False or misleading forensic evidence (NIJ, 2023) is one of the main culprits behind wrongful convictions. With evidence testing being done in a lab and even with improving technology, technological and human errors are bound to occur. Errors in collecting evidence and having cross-contamination are also very prevalent, which results in forensic evidence errors.
Testimony and Procedural Errors
Eye witness testimonies are notoriously unreliable, especially when the witness is under shock, adrenaline, and fear. Due to the brain processing systems, especially regarding traumatic events, remembering specific details and allowing them to be relayed in court is often an inaccurate source of information. “Trauma can prevent information (like words, images, sounds, etc.) from different parts of the brain from combining to make a semantic memory” (Bricker, 2017). Memory formation requires a system of processes that encodes, stores and retrieves information. When one is distracted or is experiencing strong emotions, this memory formation process isn’t completed properly, resulting in inaccurate recall of events. Procedural errors in the justice system process include a processing error on law enforcement, jury, or the judge’s part with a lack of knowledge or care for fixing or acknowledging the fault. While this is rare, it still does happen, resulting in a wrongful conviction. This also ties into evidence error, as that is often a result of a procedural mishap.
Perjury
Perjury is to knowingly and intentionally plead guilty even if they are innocent. There are many reasons for this, and this is a violation of an oath taken on the stand, but it results in a wrongful conviction, partially at one’s own doing. When evidence is stacked against you, even with the knowledge that it is false, sometimes the best option is to take a guilty plea to avoid a brutal and strung-out trial, with a high chance of incarceration anyway. At least with a guilty plea, there is often some chance of a lenient sentence from the judge. This decision is too often pushed on the defendant by their legal representatives to at least come away with something positive.
Inadaquate Legal Representation
As minorities in this country, especially those involved in the criminal justice system, are continually very present, adequate and affordable legal representation is hard to come by. Often, speed and efficiency are prioritized over quality, which gives many little fighting chance against false accusations. If evidence and testimony fail to clear the defendant, little hope is left for proof of innocence. This shows the importance of competent legal representation.
Fixing the Problem
Expensive court bills, time-consuming trials, inevitable errors, police misconduct, heavy caseloads, long processing times, wrongful convictions, and inadequate legal representation all contribute to wrongful convictions. While there are many compensations for wrongful convictions once the defendant is exonerated, the process to do so is nearly impossible. Many law firms and innocence organizations work to free innocent individuals from prison, a lot of whom are serving life sentences or are on death row. This process is long and requires the case to be opened back up for examination. Redoing the whole trial process to prove an originally guilty conviction innocent is often more time-consuming than the first go around. This is why ensuring that the conviction process is done accurately is of the utmost importance to ensure the guilty are behind bars and the innocent are freed the first time. Even if the trial takes longer or legal fees are waived, it is essential to prevent wrongful convictions from occurring and give everyone equal rights to a fair trial.
References
Bricker, M. (2017). How trauma impacts four different types of memory – NAADAC. Michael Bricker Handout. https://www.naadac.org/assets/2416/2019NWRC_Michael_Bricker_Handout4.pdf
Edelman & Edelman, P.C. (n.d.). Know causes of wrongful convictions. Edelman & Edelman, P.C. https://www.edelmanpclaw.com/wrongful-conviction/5-known-causes-of-wrongful-convictions/
National Institute of Justice. (2023, November 8). The impact of false or misleading forensic evidence on wrongful convictions. National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/impact-false-or-misleading-forensic-evidence-wrongful-convictions
Siegel, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2018). Introduction to criminal justice. (16th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
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