Tag Archives: Wrongful Conviction
Thousands of New York Criminal Cases Relied On DNA Testing Techniques Now Under Scrutiny
DNA evidence has been considered a valuable tool in criminal investigations over the last three decades or so; especially when it comes to persuading judges or juries. Yet while something such a semen or blood can be linked to one person specifically, when the DNA material is just a few skin cells, for example,… Read More »
Where Does The Responsibility For A Wrongful Conviction Lie?
It would likely be a surprise to most that, according to The New York Times, just in the last three years, Brooklyn’s Conviction Review Unit has asked judges to free 23 defendants who, it stated, were in prison when they shouldn’t have been. And just think: this is only one of many units in… Read More »
Sessions’ Blow to Forensic Science Is Troubling For Justice in Criminal Conviction Cases
Recently Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that that the Department of Justice was disbanding the National Commission on Forensic Science and, instead, returning complete control of forensic science over to local law enforcement. In the same vein, Sessions suspended the department’s review of closed cases for evidence of any inaccurate or unsupported statements by… Read More »
Police Immunity & the Connection to Wrongful Convictions
What constitutes excessive use of force, and how is it connected to police immunity? Holding police officers civilly liable for police misconduct is important, but it is also important to know when police officers, as government officers, can raise immunity as a defense. Ultimately, police abuse is directly connected to other elements of the… Read More »
Criminal Injustice Rampant with New York’s Conspiracy Law
While most people have heard of crimes related to violent activities or drug charges, many have not heard about another New York state law that can places people behind bars simply due to ‘who they know.’ Specifically, New York’s conspiracy law allows anyone to be charged with conspiracy in the first degree if a… Read More »
