Lesson 8 blog
Why the Pennsylvania Innocence project is important
When the founding fathers wrote the sixth amendment promising that in all criminal prosecutions, “the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed…” they were in no way able to foresee a future where news and information is available everywhere on a 24/7 basis (U. S. Constitution, n.d.). News, opinions, biases, rumors, innuendo, fake news, and conspiracy theories have found a way to infiltrate and sometimes undermine the true intent of this amendment.
The issue of bias having the ability to impact the criminal justice system is evident in jury participants, collection of evidence, interrogations, eyewitness reports, and lineups (Lesson 8, The Legal System, n.d.). The theory of perceptual bias – “errors that distort the perception process – that in turn lead to faulty judgments”(Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012, p.220) contributes to problems with the process at all levels. Whether the tendency is to view behaviors through a lens of halo effect (overall impression), or first impressions error, or in the case of self-fulfilling prophecy when prior expectations lead to expected results, there are many ways that biases impede the search for justice (Schneider et al., p. 221-223. According to Schneider, Gruman and Coutts “social psychological research, guided by social psychological theory, has played a significant role in identifying possible sources of bias and error that occurs during police investigations” (Schneider et al., 2012).
The effect of bias in the criminal justice system has in some cases resulted in an unfair conviction. The mission statement of The Pennsylvania Innocence Project is “to exonerate those convicted of crimes they did not commit and to prevent innocent people from being convicted” (Pennsylvania Innocence, n.d.). Started in 2008, with assistance from law students at Villanova and Temple University worked with Davis Richman and David Rudovsky to identify cases of the convicted innocent and work to have those cases reviewed and to improve the criminal justice system. In 2016 five additional law schools have joined the project, including Duquesne, Pitt, Penn, Drexel, and Rutgers (Pennsylvania Innocence, n.d.).
In 2012 the Act4Innocence Campaign was initiated “to support the implementation of practices that will better protect the innocent such as revitalized eyewitness identification procedures, required recording of police interrogations of suspects, and increased oversight of government jailhouse informants” (Pennsylvania Innocence, n.d.).
The project reports that DNA testing has provided undeniable evidence that exonerates those convicted of a crime that was based on eyewitness testimony. In a blog post by Jake Kind, law student, he states: “In a judicial case, lawyers present a depiction of reality through storytelling apparatuses, such as pieces of evidence, witnesses, and experts in certain fields. In turn, the judge or each jury member amasses a personal collection of information that he/she then uses to form a decision. Every judge and juror has an individual bias and viewpoint. That is how we practice law. In turn, bias pervades even the sanctity of the courtroom” (Kind, n.d.).
Accepting that bias exists and developing strategies to address the impact of this bias has been part of the Innocence Project and now it needs to be proactively addressed by applied social psychologists, law enforcement, and the legal system. It is time that we work to support the intent of the sixth amendment and turn down the noise of bias that has hijacked the system.
References
Kind, J. (n.d.). The partiality for bias: why understanding bias is integral to discussing innocence. Retrieved from http://innocenceprojectpa.org/partiality-bias-understanding-bias-integral-discussing-innocence-guest-post-jake-kind/
Lesson 8: the legal system/criminal justice [Lecture notes]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/fa17/21781–15384/content/09_lesson/printlesson.html
Pennsylvania innocence project. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://innocenceprojectpa.org/
Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Coutts, L. (Eds.). (2012). Applied social psychology (Second ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
U.S. Constitution. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf
Innocence Projects are definitely important. I did not hear about an innocent project until recently in my life. I am glad to learn that people are fighting for real justice even after it has supposedly been served. One can be very wrong to think the justice system is fair. I also think about the stigma that involves crime and jail. I guess is good to take a closer look because there are people that did not belong behind bars. For me, is very inspiring to learn that people heard their voices. Many mistakes and errors contribute to wrongful incarceration. Schneider, Gruman & Coutts explain that there are many variables that influence the process of investigation and result in terrible mistakes like blaming someone who is truly innocent. From, investigations, personal opinions, emotions, interviews, subject identification- to the courtroom, and even jury size, Schneider et al, explain that mistakes are made and it is a serious issue (2012). Just errors in subject identification during police lineups contributed to more than 75% of 258 criminal cases where the convicted person was found innocent with DNA testing (Schneider et al., 2012, p. 258). This is not counting, for instance, wrongful interrogations that lead to innocent people to confess to crimes they did not commit. It is hard to turn back a confession but is possible is false.
The Innocence Project, which has a network of organizations that work all over the United States, seeks justice for the innocent through DNA and renovations to the criminal justice (Innocence Project). One important thing to remember is the involvement of the justice systems, their need to apply psychology concepts to ensure fair processes of investigation.
References
Schneider, F., Gruman, J., & Coutts, L. (Eds.). (2012). Applied social psychology (Second ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Innocence Project, http://www.innocenceproject.org/about/.