Deck 10: Wrongful Convictions

Question 1

Why would the advocates of the Crime Control model be concerned with wrongful convictions?

A) Because it supports the suppression and the prevention of crime
B) Because of the economic burdens such ineffective practices place on the system
C) Because the guilty party may still be free and present a danger to the community
D) Because it promotes increases in arrests, convictions, and incarcerations

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What is prisonization?

A) A society built on incarceration
B) Public institutions increasing resemble the prison
C) Being stigmatized by the prison experience
D) Resisting the mores and customs of inmate subcultures

Answer 2

C

Question 3

An indigent defendant is a

A) native defendant to the county.
B) local defendant that cannot afford a lawyer.
C) defendant who contest the charge against him.
D) poor defendant that cannot afford a lawyer.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Innocence projects were established to

A) abolish the death penalty.
B) investigate wrongful convictions and to educate the public about them.
C) further the liberal cause.
D) empty overcrowded prisons.

Question 5

Eyewitness misidentification played a role in what percentage of the cases of false convictions that were overturned using DNA evidence?

A) 70 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 17 percent
D) 12 percent

Question 6

Which of the following are a source or sources of eyewitness misidentification?

A) These persons may be given money by the prosecution.
B) Most eyewitnesses to crimes act maliciously.
C) Poor vision and bad eyes
D) Crime trauma, intoxication, and influence by media publicity or prosecutors

Question 7

What is the best way to reduce mistakes in suspect identifications?

A) Cover the suspect's eyes.
B) Prevent the administrator of the line-up from giving any cues to the witness.
C) Require an additional lie detector test.
D) Make it a felony crime to falsely identify suspects.

Question 8

Which groups are particularly at risk of making false confessions?

A) Blue color criminals
B) Novice criminals
C) Liars and dishonest individuals
D) Persons with mental illness and juveniles

Question 9

What are some of the strategies officers use to convince suspects to confess?

A) Threat of force
B) Continuous questioning and sleep deprivation
C) Carrot and stick
D) Good cop/bad cop

Question 10

The greatest hazard of using the testimony of a snitch occurs in what type of cases?

A) Capital cases
B) Espionage cases
C) Blackmail cases
D) Money laundering, bribery, and counterfeiting cases

Question 11

The average time served by the 350 individuals exonerated was four years.

Question 12

Wrongful convictions are errors, but they do not harm the integrity of the entire criminal justice system.

Question 13

Wrongful convictions are not a challenge distinctive to the United States. Other countries, however, have been quick to adopt safeguards to reduce the harm of these errors. Justice systems in the United States have resisted similar safeguards.

Question 14

Officials in the justice system believe that about 1 in 100 cases results in a wrongful conviction.

Question 15

Eyewitness misidentification is the primary cause of wrongful convictions.

Question 16

False confessions are not common in criminal justice.

Question 17

There were about 200,000 untested sexual assault kits (SAK; also called rape kits) in the evidence storage units of U.S. police departments and sheriff's offices.

Question 18

DNA tests are usually completed within five to six working days.

Question 19

Many crime labs are closely tied to police departments or district attorneys' offices and therefore lack independence.

Question 20

Prosecutors have much power and discretion, but because of checks and balances, they cannot easily engage in misconduct.