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May 08, 2024
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2018-19 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
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CJ 205 Wrongful Convictions and Exonerations
The adaptation of DNA analysis for forensic science investigation disrupted the field of criminal justice. DNA exonerations not only free actually innocent men and women from prison—in some cases after decades of wrongful incarceration–but they also raise questions about the processes and procedures that lead to wrongful convictions in the first place. Since the first DNA exoneration, questions have been raised about police interrogation techniques, eyewitness identification procedures, the quality of indigent defense, prosecutorial misconduct, and the scientific validity of several other fields of forensic science. In this course we will examine what DNA exonerations reveal about the field of criminal justice, how exonerations occur, what can be done to correct criminal justice processes to minimize the chance of wrongful convictions, and what happens after an inmate is exonerated. The vast majority of DNA exonerations occur in sexual assault and murder cases; students are forewarned that some of the discussion may be disturbing.
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