Wrongful Convictions

Catalog description

Elective Course Enrollment Limit: 20 Course Requirement: paper May satisfy the Upper Level Writing requirement Since 1989, the results from DNA testing from post-trial claims of actual innocence are causing policy and practical shifts in our understanding of what were once thought to be settled conventions and static principles in our criminal justice system. This shift has not only assisted law enforcement in solving crimes, but it has also helped to reveal a problem that many observers of the criminal justice system have long suspected: that a number of actually innocent prisoners have been convicted in the United States. This seminar will explore (1) the primary factors that contribute to the phenomenon of wrongful convictions and (2) potential reforms that could be implemented to guard against convicting of the innocent. We will explore various policy initiatives in Pennsylvania and around the nation, pertinent case and statutory law as it continues to develop, post-conviction practices, various other disciplines and social sciences and how they impact our understanding of criminal law, law review and peer-reviewed articles on select aspects of wrongful convictions, and case studies of specific exonorees, some of whom who will visit with the class during the semester. Each student will be required to write a research paper on a counseled topic of your choice and briefly present your paper to the class.