Phenom of innocence & wrongful conviction

Once a crime(Or is believed to) What do police officers look for?

Witnesses, evidence, and suspects

What is eyewitness misidentification?

when a witness to an event or crime identifies the wrong perpetrator

What are types of memory?

Episodic ,semantic, script, and procedural

What is episodic memory?

A warehouse of experience, circumstances, and feelings

What is semantic memory?

Facts and general knowledge

What is script memory?

Abstract recollections

What is procedural memory?

Skills( ex Riding a bike)

T/f Human memory is reliable

False: Your memory is unreliable and is not like a camera. Memories can be forgotten or altered and can impact circumstances.

Is facial recognition technology reliable?

facial recognition software is significant less reliable, especially for people of color. First wrongful arrest was January 2020

What is an estimator variable?

Witness – related factors that are beyond the control of the investigator ( ex: The distance between the eyewitness and the crime scene, or the eyewitness’s age, or eyesight acuity)

What is the most accurate age group for Witnesses/estimator variables… children, young adults, older adults?

Young adults are most accurate

What is cross-race effect?

When individuals were recognized or identify people from their own racial background more accurately than they would identify somebody from another Rachel background

What is weapon focus effect?

When I witnesses tend to focus on a weapon, therefore diminishing their memory for the perpetrator

What causes weapon focus affect?

Increased arousal

What is crime seriousness effect?

When the seriousness of the crime influences our memory due to Increased arousal ( Very serious crimes might increase arouse too much and lead to less accurate identification)

What are system variables?

A process or procedure that those within the justice system can employ to better extract accurate information from witnesses (ex: Properly administering a lineup, or letting the witness know that the culprit may not actually be in the lineup)

What is a police lineup?

A series of similar looking individual individuals(Either by photo or live) to an eyewitness who was asked to choose a person that they saw during the crime

What are fillers (Foils) In a police lineup?

Individuals used to create the lineup But our comprised of people who are not suspected to be involved

What is a double blind lineup?

When the Police do not know who the suspect is and who the fillers are

What is a sequential lineup?

One suspects are shown one at a time:

it relies on memory recall and more accurate identification, and less misidentification

What is post event information?

When police can influence witnesses through verbal and nonverbal cues during the identification process

What is a subtle influence during witness line up instructions?

One statements are Implicitly cautioning the witness to choose a certain person or not choose a certain person

What is similar influence during police lineup witness instructions?

When Prompts to identify the person that is most similar to the perpetrator

What is a show up?

What a witness is showing one person rather than a lineup.

It’s not always done at a police station, at least reliable of all identification, procedure procedures, and tends to bias and pressure witnesses

What is stereotyping?

When broad and simplified assumptions about all members from a group are made ( Usually black, indigenous And immigrants)

What is profiling?

The process of identifying the personality and behaviour treats of the offender, as well as as biological, demographic and geographic descriptors based on the characteristics of the crime scene and crime scene evidence

T/F Black people are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, and prosecuted into routine drug possession case cases

True Black people are more likely to stop due to stereotyping and filing

2/F indigenous people are under represented in CRWC database

False : Indigenous people in Canada are over represented 21% versus 5%

T/F Black people are more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than white people?

True: Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted and black murder exonerees spent three years longer in prison than white murder Exonérées

What is Tunnel Vision?

Focussing on a particular theory and dismissing evidence which contradicts that theory, selecting filing evidence on the basis that the suspect is guilty, while ignoring or suppressing evidence that point away from that guilt

it’s human nature and part of our mental process

Where Are types of police spies?

Confirmation bias, hindsight, bias, outcome, bias

What is confirmation bias?

Unconsciously fairy information that supports their conclusion, ignoring evidence that contradicts conclusion

What is hindsight bias?

“ knew- it all – along effect”, Mixing new and old information, re-analyzing the evidence from an event in light of the Outcome, Making an evaluation of the predictability of an event

What is outcome bias?

It is an extension of hindsight, bias, making an evaluation on the quality of past decisions, based on knowledge about the outcome

What is the read technique?

Focusses on a confession, psychological persuasion stop denials theme development

What is Mr. Big interrogation tactic?

A method signed by the RCMP involving undercover officers creating a fiction. She has criminal organization, inducing the target to make a full confession, used in case it was very little evidence.

What is a false confession?

In admission to a criminal act – usually accompanied by a narrative of how and why the crime occurred, That the confessor did not commit

What percentage of exoneree fools confessed?

13% of exonerations in US/15% of exonerations in Canada

Why do false confessions happen?

Desire for notoriety , Attention or fame, need for selfish punishment, and ability to distinguish facts from fantasy

What is policeman misconduct?

When official misconduct that contributed to a criminal conviction that was ultimately reversed by exoneration ( ex: Planting/destroying evidence, chorus, and witness/confession, lying in reports)

These are typically hidden our purpose

Why do officers engage in misconduct?

• pervasive practises that permit or reward

• Lack of remorse to train, supervise, and conduct high-quality investigations and prosecution

• Ineffective leadership by police, commanders, crime, lab, directors, and chief prosecutors

What is the most common type of misconduct?

Conceal exculpatory Evidence

• 44% of all exonerations, 73% of which were done by prosecutors

What is substantive evidence?

Evidence that helps prove innocence (ex: witness named another person)

What is impeachment evidence?

Evidence that undermine the prosecution‘s witness testimony ( ex: And I wouldn’t have told someone they never actually saw the crime)

T/f Ex designer looked at as more innocent when prosecutors withhold evidence

True- When prosecutors withhold evidence in exoneration cases, the public is more cuffed in the individuals in

What percentage of convictions come from guilty please?

95%, but most exaggeration cases go to trial instead(80% in US, 82% in Canada)

What is phenomenology of innocence?

A mindset that leads them to believe they have nothing to hide or fear, Might explain why innocent suspects choose to go to trial

What is a false guilty plea?

When you play guilty to a crime, he did not commit

What are the consequences of a false guilty plea?

• lose the right to appeal convictions

• Lose a right to full discovery of evidence against them

Why do people falsely plead guilty

58% of innocent defendants guilty on legal advice, lawyer recommended pleading guilty why when they believe that there is no chance at winning a trial

What is Alford pleas?

It allows the financial who don’t wish to risk their fate at trial to please go to you while simultaneously asserting their innocence (Still a guilty plea)

what are pros and cons of an Alfred Plea?

• pleas result in lighter sentence, just like other guilty pleas

• do not seem to be punished by insisting their innocence

• may perceive more negatively and less remorseful than other guilty pleaders

what is Qualified Immunity?

U.S judicial doctrine that shields public officials from liability for misconduct, even when they have broken the law

what is a defense attorney??

the wrongfully convicted individuals lawyer provided poor legal representation

what percentage of defendants cannot afford an attorney?

up to 80% defendants cannot afford an attorney, this leaves public defenders overworked and underfunded

what is Upper Court Myth??

the mistaken notion that appeals courts will correct wronful convictions of the innocent

what was the difference between judge conviction and race?

• white judges equally wiling to convict Black and white defendant where as….

• black judges more willing to convict white defendants

do judges hold implicit biases?

yes, judges hold implicit racial biases, biases are not consistent , judges can be motivated to suppress theses biases ( white judges usuallly compensate for biases, black judges may be less concerned about favouring black defendants

t/f juror, law enforcement and judges often agree with the expert witness?

false:

• jurors disagrees with the expert on 87% of the issue

• judges and law enforcement disagree with the expert on 60% of the issues

in relation to and expert witness what are the criteria?

1. necessity= add something to a cases evidence, beyond knowledge of judge and juries

2. relevance = legally relevant and reliable to the matter of the trial

3. the expert qualifications= expert is qualified to testify about the issue ( education, training, experience, publications)

4. the absence of any other rule that would exclude the evidence = general evidence rules ( character evidence, hearsay rules)

what is the Mohans test?

the criteria for admissibility of Expert witness

what percentage of expert witness lead to false/misleading evidence

29% of expert witness lead to false or misleading forensic evidence. in the US

what is in group bias?

people inherently prefer and highly Value ‘similar others’ which meaningfully distorts there associated interpretations and perceptions

what is an incentivized witness?

a witness who was in custody with the exonerated defendant and who testified that the defendant confessed to him “ a jailhouse snitch”

• most common in murder cases

what is the motivation behind being a incentivized witness?

• financial compensation ($100-$12,000)

• reduction of sentence

• better conditions of confinement

• witness protection program

• outstanding parole application

• conjugal visit

• phone call

t/f all white juries spending less time deliberating, considering fewer perspectives and make more decisions?

true; white juries take more time deliberating, while Black and Latin- American jurors are less likely to feel that they “ definitely” had enough time to express their vies during the deliberation compared to White jurors

in the US what are the top 3 issues during the investigation stage?

• eyewitness identification

• forensics

• interrogations

what are the best practices for police line ups?

• live lineups vs photo lineups

• sequential ( 1 at a time )

• min of 4 ( live) and 5 (photos) fillers who are physically similar to the suspect

• do not use police officers as fillers

• double- blind procedures

• ask for the confidence of witness

t/f in canada there are no standardized procedurs for police line ups?

true; there are not standardized procedures, leading to inconsistencies across the country, in the US only 18 states have standard procedures

what is the best practice for witness instructions?

• the true perpetrator may or may not be present

• should not feel pressured to identify someone

• the investigation will continue whether or not n identification is made

• the present officers doesn’t know the identity of the actual suspect

T/F when you get exonerated, your records get completely expunged (erased from record)

False 33% of exonerate do not get the records completely expunged

What are negative impacts of being exonerated

• Civil rights (voting, holding office, jury Service)

• Employment

• Obtaining benefits and documentation

• Law-enforcement biases

• Not provided the same services as parolees

What are the effects on families of exoneree?

• Suffered significant trauma, distress, and stigma(Worse, one victims is from the same nuclear family equals double trauma)

• Financial hardship

• Sustained by belief and innocence

• Loss of trust in the CJS

What percentage Of false confessions contribute to exoneration

13 to 15% of false confessions contribute to exoneration

When can prosecutor misconduct occur?

• Conceal see exculpatory evidence?

• Present unreliable evidence

• Eliciting false/inaccurate testimony

• Presenting flawed science evidence

• Unfair manipulation of the jury

What is voluntary false confession?

A confession Knowingly given with a little police pressure

What is stress – compliant false confession?

When you confess due to psychological exhaustion

What is core national compliant false confession?

When you confess to earn a reward

What is coerced – persuaded false confession?

When no memory but convinced that they did it through fabricated evidence or long interrogation

What is non-coerced persuaded false confession

When there is no memory of the event, but convinced they did it through settlement Manipulation

What are individual characteristics that may lead to a false confession?

age, mental illness, personality traits

what are common problems with public defenders?

• Overworked and underfunded

• Racial bias may be used to triage cases

• Used by seven and 10 DNA exonerate

How can judges decisions lead to wrongful conviction?

• Which expert witness they allow

• Which evidence they admit or exclude

• Which trial errors they deemed harmful or harmless

What are recommendations on how to eliminate cop culture?

• Training on ethics, Aunty – discrimination, and minority relations

• Create a “code of investigation” with the voicemail mechanisms

• Carry an investigation review department

• Provide public access to police Disciplinary files

• Established police misconduct database

• Qualified immunity

What are solutions for Better interrogations?

-Record entire interrogation

• Special rules from Morris susceptible population ( ex Trans. Professionals to interview children)

• Years cognitive interview or peace model

Where are four steps of a cognitive interview?

• Context reinstatement

• Comprehensive Reporting report everything they can remember

• Variety of order

• Variety of perspective (Nothing suggestive, it’s supposed to be open any questions

What does peace model stand for?

Planning and preparation, engage and explain, account, closure, evaluation

What does PEACE model focus on

Information gathering, and report building

What is conviction integrity units?

A division of prosecutorial office that worked prevent identity, and remedy false for convictions ( miscarriage of justice review commission)

What are some suggested Solutions for expert testimonies?

• A Karrot practice and standard for forensic science, activities, and regulation board for forensic science

• Using appropriate language (Everyday language)

• Avoid overseeing opinions, but ensure they are understandable

• Enhancing communication with justice system participants

in what countries is accountability lacking individuals in systemic levels of the justice system

Canada, US, and Australia

Recommendation… Ben and qualified community

What are solutions for incentivized witnesses?

• Regulate jailhouse, informant testimony

• Obtain corroboration for testimony/restrict what is not cooperated

We are ways to help regulate plea deals?

• Eliminate mandatory sentences (this could decrease need to something lesser

• Eliminate the trial penalty/regulate sending discounts

• Ensure competent defence lawyers

• Improve bail and remain facilities

• Do not preclude false confessors from compensation

In relation to advocacy, where are five reform goals?

• Dismissing low – level drug possession charges

• Avoiding over penalization, particularly for victim crimes

• Declining to prosecute weak cases

• Communicating with the defence through mitigation and discovery

• Promoting racial equity in complete process and outcomes

What is institutionalization?

The process by which inmates are shaped and transformed by the institutional environment in which they live

What does institutionalization look like?

• depends on institution structure

• Hypervigilance, distress, suspicion

• Psychological distancing, withdrawal, isolation

• Dismiss sense of words, value, and PTSD

What is pains of imprisonment?

Prolonged adaption to the deprivation and frustrations of life inside prison that threaten greater psychological distress and potential long-term disfunction

We are eight minute analysis, themes On wrongful conviction

1. Change in self- identity

2. Stigma

3. Physical mental health

4. Relationships with others

5. Attitude towards CJS

6. Finances/ employment

What are consequences of maintaining innocent and prison?

• Perceptions of risk. (ex: Refuse privileges, use as higher risk to refund her.)

• Indeterminate sentence (ex: Limited opportunity for parole, uncertainty of appeals.)

Released from prison, what are three multi faced process and uprooting ( Refugee model)

1. Government oppression (Misconduct, unfair trial)

2. Traumas (violence, detention, exposure to torture, disappearance of family, and friends, separation and loss, hardship.)

3. Exile/culture shock (isolation, separation, emotional upheaval – Both upon conviction and released)