Wrongful Convictions - Minorities @observingthetrentexpress-blog - Tumblr Blog

African American Wronfully Convicted of Capital Murder and Sexual Battery

Levon Brooks, an African American male wrongfully convicted in 1990 for the rape and murder for a 3 year old girl. DNA testing did not help exonerate Levon Brooks, it was the testimony of the real perpetrator who was sentenced to death for nearly the exact same crime only happening 2 years after. This is the trial information from the American Innocence Project: The Trial Brooks was tried before a jury in Noxubee County, Mississippi, in January 1992. The victim's sister testified that she saw Brooks abduct her sister, although her testimony had several contradictions. In addition to the child's unreliable testimony, the state's case rested on the bite mark evidence presented by Dr. West, who testified that "it could be no one but Levon Brooks that bit this girl's arm." Brooks' defense attorneys presented an alibi defense, that he was working a club on the night of the murder and did not have an opportunity to commit the crime. The defense also challenged West's credentials and findings. After deliberating for about nine hours, the jury convicted Brooks of capital murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.

#personalstories

Kenny Waters Wrongfully Convicted of Murder

Kenny Waters is a white male who served 18 years in prison for murder which he had no part in. He was released after DNA testing brought about his innocence. He was lucky to have his sister by his side who went to law school to help with his exoneration. He was released in 2001 and passed away 6 months after at the age of 47. He had spend more than 1/3 of his life in prison. SOURCE: http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/conviction/About-Kenny-Waters.php

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African American Wrongfully Convicted

Larry Peterson was wrongly convicted in 1989 of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to life in prison. Four people – three of Peterson’s co-workers and a jailhouse informant – helped the state convict Peterson with false testimony. During an investigation of the crime, police interviewed some of Peterson’s co-workers several times. After lengthy interrogations, threats of prosecution and other questionable police tactics, the three men said Peterson had confessed to them during a ride to work. Records have since shown that Peterson did not work on the day these men said the confession occurred. A jailhouse informant with charges pending in three counties also testified that Peterson had admitted guilt to him while in the county jail. DNA finally proved Peterson’s innocence in 2005 and he was exonerated in 2006. SOURCE: http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/Snitches-Informants.php

#personalstories #jailhousesnitch

Here are ten cases of people being wrongfully accused and convicted of terrible things they never actually did.

#personalstories #racialbias

The American Criminal Justice System & Wrongful Convictions

- "Every person living in the United States, citizen or not, is afforded the constitutional rights of due process and a trial by a jury of their peers wherein the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of a particular crime."

- "The American criminal justice system is based on the concept that wrongs have causes, that such causes are preventable, and that injurious acts warrant recompense to victims as well as punishment for offenders (Leo & Gould, 2009)."

- In 2000, Illinois Governor George Ryan imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois. He expressed his outrage toward the flawed system, where more death row inmates had been exonerated than executed (Leo, 2005).

- The United States houses the largest national prison population in the world with 7.1 million offenders under some form of correctional supervision.

- Much of this growth is due to the overzealous "war on drugs" policy, which simultaneously increased the risk of wrongful conviction and criminalized non-violent crimes.

#CJS

The Race Problem Within The American Criminal Justice System

- Since 1980, the number of people incarcerated in America quadrupled from roughly 500,000 to more than 2.3 million people.

- Today, the US holds 5% of the Worlds population, it has 25% of world prisoners.

- African Americans account for nearly 1 million of the total (2.3 million) incarcerated population

- African Americans are incarcerated at roughly six times the rate of whites

- 1 in 100 African American women are in prison

- 1 in 6 black men has been incarcerated as of 2001

- 5 times as many Whites are using drugs compared with African Americans, yet African Americans are sent to prison on drug related offenses 10 times more often than Whites.

Why??

- Inner city crime leading to increased police presence

- "Get tough on crime" and "War on drugs" policies

- Mandatory minimum sentencing for cocaine possession

- "Three strikes" / Habitual Offender Policies

#CJS minorities

Quick Fact

The term "wrongful conviction" has never been given a clear concise definition;

- In the context of DNA and public media discourse it is referred to as anyone who is proven factually innocent. (Roach, 2011)

- But "there are some cases where it is impossible to make a definitive answer about factual innocence so the term "miscarriage of justice" is used in convictions that are improper or overturned on appeal." (Roach, 2011, Pg.1470)

SOURCE: Roach, K. (2011). Wrongful Convictions In Canada. University of Cincinnati Law Review. Cincinnati" University of Cincinnati College of Law

#quickfact

The Innocence Project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.

By Emma Hahn One man was wrongly convicted of murder. Another grew up with bad influences and negative racial profiling. A third said he had to work twice as hard as a white man to get where he is ...

#minorities

This documentary, produced by a former Innocence Project clinic student, focuses on the DNA exonerations of seven wrongfully convicted men. It received the 2005 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize.

#LAWC

Black Prisons in America

Black prisons are the result of racial biases and stereotypes. Blacks are overrepresented when compared to other races. “The current level of incarceration for Blacks is seven times greater than for whites, or more than four times higher than what we would expect using race-based offending differences based on self-report and victimization surveys.” (Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation, pg. 278)

The reasoning behind black prisons can be also brought to the attention of biases by law enforcement, lack of enforcement against the white race and the disadvantages of minorities. (Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation, pg. 277)

These factors are often overlooked. According to the author’s, “African Americans constitute only 12 percent of the general population, yet they make up 44 percent of prison and jail inmates.” (Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation, pg. 276)

There are three main arguments as to why there are generally more black people incarcerated. Some believe that Blacks have a tendency to commit more crimes, others believe that there are “differential rates of criminal offending by race” (Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation, pg. 280) and of course the racial inequalities. It is hard to comment on the black prisons because there is much information lacking in the sense of the severity of the crimes and connecting it to race, minorities are given unfair treatment by authorities, media plays a role in cultural biases and the fact that a lot of white collar offenders receive no documentation of their crimes, who, for the most part are of the white population.

This is not a new found injustice, throughout history Blacks have been at a disadvantage. The working conditions for Blacks became non-existent and the criminal justice system with their bias towards Blacks began to intensify. Crimes like drug use became a popular issue within society which began to segregate Blacks and negatively affect their daily lives. Throughout history the mistreatment and division of races is how the term Black Prison became a term of the present and future.

Primer in Radical Criminology: Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation

#COWC

Court Observations

There are two branches of law: substantive and procedural law.

Substantive law which describes what the state frowns upon and deems as a criminal act and the punishment that will be incurred if caught. Procedural laws are the written down rules of these punishments/prosecution decisions.

Where substantive law is the actual action, procedural law is what makes that action legitimate. This ensures that equality is practiced and “ensures that all citizens receive fair and equal treatment when they encounter the power of the state in the form of police, courts or penal systems.” (A Radical Examination of Courts, pg. 241)

The problem with procedural law is that they may be written down and are supposed to be enforced, however what police and courts do is solely up to them so equal treatment is not guaranteed.

In sum, procedural laws are set in stone but substantive laws are only set in sand. They are subject to change based upon who you are, what you stand for and what you do. Substantive law does not show just actions towards all social classes and because they are of higher governmental authority they cannot be challenged.

Primer in Radical Criminology: A Radical Examination of Courts: page 242-250

#COWC

Policing Minorities in America

According to the Primer in Radical Criminology textbook, there is evidence that suggests that American police authorities spend more time using surveillance techniques in low-income minority communities compared to white communities of all income classes. Because of this, Blacks and other races are more likely to be on the receiving end of police activity, brutality, hassling etc. In regards to gender, male minorities are more likely to be arrested/killed/wrongfully convicted. This portrays a strong racial bias. A Radical Perspective on Policing: Page 235

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Race and Policing in America

"There is persuasive evidence that minorities are more likely than white Americans to be shot and killed, arrested and victimized by excessive physical force. Despite some progress in recent years, significant racial and ethnic disparities remain. In addition, there is evidence of misconduct directed at racial and ethnic minorities and that police departments fail to discipline officers who are guilty of misconduct. Finally, employment discrimination by police departments continue to exist." Primer in Radical Criminology: A Radical Perspective on Policing: Page 235

#COWC

The Effects of Wrongful Convictions

When looking at wrongful convictions it is extremely hard to ignore the impact that wrongful convictions can have on the person wrongfully convicted. Not only are they dealing with the stress of being convicted of a crime they did not commit, they must also now be placed into a prison, which can very easily make or break a person, and deal with the burden placed on their family due to this act of injustice.

In a paper written by Dr. Kathryn Campbell, and Dr. Myriam Denov entitled "Miscarriages of Justice: The Impact of Wrongful Convictions" they interview former inmates wrongfully convicted of various crimes. They discuss the realities of life behind bars and the challenges that come with life in prison, as well as life after exoneration.

A former wrongfully convicted inmate Mark shares about the violence that took place inside prison, "It's true that in prison, it's a world where survival comes before everything … you have to try to survive in the jungle, and there's a lot of violence. So, you have to protect yourself, especially if you are accused of sexual crimes … And so, you're always going around with a shiv or … a fork in your pockets. Because when you're walking around, you never know where and when and how you'll be attacked."

Many wrongfully convicted inmates will withdrawal themselves and keep themselves isolated from the rest of the population for two reasons, one as a coping mechanism and two because they may feel as though they do not belong in this group of people because they were wrongfully convicted.

Not only does prison cause extreme stress in the lives of the wrongfully convicted, but it can impact the family severely. Mark explains again; "What it affected was my nuclear family—wife and my children, my family. It completely devastated that. We lost our home…I lost my kids… I lost the care and guidance and companionship of my dad. We were extremely close. I lost that… the hardest part about being an inmate was the loss of the family." Marks two children were taken away from his wife after she suffered a breakdown during his incarceration.

This loss of family, and even loss of self can often lead to aggression, and outbursts of anger, not intentional, but often times uncontrollable due to the emotional damage they endured during conviction and prison life.

The list goes on and on when we look at the effects that wrongful convictions have on the families and individuals convicted. The criminal justice system needs to make certain that everything in their power is done to ensure that wrongful convictions are extremely unlikely if not completely impossible. The mental and emotional damage done to family members and the individuals themselves impacts their entire lives, and can completely alter a persons life.

SOURCE: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/jr13/p5a.html

#LAWC

Life After Exoneration

This video looks at what life is like after being exonerated. It briefly discusses the struggles and conquests of dealing with life outside of prison. It is often hard to transition from prison life to normal daily life especially for individuals who spent many years in prison. Going from having very limited options and choices to being able to make almost every decision for yourself can be overwhelming, especially to an individual is not used to that kind of lifestyle.

#LAWC

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