innocence and wrongful convictions final exam

What is the definition of 'innocents' in the context of wrongful convictions?

Any factually innocent person wrongfully involved in any stage of the criminal justice system, including wrongful accusations, legal allegations, investigations, and wrongful convictions.

What is a 'miscarriage of justice'?

It could include an innocent person convicted, a guilty person acquitted, rejected affirmative defenses, or any unjustified conviction.

How is 'wrongful conviction' defined?

Cases where deficient processes resulted in a person being convicted of a crime they did not commit, and whose wrongful conviction is not detected through ordinary courts.

What is the definition of 'exoneration' or 'exoneree'?

A wrongfully convicted individual whose conviction is formally overturned due to new evidence of their innocence.

What percentage of felony cases do prosecutors in Ohio estimate are wrongful convictions?

Less than 0.5%.

What percentage of felony cases do defense attorneys estimate are wrongful convictions?

1% to 3%.

What percentage of surveyed prisoners reported complete innocence of their most recent conviction?

8.2%.

What is the Blackstone Ratio regarding wrongful convictions?

It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.

How many exonerations have been recorded in the National Registry of Exonerations in the US?

3,634.

What is the estimated number of wrongful convictions per year in Canada?

450 wrongful convictions, which is about 0.5% of all convictions.

What psychological impact do wrongfully convicted individuals often experience?

80% experience at least one traumatic event while incarcerated.

How much earlier do exonerees typically die compared to the expected lifespan?

Exonerees die 13.24 years earlier than they should.

What societal impact can wrongful convictions have?

They can shape beliefs about crime and the criminal justice system, potentially leading to an increase of 41,000 more crimes per year.

What financial cost can wrongful convictions impose on the government?

Up to $400,000 per exoneration.

Who is Marcellus Williams and what is significant about his case?

He was believed to be innocent but was executed.

What is the significance of the British Post Office Scandal in the context of wrongful convictions?

It highlighted the psychological effects on those wrongfully accused, with 67% experiencing PTSD and 60% depressive symptoms.

What are some potential solutions discussed in the course regarding wrongful convictions?

The course includes discussions on police investigations, courts, and systemic reforms.

What is the relevance of studying wrongful convictions?

Understanding wrongful convictions is crucial for reforming the criminal justice system and preventing future injustices.

What are some narratives explored during wrongful convictions?

The course examines personal stories of wrongfully incarcerated individuals and their experiences.

What role do innocence organizations play in the context of wrongful convictions?

They work to support wrongfully convicted individuals and advocate for justice.

What are the potential impacts of wrongful convictions on public perceptions?

They can lead to mistrust in the criminal justice system and influence societal beliefs about crime.

What is eyewitness misidentification?

A witness to an event or crime identifies the wrong perpetrator.

What percentage of cases in the US involve eyewitness misidentification according to the NRE?

27% of cases.

What percentage of cases in Canada involve eyewitness misidentification according to the CRWC?

28% of cases.

What factors can introduce biases during police investigations?

Witnesses, evidence, and suspects.

What is the best method to counteract eyewitness misidentification?

Double-blind administration.

What are the four types of memory mentioned?

Episodic, semantic, script, and procedural.

How does human memory differ from a video recording?

Memory is not a video recording; it is a reconstruction and can be altered.

What impact does stress and fear have on eyewitness testimony?

Increased stress and fear lead to less focus on other aspects of the event.

What was Alice Sebold's experience related to eyewitness misidentification?

She was raped in 1992 and falsely accused an individual, despite the sketch not matching.

What are estimator variables in the context of eyewitness identification?

Witness-related factors beyond the control of investigators, such as distance from the crime scene or the eyewitness's age.

What is the significance of facial recognition technology (FRT) in wrongful arrests?

FRT has led to wrongful arrests, particularly affecting people of color.

What did the TPS admit regarding facial recognition software?

They admitted to using facial recognition software after initially denying it.

What is the issue with Clearview AI's data practices?

Clearview AI takes photos from social media and mugshots without consent.

How does misleading information affect memory?

Misleading information can cause memory contamination and replace old information.

What is the public's general awareness regarding the dangers of eyewitness testimonies?

The public knows little about the dangers of eyewitness testimonies.

What happens to memory with each recollection?

Memory changes with each recollection.

What is the role of media coverage in influencing memory?

News/media coverage can significantly influence memory.

What was the first wrongful arrest due to facial recognition technology?

It occurred in January 2020.

What is the reliability of facial recognition software for people of color?

It is significantly less reliable for people of color.

What are the implications of human memory being malleable?

It means that memories can be altered and are not fixed.

What is the importance of education on memory in the context of legal proceedings?

Education on memory is crucial as it impacts juries and their decision-making.

What is the relationship between confidence and accuracy in eyewitness testimony?

Confidence does not equal accuracy.

What are the estimator variables that affect eyewitness memory?

Age, race, weapon focus, and crime seriousness.

How does age affect the accuracy of eyewitness recall?

Children have shorter and less detailed recall but are not less accurate; older adults have lower episodic memory leading to inaccuracy; young adults are the most accurate.

What is the cross-race effect in eyewitness identification?

Individuals recognize or identify people from their own racial background more accurately than those from another racial background.

What is the significance of the cross-race effect in research?

Most research has focused on White vs. Black identifications, showing that individuals are more accurate with their own race.

How does the presence of a weapon affect eyewitness memory?

The weapon focus effect causes eyewitnesses to concentrate on the weapon, diminishing their memory for the perpetrator due to increased arousal.

What did Carlson et al. (2017) find regarding weapon presence in eyewitness identification?

Eyewitnesses made more misidentifications when a weapon was present compared to when it was concealed or absent.

How does the seriousness of a crime influence eyewitness memory?

Increased arousal from crime seriousness can enhance memory accuracy, but very serious crimes may lead to decreased accuracy.

What did Leippe et al. (1978) discover about crime seriousness and identification accuracy?

Moderately serious crimes led to more accurate identifications, especially when participants knew the value of the theft beforehand.

What are system variables in the context of eyewitness identification?

Processes and procedures that the justice system can employ to improve the accuracy of eyewitness information.

What is a police lineup?

A series of similar-looking individuals presented to an eyewitness to identify the perpetrator.

What are fillers (foils) in a police lineup?

Individuals included in the lineup who are not suspected of involvement in the crime.

What is a double-blind lineup?

A lineup procedure where police do not know who the suspect is, reducing bias.

What is the difference between a sequential lineup and a simultaneous lineup?

Sequential lineups show suspects one at a time for more accurate identifications, while simultaneous lineups show all suspects at once, leading to more misidentifications.

What are witness instructions and how can they influence identification?

Post-event information can subtly influence witnesses through verbal and non-verbal cues, affecting their choices.

How does the number of choices and fillers in a lineup affect misidentification?

More choices and fillers increase the likelihood of misidentification.

What is the impact of wording in questions on eyewitness memory?

The wording of questions can influence how witnesses recall events, affecting their accuracy.

What is the role of arousal in eyewitness identification accuracy?

Increased arousal can enhance memory for moderately serious crimes but may impair accuracy for very serious crimes.

What is the potential issue with identifying Indigenous individuals in Canada?

There is an increased potential for mistaken eyewitness identification due to the variety of different Indigenous tribes.

What does the term 'suggestive interviewing' refer to in the context of eyewitness memory?

Interviews that may lead to inaccuracies in recall due to the way questions are framed or information is presented.

How do older adults' episodic memory capabilities affect their eyewitness testimony?

Older adults tend to have lower episodic memory, which can lead to inaccuracies in their testimonies.

What is the relationship between crime seriousness and eyewitness accuracy according to Leippe et al.?

Moderately serious crimes lead to more accurate identifications, but very serious crimes may lead to decreased accuracy due to excessive arousal.

What is the effect of increased arousal on eyewitness memory?

Increased arousal can enhance memory recall for certain situations but may also lead to inaccuracies under high-stress conditions.

What are composite drawings and their limitations?

Composite drawings are sketches created to recall specific features of a face, but they have limitations such as reduced identification accuracy compared to line-ups, the verbal overshadowing effect, and the risk of unconscious transference between the suspect and the photo.

What is the verbal overshadowing effect?

The verbal overshadowing effect occurs when describing a face impairs our ability to identify that face later on.

What is a show-up in eyewitness identification?

A show-up is when a witness is shown one person instead of a line-up, which is the least reliable identification procedure and can bias and pressure witnesses.

Define stereotyping and its potential consequences in criminal justice.

Stereotyping is a broad and simplified assumption about all members of a group, which can lead to wrongly including or excluding suspects based on characteristics such as race or socioeconomic status.

What is profiling in the context of criminal investigations?

Profiling is the process of identifying the personality and behavioral traits of an offender, as well as biological, demographic, and geographic descriptors based on crime scene characteristics and evidence.

How does stereotyping contribute to racial disparities in wrongful convictions?

Stereotyping may contribute to racial disparities in wrongful convictions by disproportionately affecting Black individuals, who are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, and prosecuted.

What statistics highlight racial disparities in wrongful convictions?

Black individuals make up 53% of NRE exonerations despite being only 13% of the U.S. population, and they are 7.5 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than White individuals.

What is tunnel vision in suspect interrogations?

Tunnel vision is the focus on a particular theory of guilt while dismissing contradictory evidence, leading to selective filtering of information.

What case exemplifies tunnel vision in investigations?

The Lawrence O'Connell case exemplifies tunnel vision, where evidence contradicting the suspect's guilt was ignored.

What were the key issues during the interrogation of Lawrence O'Connell?

Key issues included a 17-hour interrogation where the suspect initially denied involvement, discrepancies in the confession, and the detective's feeding of information to the suspect.

What is confirmation bias in police investigations?

Confirmation bias is the unconscious favoring of information that supports a conclusion while ignoring evidence that contradicts it.

Define hindsight bias and its implications.

Hindsight bias, or the 'knew-it-all-along effect,' involves reanalyzing evidence based on the outcome, leading to an evaluation of predictability.

What is outcome bias?

Outcome bias is an extension of hindsight bias, where past decisions are evaluated based on knowledge of the outcome, questioning whether the decision was good or bad.

What is the impact of police biases on investigations?

Police biases, such as confirmation and hindsight biases, can lead to flawed investigations by skewing the interpretation of evidence and the treatment of suspects.

What role does unconscious transference play in eyewitness identification?

Unconscious transference can lead witnesses to mistakenly identify a suspect based on familiarity with their photo or previous encounters.

What is the significance of the 17-hour interrogation in the Lawrence O'Connell case?

The prolonged interrogation raised concerns about the validity of the confession, as it included coercive tactics and the detective's doubts about the suspect's innocence were ignored.

How do racial disparities manifest in drug possession cases?

Racial disparities in drug possession cases are evident as Black individuals are disproportionately stopped, searched, and prosecuted.

What is the relationship between profiling and wrongful convictions?

Profiling can lead to wrongful convictions by misidentifying suspects based on biased assumptions about their characteristics.

What is the effect of police biases on witness testimonies?

Police biases can influence witness testimonies by shaping the way evidence is presented and interpreted, potentially leading to misidentification.

How does the concept of 'unconscious transference' affect eyewitness memory?

Unconscious transference affects eyewitness memory by causing witnesses to confuse a suspect with someone they have seen before, impacting the accuracy of their identification.

What is the importance of reviewing interrogation tapes in cases like Lawrence O'Connell's?

Reviewing interrogation tapes is crucial as it can reveal coercive practices, such as detectives feeding information to suspects and using threats, which can undermine the integrity of confessions.

What are the implications of the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in wrongful conviction databases?

The overrepresentation of Indigenous people in wrongful conviction databases highlights systemic biases and disparities in the criminal justice system.

What is the Reid Technique in interrogations?

A method that includes confrontation, theme development, stopping denials, overcoming objections, getting the suspect's attention, making the suspect lose resolve, presenting alternatives, bringing the suspect into conversation, and ultimately obtaining a confession.

What are some criticisms of the Reid Technique?

Criticisms include poor deception detection strategies, a focus on obtaining a confession, reliance on psychological persuasion, and the use of minimization and maximization tactics.

What does minimization refer to in interrogation tactics?

Minimization involves appealing to the suspect's self-interest or conscience and providing rationalizations for their behavior.

What does maximization refer to in interrogation tactics?

Maximization emphasizes the futility of denying involvement in the crime given the supposed evidence.

What is the Mr. Big Sting operation?

A method designed by the RCMP where undercover officers create a fictitious criminal organization to induce a target to confess, often used in cases with little evidence.

What are the potential downsides of the Mr. Big Sting operation?

It can be costly, lengthy, and drain resources, with some operations costing upwards of $300,000.

What is a false confession?

An admission to a criminal act that the confessor did not commit, often accompanied by a narrative of how and why the crime occurred.

What is a common misconception about confessions?

The false assumption that guilty people confess while innocent people do not.

What percentage of exonerations in the US and Canada involve false confessions?

13% of exonerations in the US and 15% in Canada.

What are the types of false confessions?

Types include voluntary confession, stress-compliant confession, coerced-compliant confession, coerced-persuaded confession, and non-coerced persuaded confession.

What characterizes a voluntary false confession?

A statement knowingly given with little or no police pressure, often for reasons like notoriety, attention, self-punishment, or protecting the real perpetrator.

What is a stress-compliant confession?

A confession made when a suspect is psychologically exhausted and tells the police what they want to hear to end the interrogation.

What is a coerced-compliant confession?

A confession made to earn a reward during abusive or aggressive interrogations.