CONTENTS

• Jurisdiction: United States

Contents

Acknowledgments xiii

Chapter 1 • Wrongful Convictions: Introduction and Overview 3

Learning Objectives 3

Case Study: The Scottsboro Boys 3

Wrongful Convictions and American Criminal Justice 5

How Often Do Wrongful Convictions Occur? 7

Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Correlates 10

An Abbreviated History of the Innocence Movement 11

Administering Justice: Arrest, Prosecution, and Adjudication 12

Learning Objectives and Volume Preview 16

Key Terms and Concepts 17

Discussion Questions 18

References 19

Chapter 2 • Eyewitness Identification 23

Learning Objectives 23

Case Study: Ronald Cotton 23

Eyewitness Errors: Overview and Research 25

Estimator Variables 26

System Variables 27

Witness Confidence 29

False Memories 29

Eyewitness Identification and the Law 30

Reducing Witness Error: Eyewitness Identification Policy Reforms 46

Witness Instructions 46

Blind Procedures 47

Confidence Statements 47

Lineup Composition 48

Sequential Presentation 49

Recording Identification Procedures 49

Conclusion 49

Key Terms and Concepts 50

Discussion Questions 51

References 51

Chapter 3 • False Admissions: Interrogations, Confessions, and Guilty Pleas 55

Learning Objectives 55

Case Study: The Central Park Five 55

False Admissions: Overview and Research 57

Interrogations and False Confessions 59

Misclassification 60

Coercion 60

Contamination 62

Strength of Confession Evidence 62

False Guilty Pleas 63

Confessions, Guilty Pleas, and the Law 64

Police Interrogation and Confessions 65

Guilty Pleas 68

Reducing False Admissions: Interrogation and Plea Reforms 73

Recording Custodial Interrogations 73

Reforming Interrogation Practices 74

Protecting Vulnerable Suspects 75

Plea Reform 76

Conclusion 77

Key Terms and Concepts 77

Discussion Questions 78

References 78

Chapter 4 • Forensic Science Evidence 83

Learning Objectives 83

Case Study: Santae Tribble 83

Research on Forensic Science Errors 85

Mistakes and Intentional Misconduct in the Lab and at Trial 85

Cognitive Bias 87

Forensic Science Evidence and the Law 88

Forensic Science Reform 94

Conclusion 97

Key Terms and Concepts 97

Discussion Questions 98

References 98

Chapter 5 • Incentivized Informants and Snitches 103

Learning Objectives 103

Case Study: William Dillon 103

Incentivized Informants: Overview and Research 105

Incentivized Informants and the Law 109

Increasing Informant Reliability: Policy Reforms 114

Data Collection 114

Establishing Guidelines 114

Limits on Informants and Prosecutors 115

Recording Requirements 115

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