User:Cbaranoski/Forensic identification

Flawed forensic science evidence has contributed to many wrongful imprisonments over the years. One of the most tragic things that can occur in the criminal justice system is a person being convicted of a crime they never committed because not only would they just go to jail, but the victim may also experience a feeling of guilt, devastation, helplessness, and depression. Even though they’re innocent, it can also affect their ability to get a job and their relationship with friends and family. According to LaPorte, the six contributing causes for wrongful convictions include “eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, government misconduct, inadequate defense, informants, and invalidated forensic science” (2018). Although there are many causes of wrongful convictions, eyewitness misidentification still remains the greatest contributor and is usually overturned by DNA testing, but not always. DNA testing has even exonerated plentiful convictions, some of which were on death row. There was always a saying that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, it sometimes gets twisted where they’re presumed guilty until proven innocent, which caused many of the cases that were wrongfully convicted. Many methods that are used in forensic science evidence have been proven to be unreliable. A lot of trials have been reviewed and testimony involving mostly “microscopic hair comparison, but some included bite mark, shoe print, soil, fiber, and fingerprint comparisons” have been overturned because forensic analysts have provided invalid testimony at the trial (Garrett and Neufeld, 2009). The importance of forensic evidence methods being done correctly is significant, so the right people are put behind bars. If the wrong people are convicted, the criminal is still out prowling the streets for a new victim and hasn’t faced the consequences of their actions. According to Bonventre, “false or misleading forensic evidence was a contributing factor in 24% of the 873 exonerations” (2020).