Final Paper

Wrongful Convictions in the Criminal Justice System

Brandi Ingram

Writing Seminar

Dr. Montgomery-Scott

Grambling State University

06/13/2022

Wrongful Convictions in the Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system depends on trust and evidence as the basis for all rulings and judgments. In the court of law, it is always predicted and assumed that the guilty will face the wrath of the law while the innocent will get justice. However, this is not always the case because there have been incidents where the criminal justice system has convicted innocent people based on false evidence, witnesses, or testimonies. Wrongful conviction is also known as a miscarriage of justice and does happen when an innocent individual is accused of a crime they did not commit. According to Denov and Campbell (2005), approximately 6000 to 10000 inmates have been falsely convicted in the US criminal justice system (Denov & Campbell, 2005). This implies that more people are being falsely accused and convicted of crimes they never committed.

Annotated bibliography

Denov, M. S., & Campbell, K. M. (2005). Criminal injustice: Understanding Canada’s causes, effects, and responses to wrongful conviction. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21(3), 224-249.

The authors of this source highlight that over the years, there have been concerns regarding wrongful convictions in America and worldwide. The authors use this article to argue that wrongful conviction is a topic of interest across the globe because of the severe consequences. Denov and Campbell use Canada as a case study of countries that have witnessed a lot of wrongful conviction cases over the years. The article also highlights that the criminal justice system in Canada is fallible and its process questionable. As such, the Canadian media has tried addressing this issue, but literature review research indicates that little has been done to solve the problem. Therefore, through this article, the authors have discussed the significant impacts of a wrongful conviction on the victims and their families and how the government responds to this. Moreover, the article further indicates that the government provides little help to address the issue, meaning that it remains a concern in the criminal justice system.

Huff, C. (2004). Wrongful convictions: the American experience. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 46(2), 107-120.

Huff uses this article to argue that there has been an increase in cases of wrongful convictions in America and Canada. According to his article, Huff claims that there have been scholarly articles on wrongful convictions, trying to create public awareness of what goes on in the criminal justice system. Hence, in this article, Huff discusses how far wrongful conviction errors can go, factors that lead to these convictions, the development of legislation in the criminal justice system, and the significance of wrongful convictions in the challenges faced with the US death sentence or penalty rulings. Moreover, Huff helps his readers understand more about wrongful convictions, their significance, and how to protect citizens from such occurrences where victims are jailed while offenders freely roam around.

Norris, R. J., Bonventre, C. L., Redlich, A. D., Acker, J. R., & Lowe, C. (2019). Preventing wrongful convictions: An analysis of state investigation reforms. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 30(4), 597-626.

According to the authors of this source, many innocent people in America and across the world are convicted of crimes they have not convicted. As the cases of wrong conviction increase, researchers research and learn more about the causes and consequences of wrongful convictions. The criminal justice system is trying to develop strategies necessary to prevent the increase of wrongful convictions. Hence, Norris and colleagues focus on the reforms available to achieve through the investigative aspects of eyewitness identification, forensics, and interrogations. This is a great source to help argue how to prevent this issue in the criminal justice system.