Annotated Bibliography: The Impact of Trauma among Undocumented Immigrant Children

Annotated Bibliography: Wrongful Conviction

JUST 300-06

Diana Dort

26 February 2020

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2

Kleider, Offutt, H. M., Knuycky, L. R., Clevinger, A. M., & Capodanno, M. M. (2017).

Wrongful convictions and prototypical black features: Can a face‐type facilitate

misidentifications? Legal and criminological psychology, 22(2), 350-358.

The authors hypothesized that stereotypical characteristics of the African American men

contribute to judgments and misidentifications. Furthermore, they hypothesized that cross-race

incidences of misidentification involving stereotypical faces are less differential than atypical

looks. The research drew from a sample size of 77 female participants, including 20 whites, 51

Black, 9 Asian, 8 Hispanic and 9 other races. Data was collected through an experiment. The

respondents were provided with three options that contributed to incarceration; (1) no

eyewitness, (2) eyewitness only, (3) and eyewitness with other reasons. The researchers also

analyzed the IP website by going through the profiles of 330 individuals (70 whites, 141 black

men, 119 others) convicted through DNA evidence. The study analyzed the photographs and

profiles of black men only. After sorting the photos and profiles, the researchers remained with

115 pictures of black male convicts. Out of the 115 convicts, 39 were convicted due to

eyewitness misidentification, 58 for mixed reasons, and 18 for other factors. The 115 pictures

were used as stimuli in the research and presented to the respondents through E-prime software.

Following their consent, all participants sat in front of computers and asked to rate the

photographs using their own opinions on the biased black appearance meant. The study results

confirmed that eyewitness misidentification can result in the conviction of innocent individuals.

Black men are often misidentified as criminals because of their stereotypical faces. The research

found out that there was no correlation between cross race and bias on witness identification. The

response was similar among all the participants.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 3

Rodriguez, L., Agtarap, S., Boals, A., Kearns, N. T., & Bedford, L. (2019). Making a biased jury

decision: Using the Steven Avery murder case to investigate potential influences in jury

decision-making. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(4), 429.

The authors hypothesized that the demographics of the jurors are likely to influence their

perception of guiltiness or innocence. Furthermore, they hypothesized that the psychological

state of the judges could impact their decisions of guilt or innocence in court cases. The primary

focus of the article was to asses some of the significant influences on the decision-making of

judges using the Steven Avery murder case as a case study. The researchers drew from a sample

size of 940 participants who were recruited via convenience sampling approach through social

media platforms. The participants were required to be at least 18 years old and must have

watched the documentary (Making a Murderer). The participation was voluntary, and 852

respondents completed the survey. The participants comprised 91% white, 2% African

American, 2% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 1% Native Americans. The participants were asked

several questions relating to guilt, trauma history, and attitudes towards the justice system. The

scores were ranked using the Likert Scale. Other variables, such as demographics, pretrial

publicity, punitive attitudes, and PTSS, were determined using specific measures. The study

found out that female judges of younger ages had higher guilt ratings and could have given

Avery a sentence of “guilty.” In this regard, female and young judges are likely to associate their

decisions with “guilty.” The research did not find any relationship between the race of jurors

with the decisions of innocence or guilt. Finally, the study established that jurors exposed to

specific emotional trauma or stresses are likely to give judgments of “guilty.”

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 4

Gilliam, M. (2016). The Role of Official Misconduct in Wrongful Convictions.

The author hypothesized that official misconduct can influence wrongful convictions.

Furthermore, he hypothesized that an appropriate judicial system and legal ethics can prevent

wrongful convictions. The authors drew from a sample size of 814 cases involving official

misconducts from the National Registry of Exonerations database. The researcher used a mixed

research method using both qualitative and quantitative research. Moreover, the focus was on the

qualitative aspect of the investigation. Before accessing the database, the researcher asked for

permission to avoid breaching the established regulations. Information on only the cases

involving official misconduct was collected for analysis. The data comprised the state, crime,

age, sex, race, conviction year of the exoneree, and the contributing factors of the wrongful

sentence. Then, the author developed a new SPSS database to merge the information extorted

from the registry. Content analysis was then performed on each of the persons in the 814 cases

influenced by official misconduct. Themes were identified and coded. The researcher ran

fundamental descriptive and frequencies of the dataset, such as gender, race, and age. Official

misconduct and other contributing factors frequency were run as well. Lastly, the author ran a

correlation analysis to establish the correlations of the variables, that is, official misconduct,

other contributing factors, and crime type. The study results confirmed that there exists a strong

relationship between official misconduct and wrongful convictions. Faults such as police and

prosecutorial can result in wrongful incarceration because of minimal evidence or weak defense,

respectively. Finally, the study also found out that eyewitness misidentification can also

influence judges to convict individuals wrongfully.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 5

Clow, K. A., Blandisi, I. M., Ricciardelli, R., & Schuller, R. A. (2011). Public perception of

wrongful conviction: Support for compensation and apologies. Alb. L. Rev., 75, 1415.

The authors hypothesized that compensation could impact the healing process, reduce feelings of

vengeance, and restore dignity to wrongfully convicted individuals. Furthermore, they

hypothesized that public apologies to wrongfully incarcerated individuals could enhance the

criminal justice system and community. The research drew from a sample size of 15 respondents

via convenience sampling. The members comprised 7 females and 8 males in the suburban city

of South-Central Ontario. The ages of the participants ranged from 32-36 years. Out of the

fifteen members, 11 had (post-secondary education), 5(degrees), 2(postgraduates), 5(college

diplomas). Besides, the researchers collected data using face-to-face interviews to determine the

public perceptions of wrongful imprisonment. The interview contained 20-items based on the

feelings of the community members about an unlawful sentence. Before the interviews, the

authors requested permission. Only the patrons in the coffee shops were interviewed. The

interview responses were then transcribed based on the themes generated and coded

appropriately. The study results confirmed that most of the participants were sympathetic

towards compensating and apologizing to wrongfully incarcerated individuals. Individuals who

were wrongfully imprisoned should receive financial compensation due to misfortune lost to

enable them to restart their lives and re-establish their reputations. Secondly, the researchers

established that wrongfully incarcerated persons deserve public apology to restore their dignity,

enhance the healing process, reduce the feelings of vengeance, and enhance the criminal justice

system. The apology enables them to integrate back into the community.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 6

Olney, M., & Bonn, S. (2015). An exploratory study of the legal and non-legal factors associated

with exoneration for wrongful conviction: The power of DNA evidence. Criminal Justice Policy

Review, 26(4), 400-420.

The authors hypothesized that DNA testing in post-conviction enhances the probability of

individuals being acquitted for wrongful incarceration of sexual assault or murder. Furthermore,

they hypothesized that DNA testing in post-conviction is likely to be more beneficial to African

Americans than other races. Generally, the primary focus of the article was to assess the lawful

and unlawful elements related to the wrongful conviction. Besides, to test and confirm these

hypotheses, the researchers collected data from the National Registry of Exonerations. The study

used a sample size of 997, comprising the three significant racial categories, including African

Americans, Hispanics, and Whites. Other information such as age and the crimes the exonerees

were imprisoned for were collected to assist in analysis. The investigators ran the independent

samples to determine the distinctions in the period to exonerate and mean age for every crime

and race variables. The chi-square was also run to establish the main differences in racial

structure for the DNA and crime variables. Lastly, the authors utilized logistic regression to

anticipate the outcome of dependent variables. The study found out that out of 997 exonerees,

455 were imprisoned wrongly for murder and 215 for violent crime. The blacks recorded the

highest percentage in both crimes, and DNA testing played a crucial role in exoneration. In this

regard, the research confirmed that DNA testing availability increases the chances of acquittal

for sexual assault and murder. The study also found out that DNA testing is likely to result in the

exoneration of more African Americans than other races.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 7

Creating Hypotheses and Operationalizing Variables 1. The authors hypothesized that compensation could impact the healing process, reduce

feelings of vengeance, and restore dignity to wrongfully convicted individuals. The direction is

positive.

2. The independent variable is compensation.

3. The dependent variable is healing process, reduce feelings of vengeance and restored

dignity to wrongfully convicted individuals

4. Compensation affects the healing process.

5. The authors hypothesized that public apologies to wrongfully incarcerated individuals

could enhance the criminal justice system and community.

6. The independent variable is public apologies. The researchers established that wrongfully

incarcerated persons deserve public apology to restore their dignity, enhance the healing process,

reduce the feelings of vengeance, and enhance the criminal justice system. The apology enables

them to integrate back into the community.

7. The dependent variable is enhancement of the criminal justice system and community.

8. Public apology restores wrongfully convicted individual’s dignity.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 8

Sampling

Probability

1. The authors hypothesized that compensation could impact the healing process, reduce

feelings of vengeance, and restore dignity to wrongfully convicted individuals. The direction is

positive.

2. Wrongfully convicted individuals.

3. Present the research to the individuals and ask for the participation.

4. Not all wrongfully convicted individuals will consent to being interviewed or want

anything to do with the research.

5. Purposive sampling because of the nature of the research, we have to target a specifically

group of people which is wrongfully convicted individuals who’s been released from prison.

6. Generalize to the population and similar communities in other major cities.

Non-probability

1. The authors hypothesized that public apologies to wrongfully incarcerated individuals

could enhance the criminal justice system and community.

2. Population of interest is wrongfully incarcerated individuals in the suburban city of

South-Central Ontario.

3. Face-to-face interviews to determine the public perceptions of wrongful imprisonment.

The interview contained 20-items based on the feelings of the community members about an

unlawful sentence.

4. Combination of Quota and "Snowball" samples.

5. Only able to generalize to the sample.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 9

6. One ethical concern could be vulnerable groups of people (wrongfully convicted

individuals). This raises the issue of whether using those individuals who were wrongfully

convicted and had their freedom stripped away is ethical or not for them to be used as research

subjects. Furthermore, ethical concern can be raised to their inability to give consent and also

their need for further protection and sensitivity from the researchers as they are in greater risk of

being deceived, threatened or forced to participate.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 10

Survey Design

The authors hypothesized that compensation could impact the healing process, reduce

feelings of vengeance, and restore dignity to wrongfully convicted individuals.

1. How many times have you been wrongfully convicted?

a. 0 to 2

b. 3 to 4

c. 5 to 6

d. 7 or more

2. What was the biggest challenge you faced when re-acclimating to normal life?

a. Socializing with other people

b. Adjusting back to the outside world

c. Adjusting emotionally and mentally

d. Finding a job

e. Other ____________________________________________

3. What do you feel like you missed out on by being incarcerated for that period of your life?

a. Missed out on children growing up

b. Missed out on birth and passing of family members

c. Missed out on opportunities

d. Missed out on not being a part of family’s life

e. Other ____________________________________________

4. Were there any positives you were able to take away from such an awful experience and/or your time in prison?

a. It makes you stronger

b. It reinforces the fact that you do not have complete control of your life

c. You can lose your life at anytime

d. You can lose your freedom at anytime

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 11

e. Other ____________________________________________

5. What is your opinion on the government compensating you for their mistake and stealing

years of your life? a. They cannot give back what they have taken from me

b. They should compensate for all the years I was arrested

c. Compensation will help with the healing process

d. Compensation will restore dignity

e. Other ____________________________________________

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 12

In-depth interviewing

1. The authors hypothesized that compensation could impact the healing process, reduce

feelings of vengeance, and restore dignity to wrongfully convicted individuals. The direction is

positive.

2. Wrongfully incarcerated individuals in the suburban city of South-Central Ontario.

3. Records of wrongfully convicted individuals. Present the research to the individuals and

ask for the participation.

4. Clearly identify myself, the research topic, and my purpose of the research to inform and

persuade the government on why they should compensate wrongfully convicted individuals.

5. Some advantage for in-depth interviews is to discover the perspectives and experiences of

the individuals that were wrongfully convicted. This is helpful because it will help you

understand their thoughts, ideas and behaviors especially after going through a traumatic

experience of having their freedoms stripped from them. By doing in-depth interviews, it will

also allow the interviewer to gain more knowledge about being wrongfully convicted.

6. Some disadvantages of in-depth interviews are that the topic is obviously sensitive thus

participants may not want to revisit their time being in jail by talking about it. thus, interviewees

may be reluctant to be candid and speak in detail. Interviews take an extensive amount of time.

This limits how many interviews can be conducted.

7. Interview schedule:

a. When did you get wrongfully convicted off?

b. Was there any evidence that you did not commit the crime accused of?

c. How do you rebuild after this kind of travesty?

d. Will you be compensated for the time spent in jail?

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 13

e. Did you receive any support while being incarcerated?

8. Since I would be interviewing a vulnerable group of people, a lot of ethical concerns can

arise, such as anxiety, using them as research subjects, post-traumatic stress disorder, and

them being at a higher risk of being deceived, threatened, or forced to participate. That is

why I must tell them from the beginning that the interview is voluntary and that they do

not have to participate. Then, I would assure them that the interview is confidential and

that whatever they share with me will not leave the room. I would make sure that they

know I am on their side, and I am not looking to add anymore harmed to their lives.