Justice must always question itself...
Justice must always question itself, just as society can exist only by means of the work it does on itself and its institutions.
—Michel Foucault
Were I ever to be falsely accused of a crime, I would rather have my guilt or innocence determined in the United States than in any other country. The American criminal justice system is among the most advanced in the world, and is equipped with innumerable safeguards to protect criminal defendants. Yet a relative trust in the system should not obscure the reality that the system could be better. The vain assumption that innocents are not convicted in this country has been obliterated in recent years as nearly two hundred men and women have walked out of prison after DNA testing proved they had not committed the crimes for which they were convicted. More sobering still is the reality that more than a dozen of them were freed from death row, where they were awaiting their executions.
Recognizing the enormity of the individual injustices and acknowledging the nag that they might be just the tip of some tragic iceberg risks inspiring paralysis. It would seem that curing the problem might cripple a system which, considering its size and complexity, functions well on the whole. Might it be better to accept the incarceration—or even execution—of a relatively small number of innocents as the cost of doing judicial business? Certainly it would be easier. It would not be just, though. It is one thing to acknowledge that no judicial system will ever be perfect. It is quite another, however, to forego the effort to improve the quality of justice to that degree within reach. Such a concession would relinquish any claim to legitimacy and weaken the integrity of the system so severely that its ultimate survival would be left in question.
Of course, such generalized philosophizing leaves the question unanswered: How can we reduce the risk of wrongful convictions, and increase the chances that mistakes are caught and corrected when they are made? One organization that has considered the specifics of the problem is the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic that works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through post-conviction DNA testing, and develop and implement reforms to prevent wrongful convictions.. The Innocence Project has recommended a number of reform priorities that could improve the reliability of the criminal justice system in this country, and which merit serious consideration:
Access To Post-Conviction DNA Testing. DNA testing has proved to be an invaluable tool in identifying and exonerating the wrongly convicted. In order for such testing to have an impact, it must be made available. The 2004 Federal Justice For All Act (JFAA), makes DNA testing available in certain limited circumstances for federal prisoners, and many states have enacted similar statutes. Many of these laws, however, do not go far enough, and several states still have no provision at all for the availability of post-conviction DNA testing.
Preservation Of Evidence. Even if DNA testing is available on a procedural level, if the evidence from crime scenes are not adequately preserved, there will be nothing to test. The JFAA provides some financial incentives to states to preserve evidence, but addition legislation is needed to standardize preservation techniques.
Eyewitness Identification Reform. The sad reality is that eyewitness identification is often the least reliable form of evidence. Research indicates that faulty eyewitness identification was a factor in seventy-five percent of all known wrongful convictions. Some states have taken steps to improve their eyewitness identification techniques, instituting double-blind procedures and other safeguards, but similar reforms should be adopted in all jurisdictions.
Crime Lab Oversight. No reforms involving the science of police investigations will have an impact unless police crime labs are professionally monitored to ensure both the adequacy of their procedures and the accuracy of their results. Recent revelations in Boston regarding the failure of crime labs with respect to both fingerprint and DNA evidence illustrate the importance of consistent oversight.
Innocence Commissions. No matter how many reforms are instituted, mistakes will be made, and innocents will be convicted. It is crucial, however to understand how these mistakes happen after they are discovered. Few states have taken reasonable steps to establish investigative bodies to determine the causes of false convictions. Such "Innocence Commissions" would be invaluable in continuing to make our judicial systems more accurate and more reliable.
There is a rational temptation for most of us to ignore the shortcomings in our system of criminal justice-those failures impact few of us on a personal level. But the quality of justice is the cornerstone on which every society is built. For more information on how we may be able to improve the quality of justice in this country, go to www.innocenceproject.org.
Copyright © David Hosp
