Wrongly
Convicted
Price: $23.95
Subtitle: Perspectives on Failed Justice
Author: Edited by Saundra D. Westervelt
and John A. Humphrey
Foreword: Michael L. Radelet
Paper ISBN 0-8135-2952-2
Pages: 288 pp.
Subject: Public Policy/Criminal Studies
Praise for Wrongly Convicted
"The contributors to this collection discuss the many ways in
which innocent criminal defendants can be convicted in a system that
places great emphasis on protecting them. Some involve culpability:
brutal or racially biased police and other officials, treacherous
informants, and incompetent attorneys. . . . Recommended for
upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty."Choice
"An all-star set of contributors and clearly written essays
make this a worthwhile addition to anti-death penalty literatures.
Westervelt and Humphrey take a practical approach to the topic. Essays
in Part 1 show that eyewitnesses are often wrong, police trick suspects
into making confessions, informants lie to gain benefits, and police
can be incompetent or venal. Part 2 argues that those who are
unpopular, uneducated, or members of a racial minority invite harsher
treatment by authorities. The next section offers case studies on
convictions that were wrongly obtained. . . . This excellent
introduction to a controversial topic is highly recommended."-Library
Journal
"A very powerful addition to the debate on capital
punishment."-George Kelling, author of Fixing Broken Windows:
Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities
Description:
The American criminal justice system contains numerous
safeguards to prevent the conviction of innocent persons. The Bill of
Rights provides nineteen separate rights for the alleged criminal
offender. Despite these safeguards, wrongful convictions persist, and
the issue has reverberated in the national debate over capital
punishment.
The essays in this volume are written from a
cross-disciplinary perspective by some of the most eminent lawyers,
criminologists, and social scientists in the field today. The most
important single characteristic among wrongful conviction cases, the
contributors argue, is chronic denial of the existence of a problem by
politicians and prosecutors and their failure to act decisively when
evidence of a possible wrongful conviction comes to light.
The articles are divided into four sections: the causes of
wrongful convictions, the social characteristics of the wrongly
convicted, case studies and personal histories, and suggestions for
changes in the criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions.
Contributors examine a broad range of issues, including the fallibility
of eyewitness testimony, particularly in cross-racial identifications;
the disadvantages faced by racial and ethnic minorities in the criminal
justice system; and the impact of new technologies, especially DNA
evidence, in freeing the innocent and bringing the guilty to justice.
Contributors:
James R. Acker, Hugo Adam Bedau, Adele Bernhard, George Castelle, Mari
A. DeWees, Daniel Givelber, William M. Holmes, Richard A. Leo, William
S. Lofquist, Elizabeth F. Loftus, Dianne L. Martin, Peter Neufeld,
Karen F. Parker, Michael L. Radelet, Barry Scheck, Margaret Vandiver,
and Clifford S. Zimmerman.
Saundra D. Westervelt is an assistant professor of
sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is
author of Shifting the Blame: How Victimization Became a Criminal
Defense (Rutgers University Press). John A. Humphrey is a
professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro and coauthor of Deviant Behavior and The Administration
of Justice.
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Price: $23.95
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