Wrongly Convicted
Perspectives on Failed Justice
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.
The contributors to this collection discuss the many ways in which innocent criminal defendants can be convicted in a system that places great emphasis on protecting them. Some involve culpability: brutal or racially biased police and other officials, treacherous informants, and incompetent attorneys. . . . Recommended for upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.
An all-star set of contributors and clearly written essays make this a worthwhile addition to anti-death penalty literatures. Westervelt and Humphrey take a practical approach to the topic. Essays in Part 1 show that eyewitnesses are often wrong, police trick suspects into making confessions, informants lie to gain benefits, and police can be incompetent or venal. Part 2 argues that those who are unpopular, uneducated, or members of a racial minority invite harsher treatment by authorities. The next section offers case studies on convictions that were wrongly obtained. . . . This excellent introduction to a controversial topic is highly recommended.
A very powerful addition to the debate on capital punishment.
JOHN A. HUMPHREY is a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and coauthor of Deviant Behavior and The Administration of Justice.
Foreword ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction 1
Part I: Causes of Wrongful Conditions
1 Misinformation and Wrongful Convictions 17
2 False Confessions 36
3 From the Jailhouse to the Courthouse 55
4 The Police Role in Wrongful Convictions 77
Part II: The Social Characteristics of the Wrongly Convicted
5 Who Are the Wrongly Convicted on Death Row? 99
6 Racial Bias and the Conviction of the Innocent
Part III: The Faces of the Wrongly Convicted
7 More Than a Reasonable Doubt 135
8 No Appeal from the Grave 154
9 Whodunit? An Examination of the Production of Wrongful Convictions 174
Part IV: Visions for Change in the Twenty-first Century
10 Back from the Courthouse 199
11 Effective Assistance of Counsel 220
12 DNA and Innocence Scholarship 241
13 The Adversary System and Historical Accuracy 253
14 Erroneous Convictions and the Death Penalty 269
About the editors and contributors 281
Index 289
