We saw the confusion of the Sacco and Vanzetti case that the criminal justice system is flawed and still could be even though we have much better forensic science and technology. There is a lot of corruption that goes on within someone's trial, for example, we looked at how the judge in the Sacco and Vanzetti case withheld important information that could have proved them innocent. Is it possible to iron out all the flaws that could detain someone for life, or even end their life under false accusations?
One of the first problems with many cases today such as rape, murder, and domestic abuse is that witness accounts are not always accurate. I have learned in my AP Psychology class that people's memories are easily mixed up, incorrect, and it is also easy to plant a memory into someone. This phenomenon was talked about in the Ted Talk by Elizabeth Loftus [https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_loftus_the_fiction_of_memory]. False eyewitness accounts can ruin someone's life.
Another source contributing to the confusion of a trial is a biased judge, for example in the Sacco and Vanzetti case,
the judge had prejudice against anarchists and Italians, because of that even though there was forensic proof that
they were not the perpetrators, he withheld the information to have them killed anyway.
We cannot completely trust the justice system, and I think that is a key factor in how safe the people feel in
the U.S, what do you think about the situation?
I definetely agree that the Sacco and Vanzetti trial was executed very poorly. The judge as well as other members of the jury and judicial system acted without courtroom morality resulting in a corrupt trial. But just because this one trial it does not mean that our whole entire judicial system today is corrupt. Sure, there have been plenty of poorly executed trials and incorrect verdicts. And yes, there are probably hundreds of people in jails today that are innocent, but that is just something that happens. Not everyone is perfect and verdicts won't always be correct.
ReplyDeleteI happen to also have learned about the phenomenon called the misinformation effect that commonly becomes a problem in eye witnesses. In the moment, they could very well have seen a clear recognizable face. But when asked to remember it they often get mixed up. What the misinformation i=effect does is as such: witnesses who see a lineup of faces could choose the wrong person based on facial expression, an attribute, or previous information saying they are suspicious. Hence they are biased towards the suspicious people, such as Sacco and Vanzetti were thought to be.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to your point of misinformation and corruption that goes on within the criminal justice system, many of these information given to the judge may have either happened by mistake or done purposely to avoid punishment. This is considered one of the main ways that they make accidental mistakes through. An example from current time would be not thoroughly cleaning a certain kind of scanner, causing misinformation for the forensics team when investigating and getting false information and causing innocent people to be considered as guilty.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the trail for Sacco and Venzetti was not fair. The judges and jury judged the men based on their values and what they stood for instead of the crime that they were being charged with. After learning that witness statements are not always valid, this can also cause some question to the witness testimonies that were given at the trial. However, I do not believe that the entire justice system is corrupt. The justice system today has come a long way from the past, and yes there still is a ways to go, but I don't think it is completely broken.
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