Research Question and Introduction Development Topic: Safeguarding the criminal justice system from wrongful convictions through an efficient innocence program

Research Question: What aspects of the innocence program need improvement, and in what ways, in order to guard the judicial system from wrongful convictions? (Rossi, Lipsey & Freeman, 2004)

Introduction

Wrongful conviction is an abuse of justice. It entails the sentencing and subsequent punishment of someone for crimes they never committed (Huff & Killias, 2013). Wrongful convictions can happen in civil and criminal cases alike. Many criminal justice processes have been tailored to overcome this possibility and overturn such erroneous judicial decisions. It is quite difficult to achieve this, however, due to fundamental challenges in the judicial system. Wrongful convictions may take years or decades to overturn. In some instances the discovery of innocence happens after a person has already served their time in prison, after they are dead or after they are executed. Wrongful convictions and miscarriage of justice are often times synonymous. They are phrases used to refer to an unfair trial. The exploitation of better mechanisms of collecting, handling and presenting evidence is an avenue with potential to alleviate wrongful convictions. DNA evidence has gained popularity in recent years and has been...

In what was referred to as the trial of the century the defense team in the O.J Simpson versus the People case relied on DNA evidence to exonerate him of the double murder case (Abramson, 1996). A research conducted by Irazola et al. (2014) revealed that the wrongfully convicted, the victim and the actual offender suffer psychologically at the point of conviction and exoneration of the wrongfully convicted individual. Grounds (2004) performed a descriptive study on men whose convictions were overturned after appeal after their release from a long period in prison. All men apart from two were from the U.K. the researched revealed extensive morbidity in their psychology. Fourteen men were assessed as enduring changes in personality as a consequence of catastrophic experiences, 12 of them were diagnosed with PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder), and many of them showed anxiety and mood disorders (Grounds, 2004).
Grounds (2004) uncovered fundamental issues with social adjustments and psychology for the victims of wrongful convictions and their families. The challenges experienced by the family were similar to those experienced by families of war veterans. Grounds (2004) conclude by emphasizing the fact that miscarriage of justice and the subsequent punishment…