Module 3 Alternative Assignment
This assignment is designed to the place of the Module 3 discussion. You do not need permission from your instructor to complete this assignment instead of watching Southwest of Salem. What I would like for you do to is the following:
Please read this short article on exonerations. https://time.com/wrongly-convicted/ (Links to an external site.)
Do some informal research 1 case that involves an exoneration. You can just Google “exoneration case,” and you should be able to find a list or something.
Write a short 1-2 page MS Word doc where you address:
Give a short (1 paragraph) summary of the case, pre-exoneration
Give a short (1 paragraph) summary of the exoneration
Give a short (1 paragraph) explanation of how the case illustrates (or does not illustrate) the Times article I linked
Submit the document to the dropbox on Canvas
This has the same due date as the regular assignment. I know it’s more work than just “watcha movie and respond.” It’s not meant to be a punishment for not watching the movie though. It’s just now you are more or less responsible for finding content that you will respond to.
Please address the following questions:
This module’s lecture was all about labeling. How do you think the San Antonio Four’s labels affected their case?
According to this Time article (link here (Links to an external site.)) exonerations have been on the rise since 1989. Why do you think this is? What role do you think “science” played in both conviction and exoneration? Does this show the CJS is doing a good job at catching mistakes, or that it’s makings mistakes, some of which get discovered?
This case happened in the mid 90’s. Do you think it could happen today? Why or why not?
ANSWER
Summary
John Gordon was executed and hanged to death by Rhode Island over the death of a Sprague. During this time, there were the Anti-Irish and the Anti-Roman Catholic bias, which is said to have influenced his death. During the trial, there were three suspects. The suspects were listed based on the fact that Sprague had caused the license of Nicholas Gordon, who was the brother of John Gordon, to be suspended. It was said that Sprague got the power to influence this as he had a brother William who was a senator in the US. Nicolas and William were found not guilty during the trial, while John was convicted under unclear circumstances (Chambers, 2009).
Exoneration
However, on the 29th of June 2011, John Gordon was pardoned, as he was executed out of unclear circumstances. This came seven years after Rhode Island abolished the death penalty, where his case was used for reference, as the handwriting of the judge in the trial could not be read as there were written in Durfe’s cryptic. After further readings, it was found out that no smoking gun could determine his innocence or guilt. It was then stated that no one would be executed in Rhode Island before capital punishment was given.
How the case illustrates (or does not illustrate) the Times article, I linked.
This article is linked to the Times article such that people are convicted with links to drug abuse without a proper investigation being done. In the Times article, it is suggested that no suspect is arrested and convicted unless the substance in question has been taken to a lab, which will help avoid cases of faulty test kits used by the police. In the same case, if the judges had distributed the trials, there could be one who would come up with a different judgment avoiding him from being executed over unclear circumstances.
How do you think the San Antonio Four’s labels affected their case?
The fact that lesbianism had not been accepted back in society affected the case of the San Antonio Fours being termed as guilty. Since they were lesbians, and lesbianism was termed satanic, there were high chances that it could be believed if the girl gave the testimony. The case was more dependent on women’s sexuality.
Why exonerations have Increased
Exonerations have increased considering the trend of increased accountability in persecution offices. There is no destroying of evidence used to convict a victim, as, in early years; the evidence used for conviction would be destroyed upon conviction.
What role does science play in both conviction and exoneration?
The high number of exonerations has increased due to the wrongful convictions caused by wrongful arrests, wrongful eyewitness, eyewitness misidentification, and official misconduct. However, with science, things such as DNA which brings clear evidence undoes the wrongful arrests hence no wrong convictions (Olney & Bonn, 2015).
Does this show the CJS is doing a good job at catching mistakes or that it’s making mistakes, some of which get discovered?
Despite that the CJ’s is doing a good job in convicting criminals, more strategic planning needs to be done to ensure that factors that lead to wrongful convictions which are yet to be discovered have been undone. Many people are indeed serving jail terms that they know nothing about due to wrongful or faulty placed evidence that is contributed by corruption. Hence more strategies are needed to avoid such cases.
This case happened in the mid-’90s. Do you think it could happen today? Why or why not?
Yes, such cases can happen today. Some communities still haven’t accepted lesbianism, and lesbians are considered evil. In such cases, this can happen. Society today has also been filled with corruption and racism, increasing the chances of such happening.
References
Chambers, S. (2009). “Neither Justice nor Mercy”: Public and Private Executions in Rhode Island, 1832–1833. The New England Quarterly, 82(3), 430-451.
Olney, M., & Bonn, S. (2015). An exploratory study of the legal and non-legal factors associated with exoneration for wrongful conviction: The power of DNA evidence. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 26(4), 400-420.
