ABSTRACT

Controversies in Innocence Cases in America brings together leading experts on the investigation, litigation, and scholarly analysis of innocence cases in America, from legal, political and ethical perspectives. The contributors, many of whom work on these cases daily, investigate contemporary issues presented by innocence cases and the exoneration movement as a whole. These issues include the challenges faced by the movement, causes of wrongful convictions, problems associated with investigating, proving, and defining 'innocence', and theories of reform. Each issue is placed within a multi-disciplinary perspective to provide cogent observations and recommendations for the effective handling of these cases, and for what changes should be adopted in order to improve the American criminal justice system when it is faced with its most harrowing sight: an innocent defendant.

part I|38 pages

The Rise of the Innocence Movement in America

chapter 1|18 pages

Innocence Found

The New Revolution in American Criminal Justice

chapter 2|18 pages

The Innocence Network

From Beginning to Branding

part II|82 pages

How Are Innocent People Convicted? Common Causes of Wrongful Convictions

chapter 3|16 pages

Eyewitnesses and Erroneous Convictions

An American Conundrum

chapter 4|16 pages

Disputed Interrogation Techniques in America

True and False Confessions and the Estimation and Valuation of Type I and II Errors

chapter 6|34 pages

The Two-Legged Stool

The Asymmetry of American Aid for the Rule of Law and the Risk of Wrongful Conviction

part IV|46 pages

Innocence Reform

chapter 11|22 pages

Innocence Commissions in America

Ten Years After