In 2001, the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Law School analyzed the cases of 86 death row exonerees. They found a number of reasons why innocent people are wrongly convicted in capital cases.
>>>>Original info can be found here: all rights go to deathpenaltyinfo.org
Note: Nearly half of the cases included more than one reason for a wrongful conviction. Therefore the total of the cases in the chart equals more than 86.
Key to the Graph:
eyewitness error - from confusion or faulty memory.
government misconduct - by both the police and the prosecution
junk science - mishandled evidence or use of unqualified "experts"
snitch testimony - often given in exchange for a reduction in sentence
false confessions - resulting from mental illness or retardation, as well as from police torture
other - hearsay, questionable circumstantial evidence, etc.
government misconduct - by both the police and the prosecution
junk science - mishandled evidence or use of unqualified "experts"
snitch testimony - often given in exchange for a reduction in sentence
false confessions - resulting from mental illness or retardation, as well as from police torture
other - hearsay, questionable circumstantial evidence, etc.
•People with mental disabilities have often falsely confessed because they are tempted to accommodate and agree with authority figures. Further, many law enforcement interrogators are not given any special training on questioning suspects with mental disabilities. An impaired mental state due to mental illness, drugs or alcohol may also elicit false admissions of guilt.
Thinking Time!!! :)
What do you guys think about this? Atleast 8 men/ women were wrongly convicted because of false confessions. Please rermember, 8 lives sentenced to die is big considering that these men and/ or women gave FALSE CONFESSIONS! They didn't committ the crime and still took the blame for it. Also, you have to take into consideration that this is just ONE case study from ONLY ONE year! (2001). Imagine how many more could have been sentenced to death in the time span between then and now. Ten years later, imagine how many could be sitting on death row as we speak, with mental dissabilites that caused them to falsely confess!! It's astounding to believe that even one can slip through and be incorrectly sentenced to die but 8?? Wow! Feel free to comment on your thoughts to this. Do you think this is evidence enough to need more extensive evaluations put in place?
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