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Title: Wrongly Convicted: Perspectives on Failed Justice by Saundra D. Westervelt, Saundra D. Westervelt, John A. Humphrey, Michael L. Radelet ISBN: 0-8135-2952-2 Publisher: Rutgers University Press Pub. Date: July, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: Superb book, a must-read tour de force
Comment: This is a simply-superb collection of essays/articles on the topic of what can lead to the criminal conviction, and even execution, of suspects who turn out to be, in fact, innocent of the crime they were arrested for.
The points made and facts shown in this book should be part of a mandatory curriculum in high school, especially in view of the media onslaught of incorrect ideas of the criminal process. Most TV dramas reinforce the false "Perry Mason" idea that a successful defense attorney must not only show the prosecution has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, but ALSO must come up with the truly guilty person, who will confess on the witness stand. Broadcast and print journalists insist on saying the defendant pled or was found "innocent," when the correct term is "not guilty." (There's a world of difference between "innocent" which means morally blameless, and "not guilty" which means putting the state to its burden of proof.) The "tough cop" who ignores the inconveniences of the Constitution is as much a hero in fiction, as the "slimy defense attorney" who defends the always-guilty defendant is a villain. All these might be entertaining, but they create a mindset among jurors who decide real-life guilt.
_Wrongly Convicted_ addresses the hard real-life questions of how things can go so wrong that an innocent person (one who had nothing to do with the crime) can wind up convicted and even executed.
Would an innocent suspect sign a confession? Yes; he's coerced into believing it's actually in his interest.
What characteristics of a crime most frequently create a rush to judgment with the conviction of an innocent person? A heinous crime, a marginalized or "outsider" suspect, and/or unreliable evidence.
How do prosecutors avoid their requirement of disclosing facts helpful to the defense (exculpatory evidence)?
Are informants reliable? Why not?
Can fingerprint and DNA evidence be faked? Has it?
What is the role of race?
What role does the disparity of resources available to the government and defense play in conviction of the innocent?
What changes can we make to prevent these convictions of the innocent?
Each essay is well-written. In books like this, the editor must steer a course between overly-scholarly and overly-popular writing. The editors have chosen a middle course. The writing is not so popular that it reads like People Magazine, yet the editors use text with multiple subheadings and just the right amount of quoted material, so that it's very readable. Each essay is followed by its notes and extensive references. There is an extensive Index covering the entire book. The book concludes at a very non-ponderous 280 pages of text.
My only wish is that, in addition to the current book, the editors and authors could produce a high school version, perhaps 40-50 pages of the main points and pertinent examples, suitable to inclusion in a social studies curriculum.
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Title: Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make It Right by Jim Dwyer, Peter Neufeld, Barry Scheck ISBN: 0451203658 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 06 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: In Spite of Innocence: Erroneous Convictions in Capital Cases by Michael L. Radelet, Hugo Adam Bedau, Constance E. Putnam ISBN: 1555531970 Publisher: Northeastern University Press Pub. Date: September, 1994 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Actual Innocence : Five Days to Execution, and Other Dispatches From the Wrongly Convicted by Peter Neufeld, Jim Dwyer, Barry Scheck ISBN: 038549341X Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 15 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Presumed Guilty: When Innocent People Are Wrongly Convicted by Martin Yant ISBN: 0879756438 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: April, 1991 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Convicted but Innocent : Wrongful Conviction and Public Policy by C. Ronald Huff, Arye Rattner, Edward Sagarin ISBN: 0803959532 Publisher: Sage Publications Pub. Date: 23 January, 1996 List Price(USD): $43.95 |
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