DNA Exoneration Cases

The central argument Grann proposes in his article is that the death penalty should be removed because without the implication of clear forensic evidence, we can never be truly sure if an individual is guilty. He ends his essay with a statement from the commission claiming that, “There is a chance, however, that Texas could become the first state to acknowledge

This past legislative session saw a major win for the wrongly convicted with H.B. 48. H.B. 48 creates a commission to review convictions after exoneration and aims to prevent wrongful conviction. This bill is a supported across the political spectrum on the part of author Ruth Jones McClendon (D) and Sen. Rodney Ellis (D) along with joint authors Rep. Jeff Leach (R), Rep. David Simpson (R), Rep. Abel Herrero (D), Rep. Joe Moody (D) and The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice.

With the number of DNA exonerations growing in the recent years, wrongful convictions reveal disturbing trends and fissures in the justice system. It shows how broken the system is, and why it needs urgent fixing. According to Huff (1996), over ten thousand people are convicted wrongfully for serious crimes each year. This study established that factors leading to wrongful convictions are false eyewitnesses, a prejudiced jury, incompetent prosecutors, and suspects’ ignorance. Where DNA evidence clears a suspect, array of reasons emerge; misconduct, mistakes, to race and class factors. It is important to make DNA data available to attorneys in order to enable them mount a strong

This criminal code is one of the most sophisticated in the country and has become a model for other states to follow. But research studies conducted to compare effects of the death penalty nationwide have shown some conflicting results. Comparison studies done to show homicide rates of retentionist and abolitionist jurisdictions from 1999 to 2001 (Sorenson & Pilgrim) have shown that death penalty states tend to have a higher murder rate than abolitionist states. This result creates the argument of the overall deterrent effect of execution. Texas is still in the top 20 of states with the highest homicide rate even though it is the highest in death penalty executions. “If the death penalty were a deterrent, the argument goes, then Texas should be located among those states with the lowest homicide rates” (Sorenson & Pilgrim, P. 25).

These studies show that it is possible that 52,000 up to 113,00 human beings in America are serving a prison sentence for a crime that they never committed. Each and every one of these inmates’ wrongful convictions were caused by some flawed method or procedure. Out of the exonerees that The Innocence Project has proven innocent through the use of DNA, 240 out of the 337, or 71%, were incarcerated in part because of eyewitness misidentification. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson’s unjust conviction was caused in part by eyewitness misidentification. Another 19% of these wrongful convictions came from inexplicably atrocious legal advice or false confessions.

In 1987 in Texas, a prosecutor was faced with this dilemma. Michael Morton was convicted of murdering his wife based on circumstantial evidence. Morton’s defense attorney was never told about, or given access to, the police report in which Morton’s three year old son had told police that his daddy had not killed his mommy. After serving 25 years for murdering his wife, Morton was exonerated after attorneys were finally given access to the police report and DNA testing of a bloody bandana found at the scene of the murder matched a man who was serving a sentence for the murder of another woman.

There were 29 exonerations in North America in 2010, according to The Innocence Project, one of the leaders in reviewing suspect convictions and fighting for reversals or outright exoneration.

I am sided with the right to allow DNA Analysis for a crime a suspect is convicted for committing but is pledging not guilty in the trial. About 0.5% convictions of crime are the innocent serving jail time in prison or death row and are not even the actual suspect of the crime scene putting other people at fault of those who have not done any harm. This even violates an individual’s right of freedom as they are being wrongfully accused and imprisoned. These people who are being accused should have the right to be proven they are not the suspect by true accurate DNA analysis over false eyewitness or misidentification as even it can be used as an importance of pulling vital clues regarding the perpetrator of a crime in which a victim’s condition is unrecognizable to family or friends.

DNA evidence is extremely helpful in criminal trials not only because it can determine the guilt of a suspect, but also because it can keep innocent people from going to jail. The suspect must leave a sample of their DNA at the crime scene in order for testing to occur, but DNA can be found in the form of many things such as semen, blood, hair, saliva, or skin scrapings. According to Newsweek, "thousands of people have been convicted by DNA's nearly miraculous ability to search out suspects across space and time… hundreds of innocent people have also been freed, often after years behind bars, sometimes just short of the death chamber" (Adler ). Though some may think it is a waste of time to go

In 1992, Anthony Graves was convicted for assisting in multiple murders, only because Robert Carter, the murderer, testified that he helped him (Rogers). Two weeks before Carter was set to be executed, Carter "provided a sworn statement" that he lied about Graves being his accomplice (Rogers). The growing suspicion over the years led to a new trial, and the charges against Graves were finally dismissed in 2010 (Rogers). This illustrates how flawed the criminal justice system is because even though no evidence led to prove that an innocent man committed a crime, the state relied so much on a person's testimony without questioning it or being at least somehow skeptical about it. In 2013, Texas ranked first in the list of the most wrongful conviction exoneration in the nation (King). Although not all criminals subjected to death penalty are all wrongful convictions, the fact that Texas tops this list raises

Every time an innocent person is exonerated based on DNA testing, law enforcement agencies look at what caused the wrongful convictions. There are many issues that contribute to putting guiltless lives behind bars including: eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, imperfect forensic science, and more (Gould and Leo 18). When a witness is taken into a police station to identify a suspect, it is easy for their memories to be blurred and their judgment influenced. This can lead the witness to identify a suspect who is actually innocent. Flawed forensic science practice also contributes to wrongful imprisonments. In the past, analysts have been inaccurate due to carelessness, testified in court presenting evidence that was not based

One of the pretrial DNA evidence issues is discovery issue, which involves the duty to maintain or expose evidence. The law of jurisdiction and constitutional mandate can decide the duty for each case. The second issue is the exposure time, for the mandate and for the parties and court. The police or prosecution is not required to maintain all potential evidence. The crucial distinction is between materially relevant evidence and potentially beneficial evidence. Police loss or destruction of evidence that is potentially useful that may prove innocence if tested, does not violate due process "unless a criminal defendant can show bad faith on the part of the police."

False confessions have been a leading factor in destroying the lives of many innocent people. Since the advances of technology, victims of false confessions have been exonerated from the charges previously placed on them while others are still fighting for innocence or died a criminal. One technological advance that has exonerated many individuals is DNA testing. According to Randy James, DNA testing was discovered in 1985 and was first used in court to convict Tommie Lee Andrews (Time, 2009). Today many Americans are convicted because of false confessions that have not yet been overturned with new evidence (Kassin, 2014). Although DNA testing has led to freedom for many innocent Americans, there are still many innocent people who are locked

Because no has no same DNA that what make so unique in characteristics. Back in the 80's technology wasn't as good as it now and a lot of people have been sent to prison for crime they didn't commit. Now with the change of technology cold cases has been reopened and solved and people who were sent to prison for crimes they didn't commit are now being exonerated do to DNA evidence and the change of technology. DNA play a huge role in the criminal justice system and without the use of DNA to solve crimes I believe that a lot crimes wouldn't be able to be solved. Good post!

According to a 1987 study published in the Stanford Law Review, at least 23 non-culpable individuals have been executed from 1900 to 1987, which is more than one innocent execution every four years. These miscarriages of justice are often due to evidence that was not discovered or made available until after the execution. Although recent scientific improvements, such as forensic DNA evidence, have enabled investigators to more accurately pinpoint guilt in a suspect, no current amount of scientific or technological advancement can completely guarantee that errors will never be made. In an issue such as the death penalty, where the stakes are so high – human life – any margin of error, no matter how minuscule, is unacceptable.