Wrongful Convictions in the American Criminal Justice System: The Impact of Deceptive Psychological Tactics Used by Law Enforcement, Memory-reliant Evidence, and Socially Conditioned Associations

Abstract

Within the United States, wrongful convictions pose massive moral and ethical dilemmas, while also threatening the integrity and reliability of our criminal justice system's framework. When analyzing each of these instances of injustice, it is generally apparent to see an array of ways in which the American criminal justice system has failed. Whether these flaws stem from law enforcement agencies, the judicial system's main players (such as judges or attorneys), or even the general American population ( such as jurors, witnesses, or the average laypeople), one thing is clear: preventative measures can be taken in order to minimize these errors, potentially leading to less incarcerations of innocent individuals. This paper uses historical context, research, direct testimonials from experts, and the experiences of wrongfully accused individuals in order to demonstrate common, risk-inducing contributing factors to wrongful convictions. Additionally, this paper suggests potentially powerful changes which may have the ability to lessen the statistically significant amount of injustices within the American criminal justice system.