Wrongful Convictions in the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

The legitimacy of the criminal justice system is historically upon its past effectiveness and objectivity. The effectiveness of the system is assessed by its ability to investigate and identify crime, identify offenders and impose appropriate retribution to those who have been convicted of crimes. Its objectivity is judged by its degree of diligence and the energy the system expends in ensuring that there is a balance of resources between the defendant who is accused and the equity with which the case moves through the criminal justice system. The system does this by providing maximum protection of evidence and effective legal representation at all stages of the judiciary process.

When wrongful convictions occur, the criminal justice system is weakened and destabilized. When a defendant is wrongfully convicted, he is penalized for a crime he did not commit. Likewise, when there is breakdown in the system, the actual offender goes unpunished. When wrongful convictions occur, public confidence in the corrections system is compromised and undermined. Human error is the most frequent reason that is recognized in wrongful convictions. Causes of wrongful convictions within the CJS include mistaken identification by someone who was an eyewitness, dishonesty of eyewitnesses, false confessions of those accused of a crime, overreliance on snitches and informants, inept defendant attorneys, and misconduct on the part of police or prosecutors. It is unethical and unacceptable to allow wrongful convictions to stand in our system of justice, even though some may be sympathetic to unintentional errors in the criminal process. Unfortunately, there are sometimes intentional acts perpetrated against defendants and no degree of change will excuse these occurrences.

People who have been wrongfully convicted sometimes spend many years in prison before any action is successful in shedding light on their plight. Even when evidence to exonerate them is successful in releasing them from prison, they sometimes live shattered lives with no meaningful employment, no money, and family who have sometimes separated from them. In order to prevent these tragedies from happening, it is important to look at the processes and procedures that allow these wrongful convictions to occur in the first place.

What is the cause of these wrongful conviction tragedies? According to the literature, there are a multitude of reasons, but there are six reasons that are most often identified. The primary reason for wrongful convictions is error in an eyewitness account. The testimony of an eyewitness can be extraordinarily important in cases where there is very little evidence of wrongdoing. In many cases, the eyewitness error is not intentional, but the victim is traumatized and nevertheless wants someone to pay for the crime. Eyewitness error can also occur when there are physical similarities between the perpetrator and the alleged perpetrator. According to Jain (2001) in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, eyewitness error is the cause for many wrongful convictions. Jain's article explains that "a study of 84% of DNA exonerations revealed that mistaken eyewitness identification was the primary evidence used to convict the innocent defendants" (Jain, 2001). Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States. Over 75% of DNA exoneration cases have involved convictions based, at least in part, on mistaken identification evidence. A variety of factors can affect the reliability of an identification, including the circumstances of the witnessed event, individual characteristics of the witness, and the methods used by investigators to obtain the identification.

A classic case of mistaken identity occurred in a Tampa, Florida courtroom occurred in 1981. Alan Crotzer sat watching as five people took the stand and swore that he was one of the men who kidnapped a 12-year-old girl and a 38-year-old woman during a botched home invasion. The child and woman testified that he later raped them, but all five were wrong. After spending 24 years in prison, Crotzer was set free in 2006 when DNA testing proved he was not the rapist. "Five people were 100 percent convinced they were correct, and each was 100 percent wrong," said Sam Roberts, an assistant public defender in New York City who later helped free Crotzer. Crotzer's case is typical of 75 percent of the DNA exonerations nationwide. Innocent people were sent to prison, in part, because eyewitnesses got it wrong. Sometimes the emotional stability of the victim or eyewitness is so disturbed by the extraordinary experience that his powers of perception become distorted and his ability to correctly identify is often impaired. The propensity for destructive error as well as the costs it may inflict on the innocent have created everlasting skepticism on the part of many. In 1932, Edwin Borchard found that eyewitnesses make errors because of a few common reasons. These are a universal desire to right a crime, a need to avenge the accused, the overwhelming need to find a scapegoat, and the need to either consciously or unconsciously assist in the identification of a culprit (Borchard, 1932).

A second reason for wrongful convictions is that sometimes people simply lie about the crime and/or the accused. Kevin Baruxes, age 26, was just such a case. He was wrongfully accused of rape at the age of 18. Baruxes was tried, convicted, and sent to prison for eight years. An article, entitled, "Man Coping After Wrongly Convicted of Rape" details how very serious the consequences are for wrongful convictions. This article details how the wrongful conviction has affected Baruxes. Because of his age when he was sent to prison, this gentleman has only a high school education. Because he was incarcerated, he has not been able to go to college or advance his life in any way. Because of the wrong perpetrated against him, Baruxes hopes to be awarded a settlement that will allow him recover a portion of his life lost to an error of the criminal justice system. If Baruxes is successful in obtaining monetary compensation he will be in the minority because most people who are wrongfully convicted never receive compensation of any type. The agony of prison life and the complete loss of freedom are only compounded by the feelings of what might have been, but for the wrongful conviction. Deprived for years of family and friends and the ability to establish oneself professionally, the nightmare does not end upon release. With no money, housing, transportation, health services or insurance, and a criminal record that is rarely cleared despite innocence, the punishment lingers long after innocence has been proven. States have a responsibility to restore the lives of the wrongfully convicted