SYMPOSIUM ON CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: I. INNOCENCE: INTENTIONAL WRONGFUL CONVICTION OF CHILDREN
In: Chicago-Kent Law Review, Jg. 85 (2010), S. 163
Online
academicJournal
Introduction Wrongful convictions 1 of adult criminal defendants almost always stem from human error in the criminal justice system (CJS). Causes of wrongful convictions within the CJS include mistaken reliance upon confessions, informants, or eyewitnesses, misuse of evidence, overzealous police and prosecutors, and incompetent or overworked defense attorneys. 2 Very few adult cases appear to involve a judge who intentionally convicts the defendant when the judge doesn't believe the defendant is actually guilty. While we may understand and even be sympathetic to inadvertent mistakes in our criminal processes, intentional wrongful conviction of a criminal defendant is inexcusable. Further, proposed changes aimed at reducing inadvertent mistakes cannot be expected to reduce intentional acts. Findings indicate that wrongful conviction of children may be a significant problem in criminal court and juvenile court. 3 Extrapolating beyond that research, it has been my experience that intentional wrongful convictions occur with greater frequency in cases involving child offenders, whether processed in the CJS or in the juvenile justice system (JJS). They may occur particularly in cases which the judge has insufficient evidence proving any crime by the child but feels a strong need for the court to intervene in the child's life and behavior. 4 This may be wrongfully convicting the child for the child's "own good," but it is nonetheless wrongful conviction. While such intentional wrongful conviction may seem bizarre and rare, it does happen. For example, two Pennsylvania judges convicted and sentenced juveniles to confinement in privately run ...
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SYMPOSIUM ON CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: I. INNOCENCE: INTENTIONAL WRONGFUL CONVICTION OF CHILDREN
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Autor/in / Beteiligte Person: | Streib, Victor |
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Zeitschrift: | Chicago-Kent Law Review, Jg. 85 (2010), S. 163 |
Veröffentlichung: | 2010 |
Medientyp: | academicJournal |
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