NCJ Number
210289
Journal
Judicial Officers' Bulletin Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: May 2005 Pages: 27-30
Date Published
May 2005
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions identifies the causes of wrongful convictions and measures that have been taken to prevent them; the proposed abolition of the rule against double jeopardy is briefly considered.
Abstract
Among the reasons for wrongful convictions are a narrow focus by police and prosecutors on one suspect while ignoring other possible suspects; reliance on eyewitness identification and testimony, which has been shown to have questionable reliability; false confessions; reliance on inmate informers; failure to use DNA evidence to exclude as well as include suspects; incorrect forensic evidence and expert testimony; flawed recordkeeping; ineffective defense; and lack of training in ways to guard against wrongful convictions. New South Wales has sought to foster a culture of practices designed to avoid wrongful convictions through the development of and compliance with Prosecution Guidelines designed to improve assessments of investigative techniques, evidence collection and analysis, and thorough critiques of the weight of evidence for and against suspects. Although the ordinary appeal processes are intended to prevent wrongful convictions, should a grievance persist, a petition may be made to the Governor, who may direct an inquiry into a case, but only if there are serious questions about evidence and strong doubts about guilt. Other measures that might be taken are to change the eyewitness identification process to a double-blind, sequential examination of persons or images, as well as to videotape interrogations to ensure that proper procedures prevent false confessions. The abolition of the rule against double jeopardy (being tried for the same offense twice) is discussed as a means of preventing wrongful acquittals. Conditions proposed for waiving this rule are listed. 13 notes