Wrongful Convictions
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Despite broad constitutional protections built into the American justice system make it one of the most progressive in the modernized world, it is no secret that some people are accused and convicted, even of crimes they did not commit. In a perfect world, the justice system operated in a manner to prevent such miscarriages of justice. But in a system whose foundation is based on humans, and the inevitable human errors, mistakes do happen.
Revocation of a wrongful conviction
When you are convicted of a crime under state law, a judge or jury has found that the crime beyond a reasonable doubt and the judge has been convicted of that conviction, usually based on sentencing guidelines your state, which vary widely from state to state. Most wrongful conviction the result of misidentification or witness testimony, false confessions, snitch or confidential informants, inadequate counsel, and police and / or misconduct of the prosecutor. All these incidents can create grounds for revocation of a criminal conviction. If you believe you have been wrongly convicted, and in particular as a result of one of the factors mentioned above, you may have reason to have his conviction overturned.
In order to reconsider his criminal conviction, you can first ask the judge to review his conviction and / or sentence again, or to correct errors that have been made, a procedure that is available in many states. Usually, you must request such a review soon after his conviction. Assuming that the judge denied his request for reconsideration or to correct errors, the next step is to file an appeal with the appropriate state appellate court. There are many rules of procedure for filing an appeal, and you should consider enlisting the help of an attorney to help prove that he has been unjustly condemned. Essentially, you are asking the appellate court to find that he has been wrongfully convicted because of an error by the trial judge or jury. If your appeal is still denied, you have to rely more on who can appeal to the Supreme Court of this state, or the highest court of appeal.
Misidentification by witnesses
Experts say criminal justice system to witness misidentifications remain the most common cause of miscarriages of justice in the United States. Due to the identification of the accused by witnesses are key pieces of evidence in criminal cases, and yet are certainly subject to human errors, identification errors can and should lead to wrongful convictions. The reality is that human memory is imperfect, and eyewitness identifications based on a split-second events that may have taken place relatively far away, in poorly lit areas, are often simply wrong.
False Confessions
While it may seem hard to believe that the defendants never give false confessions, this phenomenon occurs, and can result in wrongful convictions. Charged with giving false confessions of a variety of reasons, including the police pressure, prolonged interrogations, stress, lack of mental capacity, intoxication, ignorance of the law or fear of violent consequences if they tell the truth. Particularly with the defendants that have a low IQ or mental illness, the potential for manipulation of false confessions is quite high.
Snitches or informants
In addition, criminal charges are often based on the testimony of informants who are known as confidential informants in some states. Since informants are often given some sort of incentive in exchange for his testimony, as a shorter jail sentence, more favorable treatment in jail, or dismissal of criminal charges altogether, there is no desperate shortage of prison snitches who are willing to presented with evidence to help convict the other defendants, however, that evidence was fabricated.
Ineffective assistance of counsel
For the typical criminal defendant who has no access to funds to pay for a private criminal defense attorney, the only source of representation with regard to office is a public defender or appointed counsel. While there are many, many highly experienced, quality defenders, as there are some lawyers who are inexperienced, underpaid and overworked by the large number of criminal defense clients assigned to them. As a result, there are cases where a defendant received ineffective legal representation or inadequate. Although some of these cases are overturned on appeal based on ineffective assistance of counsel, many more are kept for a variety of reasons, even when the lawyer's behavior may seem inappropriate at best cases.
Police and / or fiscal misconduct
Like all people, police and prosecuting attorneys sometimes make bad judgments and mistakes, and even a foul resulting in wrongful convictions. Recently, a federal appeals court overturned the conviction of a defendant that the prosecutor had excluded all African Americans from the jury on the basis of race, even though the county population from which the jury was chosen was 55% African-Americans. The court concluded that the prosecutor had engaged in illegal racial discrimination in that case. Other cases of wrongful convictions have involved police misconduct, for example, when a police officer forced a defendant to make a false confession, or when a police officer has lied or exaggerated his testimony during a criminal trial.
Revocation of a wrongful conviction
When you are convicted of a crime under state law, a judge or jury has found that the crime beyond a reasonable doubt and the judge has been convicted of that conviction, usually based on sentencing guidelines your state, which vary widely from state to state. Most wrongful conviction the result of misidentification or witness testimony, false confessions, snitch or confidential informants, inadequate counsel, and police and / or misconduct of the prosecutor. All these incidents can create grounds for revocation of a criminal conviction. If you believe you have been wrongly convicted, and in particular as a result of one of the factors mentioned above, you may have reason to have his conviction overturned.
In order to reconsider his criminal conviction, you can first ask the judge to review his conviction and / or sentence again, or to correct errors that have been made, a procedure that is available in many states. Usually, you must request such a review soon after his conviction. Assuming that the judge denied his request for reconsideration or to correct errors, the next step is to file an appeal with the appropriate state appellate court. There are many rules of procedure for filing an appeal, and you should consider enlisting the help of an attorney to help prove that he has been unjustly condemned. Essentially, you are asking the appellate court to find that he has been wrongfully convicted because of an error by the trial judge or jury. If your appeal is still denied, you have to rely more on who can appeal to the Supreme Court of this state, or the highest court of appeal.
Misidentification by witnesses
Experts say criminal justice system to witness misidentifications remain the most common cause of miscarriages of justice in the United States. Due to the identification of the accused by witnesses are key pieces of evidence in criminal cases, and yet are certainly subject to human errors, identification errors can and should lead to wrongful convictions. The reality is that human memory is imperfect, and eyewitness identifications based on a split-second events that may have taken place relatively far away, in poorly lit areas, are often simply wrong.
False Confessions
While it may seem hard to believe that the defendants never give false confessions, this phenomenon occurs, and can result in wrongful convictions. Charged with giving false confessions of a variety of reasons, including the police pressure, prolonged interrogations, stress, lack of mental capacity, intoxication, ignorance of the law or fear of violent consequences if they tell the truth. Particularly with the defendants that have a low IQ or mental illness, the potential for manipulation of false confessions is quite high.
Snitches or informants
In addition, criminal charges are often based on the testimony of informants who are known as confidential informants in some states. Since informants are often given some sort of incentive in exchange for his testimony, as a shorter jail sentence, more favorable treatment in jail, or dismissal of criminal charges altogether, there is no desperate shortage of prison snitches who are willing to presented with evidence to help convict the other defendants, however, that evidence was fabricated.
Ineffective assistance of counsel
For the typical criminal defendant who has no access to funds to pay for a private criminal defense attorney, the only source of representation with regard to office is a public defender or appointed counsel. While there are many, many highly experienced, quality defenders, as there are some lawyers who are inexperienced, underpaid and overworked by the large number of criminal defense clients assigned to them. As a result, there are cases where a defendant received ineffective legal representation or inadequate. Although some of these cases are overturned on appeal based on ineffective assistance of counsel, many more are kept for a variety of reasons, even when the lawyer's behavior may seem inappropriate at best cases.
Police and / or fiscal misconduct
Like all people, police and prosecuting attorneys sometimes make bad judgments and mistakes, and even a foul resulting in wrongful convictions. Recently, a federal appeals court overturned the conviction of a defendant that the prosecutor had excluded all African Americans from the jury on the basis of race, even though the county population from which the jury was chosen was 55% African-Americans. The court concluded that the prosecutor had engaged in illegal racial discrimination in that case. Other cases of wrongful convictions have involved police misconduct, for example, when a police officer forced a defendant to make a false confession, or when a police officer has lied or exaggerated his testimony during a criminal trial.
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