Hi everyone! More research again this week. Hopefully in the coming weeks I can meet with the Justice Project of Arizona's representative to get personal experience with the project's goals and people. This week's research is made up of writing my rough draft and organizing my paper. The major method of exoneration occurs through DNA testing so I decided to look into that process and how it is admissible in court. Some courts will not even consider DNA test results post conviction. The only way to bypass this disadvantage is through DNA- testing statutes. Sometimes there is DNA that could have been tested at the site of the crime scene, but it doesn't even come into consideration! Preservation of the DNA is also very important, but there aren't many laws that address this issue. There are also denied petitions for testing, and some laws don't allow appeals for the denied petitions. Other laws say that DNA is completely inadmissible if the defendant plead guilty to a crime-which they were probably coerced into doing so- this results in a vicious cycle where they can not be exonerated.
Story of the Day: Exactly a month ago, on February 23rd, Vanessa Gathers was the first woman to have her conviction overturned by the Conviction Review Unit. In 1991, Gathers was convicted of robbing and assaulting a man and spent 10 years in prison. The evidence used in the trial involved her confession which she was most likely coerced into. This case came into review because the detective who was working the case and had received the confession was jailed and accused of putting innocent people in jail. The progress being made on cases is astounding, and with more resources, and funds the pain and suffering of countless numbers of people can end.
Hi Laiba,
ReplyDeleteCould you explain what the "Conviction Review Unit" is? Is it the sole body for overturning wrongful convictions?
If so, why do you think it took so long for the first woman ever to have her conviction overturned?
Love reading your blog.
Rohini
Hi Rohini! Thanks for reading and your interest :) The Conviction Review Unit is not the sole body. It is just a particular organization that helps exonerate. As I mentioned in earlier blogs, the Innocence Project also helps to exonerate, so no it is not the sole body. The Conviction Review Unit was created by Brooklyn District Attorny Ken Thompson to look into questionable cases. See the thing is there are just so so many cases that it is virtually impossible to quickly go through each and give to it the justice it deserves. It is also surprising to me that this is the first woman case. But you have to realize that a lot of criminal cases involve rapes which involve men. The second factor probably is that the detective who helped convict this woman is now in jail for questionable convictions so that helped shed light on this case now rather than earlier when the detective was not in jail. Hope this answers your question!
ReplyDelete