The Causes and Remedies of Wrongful Conviction
Date Issued
2015
Date
2015
Author(s)
Su, Pin-Chen
Abstract
Innocence Project started in 1992 in America. It is devoted to save the innocence from wrongful convictions with DNA retest in the US. Until now, it has saved more than 300 innocence. Many wrongful convictions happens in Taiwan, too, but before Taiwan Association for Innocence founded, Judicial Reform Foundation was the one of the few NGO aiming at saving the innocence. In 2013, Taiwan Association for Innocence was founded thanks to the professor of NTU and some endeavored lawyers, and since then, researches and resources for saving the innocence started to grow. For the US, they research on the cases that had been proved wrongfully convicted, and point out the systematical causes of wrongful convictions, which are eyewitness misidentification, unvalidated or improper forensic science, false confessions or admissions, informants……Although, we share different judicial systems, this thesis tries to seek for the common and looks for the causes of wrongful conviction of Taiwan. The thesis begin with eyewitness misidentification which is the most common causes for wrongful convictions. Some social scientists point out that Manson Rule is not the powerful standard for wrongful identification. Meanwhile, the concept of improper forensic science contains two sub-issues, which are junk science and improper forensic testimony. Researches about false confessions or admissions point out that the innocence might confess because the consideration of procedural benefits. Some of the false confessions is also due to misconducts of the polices or prosecutors. The thesis defines the research object as the convictions that has been overturned in retrial, and choses three cases to be the closer-look objects: the case of Su Chien-ho, the case of Jiang Guo-Qing, the case of Chen Long-Qi. The thesis analyzes the judgements and the related judicial papers to find the causes of wrongful convictions of Taiwan, and tries to compare those causes to those of the America’s. In the end the thesis provides some reform advices for criminal judicial system of Taiwan. The last chapter is based on the legislation amendment of the procedures of retrial in 2015. Through reviewing the legislation of retrial before the amendment and finding the important aspect of retrial that has not been legislated, the thesis introduces anther options that called innocence commissions. Taking Criminal Case Review Commission and North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission for example, the thesis hope to provide the new and powerful way to strengthen the remedies of wrongful convictions.
Subjects
Innocence
Wrongful Conviction
Innocence Commission
Innocence Project
SDGs
Type
thesis
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