Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SBU ID# 106623387
SOC 338 (Assignment #2)
11/9/2010
A major problem with today’s criminal justice system is the false accusations of
prisoners and wrongful convictions. Although this is not a newly found issue, there has not
been many ways to resolve the occurrences of such atrocious acts. Though not all wrongfully
convicted cases happen on purpose, there must be a way to end this re‐occurring problem. A
study called “Wrongful Convictions,” done by Huff, Rattner and Sagarin, target the main
reasons why one could be falsely accused of a crime that he or she did not commit. Through
their analysis and methodology, it is clear why there is such a high frequency of wrongful
convictions. Steven Barkan and George J. Bryjak also discuss this issue in their book, Myths and
Realities of Crime and Justice. Through these forms of literature, much can be learned about
wrongful convictions and how they impact the justice system today as well as the past.
In the Huff, Ratner and Sagarin study of wrongful convictions their methodology or
approach on the situation is very useful in understanding why this issue is so common. Through
the use of research and surveys performed in the past about why wrongful convictions occur,
case studies and interviews with persons who have been falsely accused it is easier to relate
this problem with instances seen throughout history.
In the book Myths and Realities of Crime and Justice, by Barkan and Bryjak, they discuss
nine major factors that contribute to the cause of wrongful convictions. The first issue
addressed is that of eyewitness errors. This is a very common factor involved with the
imprisonment
of
falsely
accused
individuals.
According
to
the
text,
“a
study
of
200
innocent
men
who
served
an
average
of
12
years
in
prison
discovered
that
the
leading
cost
of
wrongful
convictions was erroneous identification, a factor in 79 percent of the cases examined” (Barkan
and Bryjak 250). This common error is very evident in the famous case of Randall Adams and
the killing of a Dallas County police officer, Robert Wood. As depicted in the movie “The Thin
Blue Line,” directed by Errol Morris, it is clear that Randall Adams was not the actual murderer
of Robert Wood. It was in fact a man by the name of David Harris who committed the crime.
Unfortunately, it took over a decade to prove Adams’ innocence but as described throughout
the film, a major reason why he was proven guilty was because of eyewitness errors made by
two very important individuals involved with the case. Emily Miller, a resident of Dallas Texas
claimed to have driven past the scene of the crime where police officer Robert Wood was
murdered. Without hesitation, she firmly stated that Adams was the driver of the vehicle which
contained two passengers who ultimately ended Wood’s life. The officer who was Wood’s
partner at the time and one of the very first women to patrol in Dallas County claimed that it
was the driver of the vehicle that killed Woods. Although she was not able to identify Adams as
the murderer, her claim and Miller’s claim went together and proved Adams guilty (“The Thin
Blue Line” Morris). Although Wood’s partner did not disclose false information, it was that of
Emily Miller and another man by the name of Michael Randell who also drove past the scene of
the crime and who had also stated that he believed Adam’s was the killer, that resulted in
Adam’s imprisonment. These are two eyewitness errors seen in history that show the impact
these mistakes which result in wrongful convictions. The next issue discussed by Barkan and
Bryjak are the prosecutorial and police misconduct errors. Although it is not extremely frequent,
it
is
unfortunate
that
“about
two
thirds
of
their
wrongful
convictions
did
not
result
from
mistakes,
but
instead
from
intentional,
willful
and
malicious
behavior
of
criminal
justice
personnel (Barkan and Bryjak 251). False confessions by the accsued and plea bargaining are
also issues when it comes to the false accusations that result in imprisonment of the innocent.
Community pressure is also a cause of wrongful convictions and that involves the community’s
fear of criminals who have had previous convictions in the past. Also the issue of race
contributes to wrongful convictions. According to Barkan and Bryjak, because of one’s race, and
if they are Hispanic or African American, the likelihood of them being accused is higher than
that of a Caucasian person (Barkan and Bryjak 256). The lack of DNA testing may also contribute
to the many situations where one has been falsely accused of a crime. It makes it harder to
identify the true criminal and may result in a wrongful conviction. Lastly, the accusations
against the innocent by the guilty are discussed. Once again, Eroll Morris’ film provides a
concrete example of this issue. The true murderer of Robert Wood was David Harris, a sixteen‐
year old boy at the time of the crime. He constructed a false story and put the blame on a man
he had met the day the murder occurred; that man being Randall Adams. This confession
provided by Harris, “set the wheels rolling” in building up a case against Adams. (“The Thin Blue
Line” Morris)
As seen throughout history and by the methodology used by Huff, Rattner and Sagarin
as well as Barkan and Bryjak, it is clear that wrongful convictions are common and are caused
by numerous issues. Errol Morris’, “The Thin Blue Line” is just one of many cases that have
resulted in a wrongful imprisonment. Although this problem will not ever perish within the
criminal justice system, hopefully the efforts made by these authors will provide more
recognition
about
the
common
problem
and
prevent
it
from
happening
in
the
future.
Works
Cited
Barkan,
Steven
E.
and
George
J.
Bryjak.
2009.
Myths
and
Realities
of
Crime
and
Justice:
What
Every
American
Should
Know.
Boston:
Jones
and
Bartlett,
Publishers.
Morris, Errol. The Thin Blue Line. Film. 1988