iv.1: The Limits
of Memory
“In a study of
exoneration cases between
1989 and 2003, 64 percent
involved misidentification
by an eyewitness.”
Gross,
Samuel R. Exonerations
In The United States 1989
Through 2003. University
of Michigan Law School,
2004.
“But this accounts
for only about 20 percent
of misidentification incidents.”
Liptak, Adam. “Study
Suspects Thousands of
False Convictions.”
The New York Times,
April 2004.
“…this so-called
“weapon focus”
can create a dramatic
dip in the accuracy of
recall.”
Loftus, et al. “Some
Facts About Weapon Focus.”
Law & Human Behavior,
55, 1987
“Research suggests
that whenever the threat
of violence is high, only
30 percent of victims
make a correct identification
in a live lineup (as opposed
to 62 percent of a low-stress
control group).”
Morgan, Charles A., et
al. “Accuracy of
eyewitness memory for
persons encountered during
exposure to highly intense
stress.” International
Journal of Law and Psychiatry,
27 (265 – 279),
2004.
“But when confronted
with a six-pack, witnesses
have been shown to use
a “relative judgment”
strategy…”
Lindsay, R. C. L., &
Wells, G. L. “Improving
eyewitness identifications
from lineups: Simultaneous
versus sequential lineup
presentation.” Journal
of Applied Psychology,
70, 1985.
“… 120 rape
exonerations studied by
the Justice Department,
45 percent involved misidentification
of black men by white
women.”
Gross,
Samuel R. Exonerations
In The United States 1989
Through 2003. University
of Michigan Law School,
2004.
“‘I picked
out Ronald because, subconsciously,
he resembled the photo,
which resembled the composite,
which resembled the attacker…”
Simon, Taryn. “The
Innocents.” New
York: Umbrage, 2003.
iv.2: Race Matters
“More than two-thirds
of exonerees in the United
States come from racial
or ethnic minorities.
Out of 328 exonerations
between 1989 and 2003,
55 percent were black
and 13 percent were Hispanic.”
Gross,
Samuel R. Exonerations
In The United States 1989
Through 2003. University
of Michigan Law School,
2004.
“…inappropriate
for someone who is a decisive
individual.”
Amnesty
International. “Capital
jurors – voice of
the community?”
2005.
“In capital cases
with a black defendant
and a white victim, the
presence of at least one
black man alone on a mostly
white jury appears to
reduce the likelihood
of a death penalty verdict
anywhere from 36 percent
to 70 percent.”
Bowers, William and Sandys,
Marla. “Concluding
Thoughts: Speaking to
Be Understood: Identity
and the Politics of Race
and the Death Penalty.”
De Paul Law Review,
2004.
iv.3: In-House
Legal Expertise
“… landmark
Supreme Court ruling in
1969.”
and
“… barring
inmates from furnishing
such assistance to others.”
Johnson v. Avery.
393 US 483 (1969).
iv.4: School’s
Out
“In 1993, the Federal
Bureau of Prisons (FBOP)
and all forty-three state
departments of corrections
granted associate’s
degrees… FBOP could
even earn Ph.D.s.”
Welsh, M. “The Effects
of the Elimination of
Pell Grant Eligibility
for State Prison Inmates.”
The Journal of Correctional
Education 53, 2002.
“… including
improved disciplinary
records, diminished parole
revocation rates, and
higher employment rates
after release.”
Vacca, J. “Educated
Prisoners Are Less Likely
to Return to Prison.”
The Journal of Correctional
Education 55, 2004.
“By 1995, 342 of
the 350 prison college
programs in the United
States prison system had
been eliminated…”
“Changing
Minds: The Impact of College
in a Maximum Security
Prison.” Graduate
Center of the City University
of New York and Women
in Prison at the Bedford
Hills Correctional Facility,
2005.
“The average exoneree
emerges after twelve or
more years of incarceration
with the equivalent of
an eleventh-grade education
and ill-equipped to compete
in the employment marketplace.”
Gross,
Samuel R. Exonerations
In The United States 1989
Through 2003. University
of Michigan Law School,
2004.
