NCJ Number
204688
Journal
Judicature Volume: 87 Issue: 4 Dated: January-February 2004 Pages: 166,167,191
Date Published
January 2004
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses how wrongful convictions occur and the costs they incur.
Abstract
The article tells the story of a man that was wrongfully convicted in a civil case of false identification. He lost his wife, job, his children, and had no income or assets by the time he was exonerated. In Illinois, less than 2 percent of the felony cases result in a death penalty. There were 16 men that were sentenced to death released from prison because they were not guilty of the crimes they were convicted for. The problem stems from the fact that once the system concludes that a particular person is the culprit of a crime, evidence is sought to support that conclusion. This tunnel vision is called confirmatory bias. The direct costs of wrongful convictions can be tremendous, in terms of human costs, court costs, and the cost of the public erosion of trust in the criminal justice system. Police, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and the courts all end up diminished in the eyes of the public. Tremendous distrust arises between criminal justice professionals and the public. The victims’ families are required to relive and perhaps testify again. Confirmatory bias needs to be discussed repeatedly with all criminal justice professionals. There is also the issue of bad scientific evidence and the false testimony of so-called professionals.