Law Research Paper On Imprisonment Of Innocent People (Research Paper Sample)

IMPRISONMENT OF INNOCENT PEOPLE
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Abstract
This paper focuses on discussing the various aspects concerning erroneous convictions, which as Gould et al. (2013) stipulates, has seen innocent people being exonerated in the last three decades. The points being talked about include the central theme of the paper, the current problem being researched, and the solution to the problem. Moreover, other aspects include the opinions of critics about the problem and its solution, literature on the problem and its solution, the gaps in the literature that the solution can address, and implications of the research if successful. In conclusion, the paper determines if the aim of the paper is achieved by integrating all the information outlined in the other parts of the paper. In this regard, the body of the paper is broken down into eight sections, each of which tackles every one of the aspects mentioned above. It, therefore, is clear that the problem and its solution are the foundations in which this paper is embedded. The problem being talked about is the imprisonment of innocent people while the solution to that involves the integration of the Judicial System (JS) and the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to enable Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) to work in close collaboration with the judiciary.
Keywords: Judicial System, Law Enforcement Agencies, Law Enforcement Officers
IMPRISONMENT OF INNOCENT PEOPLE
Introduction
The central subject of this paper that is the basis of this particular research is the imprisonment of innocent people. This activity is often the responsibility of the judiciary branch of any government around the globe (Canes-Wrone et al., 2012). That government branch, at times referred to as the JS, is enriched with the power and authority to translate and apply the law, arbitrate legitimate debate, and administer justice. From this description, it is clear that the JS is a system of courts, which means that the people usually involved in the same include the judges (Canes-Wrone et al., 2012), magistrates, barristers, prosecutors, and so on.
Even though the JS is tasked with the roles already mentioned, those particular responsibilities would not be in existence without the LEAs and LEOs whose duties are to present people believed to have committed criminal activities to the JS. McMains and Mullins (2014) portray that the LEAs are involved with enforcing laws by managing crises and ensuring that the LEOs make arrests where necessary. Some of the LEAs within a country include federal LEA, Local LEA, and State LEA. As for the LEOs, they include the special jurisdiction police, local police, highway patrol, sheriffs, and so forth. Despite having these institutions to ensure error-free convictions, it is evident from various research that many innocent people are still being imprisoned.
The Current Problem
The theme of the paper presented above brings forth the current problem being researched, which is wrongful convictions. Thompson (2012) explains that the wrongful convictions demonstrate that occasionally decisions that the JS make whereby it is stated that an individual is guilty to the point that no doubt can arise to that effect is often dead wrong. These guilty verdicts that are usually erroneous regularly rest on three sorts of focal, and frequently questionable, lay witness declaration. They include the identification testimony of the eyewitness, the testimony of a police officer concerning the confession of a defendant, and the testimony of a police informant concerning the implicating statements of a defendant.
Dissimilar to the testimony of other lay witnesses, the testimony generated by the police regarding criminal situations is regularly rendered inconsistent by coercive or suggestive conducts of the police or by the motivations of the police to lie (Thompson, 2012). This fact presents itself as one of the current primary problems that lead to the issue of imprisoning innocent people. Furthermore, it is a basic component that recognizes different types of testimonial prove from this sort of confirmation. The part of the police in acquiring these statements is a vital factor in surveying the consistent quality of confessions, the testimony of informants, and the identification of the eyewitnesses. In this regard, the current problem that leads to the imprisonment of innocent people is with the part being played by the LEOs (police).
The Possible Solution
The suitable solution to the problem explained above is the integration of the two frameworks involved with arrest and imprisonment of individuals, which can be easily identified as the LEAs and the JS respectively. This integration should be accompanied by various changes to the manner in which the two frameworks being talked about undertake their exercises. For instance, when considering the LEAs, the primary change should be militarizing the domestic policing (Hall & Coyne, 2013). The two authors stipulate that if changes in the technology have been critical in the development of government as a whole, it has been indispensable in the extension of the American military as well as those of other countries and the militarization of domestic policing.
Enhancements in observation and data innovation are undeniably vital in the present operations of the police and military strengths both locally and abroad. Hall and Coyne (2013) explain that progresses in the innovations concerning computers have altogether diminished the expenses of the social affair about a wide range of data. Exercises such as wrongdoing mapping, assembling and getting to criminal histories, and suspect observing, which was once outlandish or could be brought out just through many hours of on location observation and other work in the fields, can presently be directed using the utilization of the web and other technical tactics. Furthermore, advancements once utilized only by the army like facial-acknowledgment frameworks, imaging, checking of the satellite, and scanners of the retina, are currently consistently exchanged to also, used by police officers in the various nation around the world for domestic exercises (Dempsey & Forst, 2013).
Such developments have opened the entryway for the militarization of the domestic policing as well as encouraged the simple exchange of military abilities to domestic police strengths. Since the LEAs will always be obtaining crucial information about criminals and their activities due to these technological advancements, their integration with the JS now comes in to avoid convictions of innocent people. For illustration, all the information and data about a specific case should be presented to the JS in real time to avoid cases that take place later such as lies and exaggerations. This fact means that the JS should have a server that records the information from the LEAs about potential cases of crime that will be dealt with in the courts of law.
If a criminal activity takes place, and the police officers are at the scene collecting evidence and recording witnesses’ accounts, this information should be directed to the LEAs in real time using video cameras as well as voice recordings (Dempsey & Forst, 2013). From the LEAs, the info should be transferred to the servers of the JS such that the judges and magistrates can review the information before and even during the court proceedings. In such a case, distortion of information and evidence would be difficult because all the parties involved will already have the first-hand information. Imprisonment of innocent people, therefore, might be significantly reduced if not alleviated altogether.
Critics’ Opinions about the Problem and the Solution
During the preparation of undertaking this research as well as the time of conducting it saw various critics bring forth diverse opinions about the viewpoints of the problem and the solution already presented in this paper. Some critics lamented that the problem involving imprisonment of innocent people (Reiman & Leighton, 2015) is not a key issue in the globe today since it is always rare to find a police officer being coerced or lying in a court of law. In fact, such critics believe that where there is smoke, there is a fire in that an individual accused of doing something must have had a hand in that particular criminal activity.
In this regard, they say that even if the person did not perform the actual crime, he or she might have aided the individual who did, which makes him or her guilty as well. Similarly, some say that the majority of the JS, as well as the LEAs, are usually thorough in whatever they always do. For this reason, they believe that the chances of a person found guilty being innocent are very slim. They, therefore, also suggest that the theme of this paper is not a problem as such.
As for the solution, the integration of the two frameworks explained above, which can be made possible due to the technological advancements today (Douglas et al., 2013), has as well received massive criticism. Some of the critics claim that providing the JS with a server that records all the criminal activities taking place cannot be possible. They say it will require a server with a massive amount of space to be able to record all the criminal info. Similarly, others say that this solution will increase the workload of the judges, magistrates, and other people involved with the JS. They conclude that this increase in the workload might lead to more errors during the court proceedings since the judges and magistrates will be forced to go through a broad scope of information before eventually coming up with a verdict.
In the same note, other individuals believe that the solution might not work basing their argument on the fact that information and data transfer from police officers to the LEAs and then to the JS might n...