Hey everyone! Second week of my research journey consisted of me questioning why I even wanted to do this project. Why is research so important? Reading the
Craft of Research, I realized that people devote their entire lives to getting answers. Teachers, scientists, analysts all work hours and hours to produce research, that is the backing for scientific discoveries, new technologies and products. Research contributes to the wealth of knowledge in the universe, gets rid of prejudices and hatred and expands your own bank of knowledge. With the push and motivation I needed, I began to write my outline. My essay will be a 20 page pager regarding the research questions that I talked about in my Week 1 blog post. One of my main topics involves the causes of wrongful convictions. Looking at the percentage of exoneration data, I came upon this interesting chart:
A fair percentage, about 27% is from false confessions, which brings us to the question, what causes false confessions? Law enforcement officers and prosecutors with their own agendas are a major influential factor. Along with the defendant's own lawyer telling him/her that this is the best plea deal- it's either confess to this crime and get 15 years versus don't confess, go to trial, and potentially serve life in prison. Analyzing the other causes is my plan for Week 3.
Hey Laiba. I think your topic is really interesting! I think its terrible that so many people are basically pressured into giving a false confession so that their punishment is less.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Kinza :) Yup, it is incredibly sad, and it really can ruin so many lives.
DeleteHey! So will people only be considered innocent if there is actual proof? Because it seems really unfair that regardless if they committed the crime they're still going to be punished. Or is it just really unlikely they'll be proven innocent during trial?
ReplyDeleteHey! So will people only be considered innocent if there is actual proof? Because it seems really unfair that regardless if they committed the crime they're still going to be punished. Or is it just really unlikely they'll be proven innocent during trial?
ReplyDeleteTrials in criminal cases depend on juries. If the jury ends up being sympathetic to the defendant then they are less likely to be convicted. You are innocent until proven guilty in the trial, but if you go to jail, to be exonerated you need to have proof that yes in fact you did not commit the crime you were accused of. Nothing in life is fair, no matter how hard the justice system tries otherwise. :(
Delete