Compensation for Wrongful Conviction

go forthlaw(a) execration has been aboutthing that has al sorts occurred in the judicial governing body systems. For humanityy age, prior(prenominal) to desoxyribonucleic acid testing, in that location was no substance to vacate this for approximately people. This abridge has really been superstar that has attracted a crew of at tennertion. on that point pass pull down been songs written round the resign such as Bob Dylans Hurricane. Wikipedia (2009, pp 1-2) refers to this attitude as the miscarriage of judge. In the definition it conveys that it is the assent and punishment of a soulfulness for a execration which was non go through outted by the person.It can also mean that the opinion was sentenced in a trial that was found to be unfair or a trial which had been dis stageed. Although outlaw(a) doctrines subdued do occur in that respect ar a lot of resources that atomic number 18 put into typeset so that this does non happen any more. Thes e things bring on been added in order to assist the overall justice system in be sufficient to modify issues and in universe fit to utilize the best and most solid beliefs in order to alleviate the issues that experience occurred in the past with outlawed prison ho delectation terms. somewhat acquit even believed that on that point is something that is essentially wrong with the process of the modern justice system (Westervelt and Humphrey 2001 Chapter 1). thither ar some contrary theories as to why wrongful execration has become so prevalent in the modern day family when with the advancement of technology unmatchable could contend that wrongful beliefs should less(prenominal)en. A lot of these issues prolong to do with the attitudes towards crimes and the overall attitudes of legal philosophy enforcement as well(p) as the public perception of violent criminals. The issues be that thither atomic number 18 a lot of violent crimes that occur in society.Whe n faithfulness enforcement is unable to find a conviction the public cry out is heard and at that place atomic number 18 a lot of problems with respect for law enforcement and the overall feeling of safety of those who ar musical accompaniment in the society. thither is wherefore an outcry for somebody to pay for the crimes that require been committed. These argon particularly heard when the crimes have to do with rape or murder as these violent crimes ar sight to be worse than some progress toer(a) crimes. Law enforcements answer is find someone to blame the crime on in order to be able to modify how they ar looked at by those in society who matter, the general public.Sadly in todays society it is oft non whether or non the redress person is behind bars that give reassurance simply quite an it is whether or not someone is paying for the crime which has been committed. The public should be awargon that the outcries and over- troth in the catching of violent crim inals has lead to the wrongful conviction of many people and that on that pointfore it will continue to lead to wrongful conviction until on that point is a public outcry for justice and the involvement to find the correctly criminal for the crime.thither are many different situations in which wrongful conviction could don. One such situation would be where someone is not charged merely they are til now arrested and detained for a crime which they did not commit. Also there are the problems with someone who has charges dropped prior to trial after being detained and charged for a crime which was not committed by the person. A third focussing that someone could be incorrectly convicted is if he/she is denied bail moreover then they are seek and aquitted. or so early(a) reasons behind wrongful convictions are those who are able to have a conviction overturned on appeal yet yet they have legato been convicted. An other one is that the person could have been sentenced after being convicted of another crime prior to when the appeal for which they were primarily arrested was heard. Finally the last reason for wrongful conviction is that there is the person who has been able to be free pardoned from a crime which they are found ot be convicted of or they are able to have the conviction overturned in an appeal after having served metre from the initial conviction (Hoel 2008, pp 1).The issues of wrongful conviction do not just cause problems for those who have been incorrectly convicted only if also for those who are working in the justice system. Judge wise to(p) Hand once enunciated that he felt that he was in some sense followed by the fear that he had sentenced or convicted someone of a crime for which they did not commit. This judge recognizes that at clock things are not done right and he too agonizes over the theory that he will condemn someone to an unfair fate for a crime that he/she did not commit.The criminal justice system does contempl ate precautions and they do effort to not have these types of problems however at quantifys they seem almost unavoidable. In the book, Presumed Guilty When Innocent People are Wrongly Convicted the writer talks about the issues with the criminal justice system and their struggle between trying to uphold the law and trying to be as unbiased and fair as possible in not handing down wrongful convictions (Yant 1991, Chapter 1). in that respect are many causes for wrongful conviction. any(prenominal) of these causes are not as bad as they have been in the past as our culture has developed and become more liberal minded, however they have been prevalent in the past. The main reasons for wrongful conviction have been fraudulent results or evidence, errors in eye witness testimony, and divergence whether racial or against those who have disabilities.It has been described that the unfortunate common place specifyting of the wrongful conviction has been that the defendant is sentenced and that around ten years subsequently or more he/she is turn out innocent by deoxyribonucleic acid evidence. later the dupe will continue to maintain that the defendant was delinquent and that their eye witness testimony was not wrong. In the end, this scenario continues to hurt the wrong accused as he/she will continue to face inconsistency as those feel that there is soundless a problem with them and that they are still wicked.These innocent defendants not only have to live with the sacrifices of using up time imprisoned but also they have to face continue discrimination from those who feel that they are guilty, therefore some form of stipend should be allowed to those who have been wrongfully convicted in any criminal justice system (Westervelt and Humphrey 2001, Chapter 1). Overall what can be interpreted is that there is a connection between the beliefs of harsh forms of punishment and the death penalty and the honorable possibility that one could be falsely convi cted and deserve to be free. almost other causes of wrongful conviction were discussed in Paul Craig Roberts article The Causes of Wrongful Conviction. This author tries to make a connection between the loaded opinions for issues wish well the death penalty and issues with wrongful conviction. His save is to work harder at ensuring that there are not problems with wrongful conviction and therefore that there is less of a need to argue and charge over the issues of the death penalty. This author believes that there is a huge injustice in the wrongful conviction and that in the end it is this and not the penalty.This is meaning that the issue of wrongful conviction out sort out involve to be rentt with prior to the other issues with crime and punishments of these crimes. Some of the problems with wrongful conviction can be traced back to the unfermented manus in that the establishment during the New Deal put the power for carrying out the law and setting up the law in the sa me political relation body and in the hands of the same agency which is one change particularor to these problems. Some other areas where the laws have gotten out of hand are the laws that are pertaining to the freezing of assets.These laws were originally intended to be used against those who were associated with the bundle however they were expanded and it has been common for them to be applied to innocent space owners on a regular basis (Roberts 2003, pp 567-570). For some things, like fingerprinting, it is often thought that there can not be strays and that they can not lead to wrongful conviction however at times this could be wrong. The problems that can occur with fingerprinting leading to a wrongful conviction are very rare and for a long time were thought to be non-existent.In 2004, Stephen Cowans was found innocent from his crime by DNA evidence and it was the evidence of fingerprinting that had led to his conviction in the first place. In this facial expression it was the mislabeling of a card with his fingerprints that led to his arrest and conviction. When ran by dint of various tests and attempts with research on this topic it was not queer to have a hardly a(prenominal) mistakes. The problem with this is that there were only insincere positives in this area (Cole 206, pp 39-50).At this time there are few resources usable for those who have been incorrectly convicted. there has been a lot of translation for hundreds of years about how wrong it is for someone who is innocent to be convicted for a crime which he/she did not commit. This can be evidenced by means of quotations like those from Voltaire in 1774, stating It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn and innocent one, or Sir William Blackstone, who subjectd It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer. Yet, even with all of this reading and the strong political views that have been prevalent for hundreds of years there still seems to be a problem with the justice system and one in which innocent people are convicted as guilty on a regular basis. During the 1980s and 1990s it became prevalent in American society that attention was drawn to cases where those who were innocent were severely punished. Take for type the case of Isidore Zimmerman who had been incorrectly convicted and served 20 four years for a crime which he did not commit.This man chose to force for earnings and it took yet another twenty years of him fighting in order to be awarded $1 zillion in compensation for the damages that being wrong imprisoned for twenty four years had caused. Sadly, this man died just four months after sweet his fight. One of the largest problems with these types of cases is the fact that the victims (those who have been wrongly imprisoned) do not have a set standardized of compensation which should be available to them as their lives have truly been ruined by some type of mistake in our justice system (Huf f, Rattner, and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1).The tragedy here is that this man had to fight his whole life, fight for his rights and to not be sentenced for a crime which he did not commit, fight to pop out of jail and then fight for the right to compensation after his life was ruined by a wrong conviction. The people who have been wrongly convicted for various reasons have a voice and deserve to be heard on this topic and it is something that greatly affected them and continues to affect them on a daily basis. Take for instance the case of Kenny Adams who was wrongly convicted establish on the fact that he had been wrongly identified.This man was bitter and angry at what he felt was a failed justice system and he was thought to be uncooperative by authorities and those who were in charge of sentencing him as he had maintained his artlessness and refused to take any plea bargains which could have greatly reduced the time that he pass in jail. This man was innocent and later proven in nocent by DNA evidence however he spent some of the best years of his life wasting away in one of the wrap up prisons in our country.He spent his time in a prison that was known for breaking down the hardest criminals and all the epoch he maintained his innocence and pushed through to determination a way to prove that he had been innocent. One of the main reasons that he was convicted was establish on the fact that he was an African American male and there was eyewitness testimony that put three African American males and one Mexican male in the area where a young couple was assail and murdered. Maybe perhaps these were the crimes that Dr Martin Luther King Jr. as talking about in the summer of 1963 when he stated that one of his dreams was that his children could live in a country where they would not be judged by the color of their trim but quite a by who they were as a person (Ciolino 2005, Chapter 1). It is still hard to imagine that there continues to be discrimination ba sed on someones race in a world that is so integrated as the world today. Another case of wrongful conviction based on discrimination is that of Marion Coakley.This man was severely mentally developmentally challenged and had been convicted of rape. He was unable to cooperate or thrive in the prison setting as he was unable to understand the expectations and why the expectations were anticipate of him. Therefore he was in trouble a lot and was put into isolation cells and other various forms of punishment for his inability to cooperate. He had a lot of problems with basic comprehension and understanding. Marion also had a lot of reinconstrained up anger in being convicted of a crime which he did not commit.He was frequently travel between various prisons and indoors a twenty four month period he had been moved a total of eight times. He talked often about how he felt railroaded into prison as he did not understand how he could be punished for a crime which he did not commit (Sche ck, Neufield, and Dwyer 2001, Chapter 1). In this case it was an example of how one can be discriminated against based on a disability affecting his/her cognitive functioning. Another man who was wrongly convicted was Gary Dotson. Gary Dotson was wrongly convicted after he had been identified as a rapist by his victim.This man maintained his innocence and six years later the supposed victim recanted her testimony stating that she had falsified it all in an attempt to ward off problems with her foster parents if she was pregnant from having consensual sex with her familiar at the time. She claimed to be recanting to clear her conscious. The only problem was that after Dotson was released he was re-imprisoned when the judge chose to believe that the womans recanted statement was the true lie. Later after a national outcry the governor of IL released him still maintaining that he was guilty but saying that he had enough time served for his crime.Later it was proven through DNA evidenc e that he was wrongfully accused and convicted, however this was after having not only served time in prison once but twice and having to live outside of prison with the conviction on his record (Huff, Rattner and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1). There is no current remedy available to assist victims of this tragedy. These victims are those who have been wrongly convicted of a crime, forced to serve time and later exonerated of that said crime but still having to live with all of the stigma and discriminations as if they were the criminal that they had been convicted of being.There are many different types of wrongful conviction however typically only those which are the most severe, the cases of murder or rape are brought to public attention. This type of wrongful conviction does not only softwood with a specific type of crime however but there are wrongful convictions in all types of crimes. Some of the problems with there being no compensation for the victims have to do with the after effects of wrongful conviction and how this type of thing really affects the persons life.There can be all types of issues with wrongful imprisonment and these hold issues with finding employment, finding housing, interpersonal relationships and having the respect of other people. Those who have been wrongly convicted have problems with being able to find suitable employment as many employers discriminate against them. Not only do the wrongly convicted have a hard time with finding employment but they also have difficulty in finding housing. Another area where there is strong discrimination is in housing.For those who have been wrongly convicted it can be very difficult to find good housing as there are a lot of places that will not rent to those who have had convictions and even if a conviction has been overturned if it were a conviction for rape or murder there is a chance that the once accused capacity not be able to find housing based on this information. These victims also ha ve a loss in their interpersonal relationships as this type of conviction can ruin a marriage and a family and at times the victim might not even be allowed to see his/her children even after the wrongful conviction is overturned.Although there are many more areas in which a person would be merit of compensation for a wrongful conviction one of the main other reasons is that there is a loss of overall respect from others towards this person. This happens when the person does not get the respect that he/she deserves from people based on the fact that there are past convictions and therefore people discriminate against him/her (Huff, Rattner, and Sagarin 1996, Chapter 1). factor B. Wrongful convictions and the compensation thereof are all different based on what part of the world the formerly accused is living in. There are differences that are major between Australia, U. S. A. , New Zeland, and England. Each of these areas has a separate current trend in the compensation of those wh o have been wrongly convicted, however there are many other issues that are inevitable to be dealt with as well with apiece country and unproblematic solutions for each to find a way to compensate those who have served time for a crime which they did not commit.The overall goal of each country should be that there are a national standard and a set of regulations to determine the amount of help and the type of compensation that should be habituated to the wrongly convicted. There should be standards for this type of compensation and certain things should be taken into consideration as well. In Australia there has been a lot of research on the subject of wrongful convictions and the compensation for those who have had a wrongful conviction in the past. Some of the laws in the country are make to protect those who are wrongly convicted.In the countrys codes and amendments it is stated that there can be compensation given through victims rights and advocacy and therefore there might not be a need for a court hearing or legal follow up in order to check that the wrongly convicted are given the compensation on their own. In Australia there is right to compensation for these issues. The basic meaning of this is that there is a allowance make without the legal repercussions or legal fight that would be required in other countries (Hoel 2008 pp 2-4).In the ACT (Australian Capitol Territory) there are specific codes that are used in this area. Those who are wrongly convicted have a right to seek compensation if one of the following is committed. These include that the victim have been convicted of a criminal offense by a final conclusion of a court, suffered punishment because of the conviction, and had the conviction reversed (or been pardoned) on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice. The law does not have a set standard of compensation (Hoel 2008, pp 2-3).Since there are no regulatory st andards in Australia at this time it is being questioned as to whether or not the regimen should set in place a set of standards for the wrongly convicted. In her article, Does Australia Need a Specific Institution to Correct Wrongful Convictions by Lynne Weathered there was a lot of information encouraging Australian government to take a stand and work towards an appropriate form of compensation for those who are wrongly convicted in the country. This article compares the systems and regulations in place in Australia with other countries (Weathered 2007, pp 179-186).Not only has the country of Australia been working on creating a system in place for those who are wrongly convicted but also the linked States of America has been working on these issues as well in regards to how they affect the country. In the joined States of America there are a lot of different factors that are been looked at in the idea of compensation for those who are wrongly convicted. Some states are working harder than others in the fight for restoring rights to those who have been wrongly convicted. One of these states is Illinois.In this state the state legislative bodies just passed a law where there is no necessary for a wait or a court trial for a pardon in wrongful conviction cases. This means that these victims are flat pardoned from these issues and that there is an encouragement for these victims that were not there before. This new law allows for those who are wrongly convicted to be able to apply for their certificates of innocence at a circuit clerks office anywhere in the state rather than having to go before the governor and go through a governmental pardon trial.This was a celebrated victory for those in the United States and it gave a good format for other states and other countries in something simple that could be done for those who are wrongly convicted to be compensated in some way instantly without having to wait (Ahmed 2008, pp 1-2). Not only has Illinois do strides in working towards compensation for the wrongly convicted but so has the state of Mississippi. Another state that has really stepped up to the plate in ensuring victims rights when wrongly convicted has been Mississippi.In Mississippi it was passed into law that someone who was wrongly convicted and spent time in prison deserved $50,000 per year served for a total of up to $500,000. This bill was passed and justified as there were a lot of issues with the victims not being able to put their lives back unitedly and with them having a difficult time learning how to live back in the free world again after being imprisoned and having to deal with the issues of their imprisonment (Newsome 2009, pp 1).There have been many articles and papers written on the topic of compensation for wrongful conviction in the United States however it is apparent that there inescapably to be more follow up incentives and better standards for the nation as a whole as a lot of the strides are on a s tate level rather than a national level. In her article Louise Radnofsky discusses all of the problems with there not being a unified decision among the states in the USA with the subject of wrongful conviction.She looked at cases where there was not unified decision and where the victims of the issue of being wrongfully convicted were not given any type of pardon or any help to overcome said issues. The overall standard was that these victims were not able to get any compensation unless they lived in one of the states where the compensation is available. In the end the USA should take control of this situation and there should be some type of compensation for those who have been wrongly imprisoned (2007, pp 1-3).Overall it could be argued that the United States is working on a separate state by state level to deal with the issues of wrongful conviction and compensation for the victims. There is still a long way that the country could go and nationalizing some of the states plans co uld be simplest way to putting these policies and procedures into law and helping those who need the compensation to gain it fittingly and simply. Not only are victims in the United States able to sometimes get compensation but also there are sometimes ways for those in the country of New Zealand to get compensation as well.Not only do major changes need to be made in Australia and the USA but also the country of New Zealand needs to make appropriate changes in order to rectify the ideas of wrongful conviction for those in their country. There have been extreme cases in the country of New Zealand where there has been compensation awarded to victims of wrongful convictions. In New Zealand it is possible that there have been awards made based on the amount of time and power the wrongly convicted has put into being able to get compensated.However there is no set protocol and there have not been required regulations in this area either. The cases that have been seen and heard which h ave been awarded money for compensation are all ground breaking and could eventually help to ensure that all of those in the country of New Zealand are compensated if they are wrongly convicted (Goff 2001, pp 1). Not only is there a stride being made in New Zealand for the wrongly convicted but also there is progress being made in the United Kingdom.In the United Kingdom it is possible for one to apply for wrongful conviction compensation through a government agency that allows for them to be able to apply for benefits and services. This is done by completing a form and sending it to the duty for Criminal arbitrator Reform. The decision is then made by the Justice Secretary as to whether or not some form of payment is deserved by the victim. This can mean that a decision could be made that there would be no need for the compensation and no right to it as well although it has been stated that this is highly unlikely in these situations.There are also some limitations and timelines to which the country adheres and they are unforgiving so the victims need to know their rights and they should know that they must apply immediately to be considered for such payment (Compensation for Wrongful Conviction 2008, pp 1-2). It is unclear in the UK as to how one is supposed to learn about these programs and the right to compensation as it seems that it is not something that every wrongly convicted person has been aware of.There has been a lot of information available about the overall use of the follow up procedures and their ability to truly help those people living in the United Kingdom. In 2005 a lot of statistical information was published on this situation in order to the UKs government to be on board for the Freedom of Information ACT 2000. In these reports it was reported that during the time period as to how many of the wrongful conviction applications were a result of HM Customs and Exise.These cases being more full of life as they were entailing a lot more ha rdships for the wrongly convicted then other standard cases. The issues here include the fact that not all of the victims who were wrongly convicted were awarded compensation and not all of the victims applied for these compensation benefits so one could infer that there is not a lot of information available for those victims of wrongful conviction (Applications for Compensation Following Wrongful Conviction 2005, pp 1-2).Although there have been strides in many countries for those who have been wrongly convicted there is still a long way to go for them to be able to get full compensation for the hardships that they have/will face. The overall solution for those who have been wrongly convicted is a compensation to help the victim to be able to manage life on his/her own without having to face further persecution and issues that are currently on hand for these individuals. A solution for each of the to a higher place mentioned countries could be the same.It would a standardized form of follow through. There should be instant proof of ones innocence and there should be public recants of the crimes which they were wrongly convicted for. The victims records should be cleared and it should be safe for them to apply for employment or housing with the persecution that would be there if they were to still have the conviction and the issues associated with it held over their heads. Another thing that needs to be done is a monetary settlement.This monetary settlement should include money for their time served in order to compensate in some way for the life that was lost while these victims were behind bars. Some of the worst parts of wrongful conviction are that the wrongly convicted are typically convicted of the worst crimes, that being the crimes of rape or murder. These wrongly convicted are then required to work out a plan for how they are to get their life back on track after having had mostly everything taken from them in an act of vigilantism on the part of law enforcement and the people in the community.This is often very hard for these wrongly convicted and wrongly accused as this past will undoubtedly follow them. Whether or not they had aught to do with the crime the stigmas and the negative opinions of others will continue until there is some type of law in place to help assume the responsibility for helping these victims to be able to get back on their feet and no longer be wrongly subjected to these forms of harm and oppression. There needs to be a set standard for compensations and programs in place to help the wrongly convicted to be able to better their lives and themselves.