Case Study on "Criminal Justice Policy and Theory"

Case Study 3 pages (1014 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Wrongful Convictions Act in Arizona

Arizona State Analysis in Implementing the Wrongful Convictions Act

Hot debates concerning compensating the exonerated date back to 1900s. The movement to compensate the wrongly convicted has never gained momentum until in the recent years. With more victims being released, the topic of compensating those convicted is more relevant than ever. The society is always on the lookout for the convicts, whether rightfully or wrongly convicted, and has the ultimate mandate to allow for compensation assistance. This is achieved by offering monetary compensation depending on the year served, providing financial services to acquire basic needs, legal aid, medical attention and development assistance in rebuilding professional skills. Several statutes concerning the subject have been provided in almost 27 states in America, Arizona being among them.

Arizona is evaluating a bill regarding those who are wrongly convicted. The bill can be cited as the Wrongful Convictions Act. The bill intends to put in place law, which gives money as compensation for people wrongly convicted for a crime, and the money will be apportioned to different government entities. The compensation is deemed to be $1,000 incarceration per day as a result of the wrongful conviction. The money will be paid by the county where arrest occurred and the law enforcement agency who initiated the arrest, each contributing 50%. The bill proposes that money will be paid in a lump sum within thirty days of decision by the court.

The people of Arizona propose the bill because they think that wrongfully convicted people deserve compensation for loss of income, liberty and freedom. They also think that the litigation has harmful results to a person; therefore, the person deserves compensation. The bill aims at protecting innocent people from suffering consequences of a conviction. From another perspective, the bill could have been encouraged by statistics in Maryland, Illinois and Arizona, which revealed after subsequent DNA testing that innocent people were convicted (Tatalvoich and Byron, W, pg. 69). Despite a wrongful conviction of an innocent person, not compensating them can add insult to injury. When the innocent are convicted, they will not have time to prove their innocence, assuming they have investigative and legal resources to prove the innocence.

Passing the bill will require minimum and maximum amount to be put in place depending on different sentences. Like other states, compensation may depend on the nature of conviction and how the convicted person contributed to their own conviction, so the Act has to be clear and unambiguous about such issues. There are restrictions which bar the convicted person from receiving compensation like new conviction of a felony or past felony convictions if a person pled guilty of falsely confessed. Such contributed to their own conviction, and they must show that DNA evidence exonerated them.

Implications of the policy

Wrongful convictions can lead to hate and contempt from convicted innocent persons, towards the people involved in their cases. It leads to feelings of betrayal, paranoia and anger. This can lead to revenge or other vengeful actions for the injustices done… READ MORE

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