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Wrongful Convictions In Canada Essay
Wrongful Convictions in the Canadian Criminal Justice System
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Write My Essay For MeIntroduction to Canadian Legal System
The Canadian criminal justice system is meant to protect the rights and freedoms of the innocent, while punishing those who are guilty of crimes against society. However, no system of governance is perfect and as a result, the innocent sometimes become the victim of the exact justice system that is designed to protect them. This paper will explore the topic of wrongful convictions in Canada by analyzing some elements of the Canadian justice system (CJS), reviewing and discussing the wrongful conviction case of David Milgaard.
Tunnel Vision
The suspicion of guilt will most likely lead investigators to charge the suspected criminal. The legal rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provide persons with the right to be “presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law”. It is the responsibility of law enforcement officials to keep the peace in society and lay charges on those who disrupt the peace.
Therefore, it can be argued that society will think the police only press charges against guilty people. It can also be argued that the desire to catch the criminal and the initial suspicion of guilt will focus investigators to gather evidence on a guilty suspect (Kennedy, 2004). This evidence will either include or eliminate the person as a suspect. However, commissions of inquiry into wrongful convictions have shown that the presumption of guilt is a precursor to ‘tunnel vision’. Tunnel vision is defined to be the single minded and overly narrow focus on an investigation.
This leads to a biased evaluation of the information received and biased actions in response to the information (FPT Heads of Prosecutions Committee, 2004). It is claimed that the desire to secure a conviction arises from increased pressure from the community and justice professionals to catch the criminal. Similarly, this desire may result in unprofessional behaviour against a suspect that investigators are convinced is guilty.
This may cause officials to lose, suppress, misinterpret, and overlook evidence that may otherwise prove the suspect’s innocence (Denov & Campbell, 2005). In addition, tunnel vision on a suspect may also reduce their search for other suspects to the crime. As a result, the lack of potential suspects to a crime may reduce the likelihood of a jury to acquit the accused on the basis of reasonable doubt. In summary, a suspicion of guilt may lead investigators to potential suspects; however, it may also lead to tunnel vision which may cause officials to influence evidence against a potential suspect.
In R v. Milgaard the polygraph officer coerced Ron Wilson into providing a testimony which he believed was true. As a result, the officer did not perform a polygraph on Ron Wilson’s new statement assuming it true. Had he performed the polygraph, it would have been discovered the statement was false and inadmissible as evidence (MacCallum, 2008). Wrongful Convictions In Canada Essay
Eye Witness Testimony
It is claimed that eyewitnesses provide the most unreliable type of evidence in criminal proceedings. Law enforcement officials maintain that the eyewitness’s firsthand knowledge about the crime is crucial in determining the truth. Therefore, it could be argued that eyewitness evidence is the most reliable to convict a suspected criminal (Technical Working Group for Eyewitness Evidence, 1999). It is the assertion of the criminal justice system that a positive identification is a main feature of any offence and is an essential part of the process. It is further said that a prosecution witness who can confidently, under oath, identify the suspect committing the crime is most likely telling the truth (FPT Heads of Prosecutions Committee, 2004). Wrongful Convictions In Canada Essay
However, psychological studies show eyewitness identifications to be unreliable due to the normal deficiencies in the human memory process. There are three main reasons for these deficiencies. Firstly, the witness may be subject to unconscious transference where they confuse the suspect with another person seen at another event. Secondly, the witness may be subject to suggestive police interviewing where information is passed to the eyewitness that may contaminate their testimony. Wrongful Convictions In Canada Essay
Due to tunnel vision, police investigators may also coerce the witness into providing evidence that is contrary to what they saw. Finally, the witness is more confident about their identification if given positive feedback from law officials. The studies further indicate that most jurors are unaware of the potential problems with eye witness testimony. Accordingly, they have too much faith in its accuracy (Denov & Campbell, 2005).
Overall, eyewitness’s firsthand evidence of the crime can be very valuable in catching criminals; however, their evidence is subject to human error and contamination by law officials who are prone to tunnel vision.
Of particular importance is the alibi witness who can prove the innocence of the accused. In R v. Milgaard, John and Wilson were initially Milgaard’s alibi witnesses. However, once Milgaard was mistakenly identified as a potential suspect, investigators assumed Jo………………
