The Issue Of Wrongful Conviction

The Canadian criminal justice system is often represented by the balanced scales of justice. These scales symbolize the need for the law to be viewed objectively in order to ensure a fair determination of innocence. Ideally, the criminal justice system should incorporate the values of the scales of justice to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate the law (Jordan, 2014). When dealing with crime, this system mainly uses methods of retributive justice in order to achieve its goals. However, despite justice being supposedly impartial, there is an overwhelming amount of injustice in all stages of the criminal justice process, from the charging of the individuals in court to their sentence in prison (Jordan, 2014). To combat this

Canadian Criminals are a major part of Canadian society. In our country if you were not the direct victim of a crime you tend to forget the members of society that take pleasure in causing societies grief. As in the case of James Hutchinson and Richard Ambrose, whose crimes were committed in December of 1974.1 They were convicted of killing two Moncton City Police officers. Today, years after the murders were committed Ambrose and Hutchinson are still the center of a major controversy that has plagued our parole system. In order to fully understand the controversy that Ambrose and Hutchinson posses you must look at the

There have been many studies looking at wrongful conviction cases, and along with that, there have been thousands of empirical studies done on the traditional causes of it (Leo, 2009, pg, 29). These include eye witness testimony and false confessions induced by police (Leo, 2009, p.29). This paper will look at the research done on those who have been wrongfully convicted and the psychological effects that it has had on them. I will discuss several psychological processes that can lead to wrongful convictions in court. I will then look at the various psychological effects including mental and physical health issues. Along with discussing some aspects of the stigmatization exonerees receive when returning home after being released that may contribute to their personal psychological effects.

Wrongful convictions are common in the court-system. In fact, wrongful convictions are not the rare events that you see or hear on televisions shows, but are very common. They stem from some sort of systematic defect that lead to wrongful convictions such as, eyewitness misidentification testimony, unvalidated or improper forensic science, false confessions and incriminating statements, DNA lab errors, false confessions, and informants (2014). Bringing awareness to all these systematic defects, which result in wrongful, is important because it will better adjust the system to avoid making the same mistakes with future cases. However, false confession is not a systematic defect. It does not occur because files were misplaced or a lab technician put one too many drops. False confessions occur because of some of psychological attempt to protect oneself and their family. Thus, the courts responsibility should be to reduce these false confessions.

Wrongful conviction is an issue that has plagued the Canadian Justice System since it came to be. It is an issue that is hard to sort out between horrific crimes and society’s desire to find truth and justice. Incidences of wrongful conviction hit close to home right here in Saskatchewan as well as across the entire nation. Experts claim “each miscarriage of justice, however, deals a blow to society’s confidence in the legal justice system” (Schmalleger, Volk, 2014, 131). Professionals in the criminal justice field such as police, forensic analyst, and prosecutors must all be held accountable for their implications in wrongful convictions. There are several reasons for wrongful convictions such as racial bias, false confessions, jailhouse

During recent studies from several researchers it has been concluded that there is a fault within our criminal justice system. Researchers discovered there is a high wrongful conviction rate within the United States judicial system. After, extensive research, it was found that wrongful convictions are caused by eyewitness error, false confessions, flawed forensic science, an informant, bad lawyering, and government misconduct. Without a doubt, this issue has shocked society, due to the fact we rely on the system for pure justice. Within my findings, it is apparent that victims of wrongful convictions suffer numerous affects when

Among the many differing cases of wrongfully convicted Canadians, the case of Guy Paul Morin is very interesting. There were many issues that caused an innocent man from Queensville, Ontario to be convicted of the murder of Christine Jessop. We’re going to look at how the police failed to conduct a thorough investigation, how the court system failed, and how cases like this can be preventing in the future.

The Canadian Criminal Justice System is, for the most part, reflective of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and various Supreme Court of Canada case-law. Everyone who finds themselves on the opposing end of the Criminal Justice System is entitled to certain protections every step of the way, beginning even before the arrest; laws protect us from unreasonable investigative techniques, guarantee certain rights at point of arrest, and provide us with the right to counsel. The bail court departs from the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard in that the crown only needs to prove on a balance of probabilities (Kellough, 1996, p. 175) in order to take away a person’s freedom. It is for this reason I decided to limit the scope of my

In today’s Canadian society, it is certain that criminal law is to serve and protect and its fundamental purpose is to prevent crime and punish offenders. However, there have been cases where criminal law has punished the offender who turned out to be innocent. A conviction is needed to show that the system is not in disrepute and to keep order and people safe in society. If a criminal cannot be caught then people will look down upon the system in disgrace. In many cases, officers will arrest an individual who fits a certain description that they know will lead to an arrest and conviction. In the case of Guy Paul Morin it shows how the system failed in aiding the innocent who abide to the law. The law is established to protect those who

“Wrongful convictions happen every week in every state in this country. And they happen for all the same reasons. Sloppy police work. Eyewitness identification is the most- is the worst type almost. Because it is wrong about half the time. Think about that.” (Grisham). Wrongful convictions can happen to anyone, at anytime. Grisham implies wrongful convictions happen for the same reasons, careless police work as well as eyewitness identification. An eyewitness identification is a crucial aspect in detective work because it essentially locates the person at the crime scene. This is the worst cause of wrongful convictions because it is wrong half the time.

The rising number of overturned cases and exonerations, be that as it may, and developing mindfulness that people succumb to such tyranny acts that happy each day in American courts, raises significant questions about the exactness and decency of the criminal equity framework. This comprehension is upheld by significant research. This surge in mindfulness and maturing research has inspired a developing number of honesty ventures, which work to excuse wrongly indicted detainees, to likewise propose equity approach changes intended to diminish the quantity of wrongful feelings or to lighten their belongings. Wrongful conviction has turned into an unmistakable issue, the extent of the issue, its causes, and change recommendations.

Wrongful convictions heavily presided in Canada before adequate measures were taken to help prevent them. Many victims of wrongful convictions were subjected to the flaws in the Criminal Justice System, in which has undergone drastic reforms to repair some of the many imperfections. In Canada, the state provides compensation for individuals deemed factually innocent of the crimes they were charged for only through ex gracia, which simply means, “payment by the state, … made voluntarily, as a favour out of kindness or grace, and without recognition of any legal obligation” (Entitlement of Compensation- The Legal Framework). However, in order to be considered eligible for financial compensation, certain guidelines must be met under the Federal/ Provincial Guidelines on Compensation for Wrongfully Convicted and Imprisoned Persons, which was established in 1988. (Entitlement of Compensation- The Legal Framework). The guidelines as specified in the Federal/ Provincial Compensation for Wrongfully Convicted and Imprisoned Persons require that, an accused individual be convicted and imprisoned, and the conviction and imprisonment must be declared a miscarriage of justice as a result of new factual evidence presented (Entitlement of Compensation-The Legal Framework). Also, the individual must have been convicted and imprisoned under the Criminal Code of Canada, and the individual must be acquitted in the Court of Appeal, following a referral made by the Ministry of Justice.

Since 1923, when Judge Learned Hand said that the American judicial system “has always been haunted by the ghost of the innocent man convicted,” the issue of wrongful conviction has been acknowledged to man (Halstead, 1992; Huff, Rattner, Sagarin, & MacNamara, 1986). After the judge made his innocuous statements, serious study of this phenomenon began. Contrary to the statement the judge made, time and technology have revealed that an unquantifiable number of wrongfully convicted persons have served prison terms and even been executed for crimes they did not commit and some that did not even occur. Research into wrongful conviction was virtually nonexistent until Professor Edward Brochard of Yale University published his book Convicting the Innocent in 1932. This book documented 65 such cases, addressed the legal causes of miscarriage, and offered suggestions to reform. Subsequently, numerous other researchers began conducting case studies and publishing findings that affirmed that wrongful conviction represents a systematic problem within the American judicial process (Huff, 2002).

Some of the recent literature surrounding public perceptions of wrongful convictions, focuses on how frequently wrongful convictions occur and whether the public know of this and consider it to be an issue that needs to be rectified (Zalman 2005; Bell & Clow 2007) Most of this literature seems to suggest that although the general public can identify many of the reasons behind wrongful conviction [eye witness testimonies, false confessions etc.], and estimate that 6-10% of all convictions are wrong (Zalman 2005) still are of the opinion that wrongful convictions are not an issue that needs to be considered by justice system (Zalman 2005). In contrast, another study conducted by Bell & Clow 2007 found that 82% of those surveyed believed that wrongful conviction was an issue. The difference in the findings may be explained by the difference in culture between the US and Canada, and the difference in methodology used (Clow & Ricciardelli 2014).