The resources of the justice system are often stacked against poor defendants. Matters only become worse when a person is represented by an ineffective, incompetent or overburdened defense lawyer. The failure of overworked lawyers to investigate, call witnesses or prepare for trial has led to the conviction of innocent people. Shrinking funding and access to resources for public defenders and court-appointed attorneys is only making the problem worse. Show Mistaken witness idEyewitness error is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in 72% of convictions overturned through DNA testing. While eyewitness testimony can be persuasive evidence before a judge or jury, 30 years of strong social science research has proven that eyewitness identification is often unreliable. Research shows that the human mind is not like a tape recorder; we neither record events exactly as we see them, nor recall them like a tape that has been rewound. Instead, witness memory is like any other evidence at a crime scene; it must be preserved carefully and retrieved methodically, or it can be contaminated. In case after case, DNA has proven what scientists already know—that eyewitness identification is frequently inaccurate. False ConfessionIn about 30% of DNA exoneration cases, innocent defendants made incriminating statements, delivered outright confessions or pled guilty. These cases show that confessions are not always prompted by internal knowledge or actual guilt, but are sometimes motivated by external influences. false forensic evidenceSince the late 1980s, DNA analysis has helped identify the guilty and exonerate the innocent nationwide. While DNA testing was developed through extensive scientific research at top academic centers, many other forensic techniques—such as hair microscopy, bite mark comparisons, firearm tool mark analysis and shoe print comparisons—have never been subjected to rigorous scientific evaluation. Meanwhile, forensics techniques that have been properly validated—such as serology, commonly known as blood typing—are sometimes improperly conducted or inaccurately conveyed in trial testimony. In some cases, forensic analysts have fabricated results or engaged in other misconduct. perjuryIn 18% of wrongful conviction cases overturned through DNA testing, an informant testified against the defendant at the original trial. Often, statements from people with incentives to testify—particularly incentives that are not disclosed to the jury—are the central evidence in convicting an innocent person. official misconductSome wrongful convictions are caused by honest mistakes. But in far too many cases, the very people who are responsible for ensuring truth and justice—law enforcement officials and prosecutors—lose sight of these obligations and instead focus solely on securing convictions. The cases of wrongful convictions uncovered by DNA testing are filled with evidence of negligence, fraud or misconduct by prosecutors or police departments. While the majority of law enforcement officers and prosecutors are honest and trustworthy, criminal justice is a human endeavor and the possibility for negligence, misconduct and corruption exists. Even if one officer of every thousand is dishonest, wrongful convictions will continue to occur. DNA exonerations have exposed official misconduct at every level and stage of a criminal investigation.
The resources of the justice system are often stacked against poor defendants. Matters only become worse when a person is represented by an ineffective, incompetent or overburdened defense lawyer. The failure of overworked lawyers to investigate, call witnesses or prepare for trial has led to the conviction of innocent people. Shrinking funding and access to resources for public defenders and court-appointed attorneys is only making the problem worse. Mistaken witness idEyewitness error is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in 72% of convictions overturned through DNA testing. While eyewitness testimony can be persuasive evidence before a judge or jury, 30 years of strong social science research has proven that eyewitness identification is often unreliable. Research shows that the human mind is not like a tape recorder; we neither record events exactly as we see them, nor recall them like a tape that has been rewound. Instead, witness memory is like any other evidence at a crime scene; it must be preserved carefully and retrieved methodically, or it can be contaminated. In case after case, DNA has proven what scientists already know—that eyewitness identification is frequently inaccurate. False ConfessionIn about 30% of DNA exoneration cases, innocent defendants made incriminating statements, delivered outright confessions or pled guilty. These cases show that confessions are not always prompted by internal knowledge or actual guilt, but are sometimes motivated by external influences. false forensic evidenceSince the late 1980s, DNA analysis has helped identify the guilty and exonerate the innocent nationwide. While DNA testing was developed through extensive scientific research at top academic centers, many other forensic techniques—such as hair microscopy, bite mark comparisons, firearm tool mark analysis and shoe print comparisons—have never been subjected to rigorous scientific evaluation. Meanwhile, forensics techniques that have been properly validated—such as serology, commonly known as blood typing—are sometimes improperly conducted or inaccurately conveyed in trial testimony. In some cases, forensic analysts have fabricated results or engaged in other misconduct. perjuryIn 18% of wrongful conviction cases overturned through DNA testing, an informant testified against the defendant at the original trial. Often, statements from people with incentives to testify—particularly incentives that are not disclosed to the jury—are the central evidence in convicting an innocent person. official misconductSome wrongful convictions are caused by honest mistakes. But in far too many cases, the very people who are responsible for ensuring truth and justice—law enforcement officials and prosecutors—lose sight of these obligations and instead focus solely on securing convictions. The cases of wrongful convictions uncovered by DNA testing are filled with evidence of negligence, fraud or misconduct by prosecutors or police departments. While the majority of law enforcement officers and prosecutors are honest and trustworthy, criminal justice is a human endeavor and the possibility for negligence, misconduct and corruption exists. Even if one officer of every thousand is dishonest, wrongful convictions will continue to occur. DNA exonerations have exposed official misconduct at every level and stage of a criminal investigation. This week, Timothy Cole became the first person in Texas to be exonerated and fully pardoned posthumously as a result of DNA testing. The heartbreaking case begs the question: How many others are there, and how can they be prevented? DNA testing more than two decades after Cole’s wrongful conviction finally cleared him in 2008 and pointed to convicted rapist Jerry Wayne Johnson, who had already confessed to the crime in letters to court officials, as well as other rapes dating back several years. A year ago, in an unprecedented legal move, Cole’s family and lawyers appeared in an Austin courtroom in pursuit of a posthumous ruling to clear his name. According to advocates for the wrongfully convicted, the strategy was unique in Texas and rare in the U.S. The Innocence Project served as co-counsel with the Innocence Project of Texas in that hearing. A judge declared Cole innocent, and he was exonerated. On March 1, 2009 Texas Governor Rick Perry fully pardoned Cole. The development gives comfort to his family, but it is also a painful reminder of an innocent man’s life lost. Cole’s mother said the pardon was a long time coming.
Texas leads the country with 40 wrongful convictions that have been overturned by DNA testing—only half of the exonerated in Texas received compensation for time spent behind bars. Eyewitness misidentification, which contributed to Cole’s wrongful conviction, is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing. Faulty forensic science also played a role in Cole’s wrongful conviction. Eyewitness misidentification was a factor in 33 of Texas’s cases and unvalidated or improper forensic science contributed to 17 of the wrongful convictions. A growing number of Texas legislators, led by State Senator Rodney Ellis (who also serves as chairman of the Innocence Project Board of Directors) are determined to improve the state’s criminal justice system to prevent more wrongful convictions. Ellis said more work remains to be done to guard against similar situations, such as pushing to require every law enforcement agency in Texas to have written eyewitness identification procedures based on best practices.
Cole’s family said they will continue working to make sure other people don’t suffer the same injustice he did.
Read more about Texas exonerees here Coverage of Cole’s pardon: Houston Chronicle BBC News BBC News Fort Worth Star Telegram Associated Press AOL News (3/2/10)
225 (60%) African American Other facts:
How DNA makes a difference in the criminal justice system
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What has been the single largest cause for the rise in the number of exonerations in wrongful conviction cases in Texas quizlet?
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