2008 Woodie Awards
Criminal Justice Presents 'Miscarriages of Justice'
Daniel Barber/Muleskinner
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: News
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Since 1973, more than 120 people in 25 states, including Missouri, have been exonerated and released after they were sentenced to die, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
That statistic does not count Ted White Jr., Dennis Fritz and hundreds of others who have both been exonerated for lesser crimes they did not commit.
White and Fritz were victims of the justice system's failure to come to a just decision and spent years appealing their convictions.
Their stories, along with academic papers will be presented at Central during the "Miscarriages of Justice" conference, Feb. 19 through Feb. 21.
In what has become an annual conference at Central, the event, hosted by the criminal justice department and the Institute of Justice and International Studies, will bring academics who researched the faults of the justice system, as well as individuals who have experienced a miscarriage of justice.
Speakers from near and far, as well as students from the criminal justice department, will present information on topics such as wrongful convictions and looking at problems of the criminal justice system.
Presentations will be made discussing both the factors that contribute to the wrongful convictions and factors that help alleviate injustices.
Liz Hicks, office assistant for the educational leadership and human development department, is presenting a poster titled "Reintegration after Exoneration."
Once freed, an exoneree faces difficulties in reintegration after the highly structured and controlled life of prison life, Hicks said.
"Exonerees run the risk of being institutionalized while in prison and dealing with the effects of that can make it harder for them to readjust after release," Hicks said. "More difficulties arise in relationships that could have been strained or lost while the exoneree was incarcerated. It may be hard for them to find jobs."
"A problem that is often overlooked is the stigma that goes along with exoneration," Hicks added. "Wrongful Conviction and Innocence Projects are still very controversial topics, and it is not so easy to convince people in the world that there are, in fact, innocent people sitting in our prison system today.
That statistic does not count Ted White Jr., Dennis Fritz and hundreds of others who have both been exonerated for lesser crimes they did not commit.
White and Fritz were victims of the justice system's failure to come to a just decision and spent years appealing their convictions.
Their stories, along with academic papers will be presented at Central during the "Miscarriages of Justice" conference, Feb. 19 through Feb. 21.
In what has become an annual conference at Central, the event, hosted by the criminal justice department and the Institute of Justice and International Studies, will bring academics who researched the faults of the justice system, as well as individuals who have experienced a miscarriage of justice.
Speakers from near and far, as well as students from the criminal justice department, will present information on topics such as wrongful convictions and looking at problems of the criminal justice system.
Presentations will be made discussing both the factors that contribute to the wrongful convictions and factors that help alleviate injustices.
Liz Hicks, office assistant for the educational leadership and human development department, is presenting a poster titled "Reintegration after Exoneration."
Once freed, an exoneree faces difficulties in reintegration after the highly structured and controlled life of prison life, Hicks said.
"Exonerees run the risk of being institutionalized while in prison and dealing with the effects of that can make it harder for them to readjust after release," Hicks said. "More difficulties arise in relationships that could have been strained or lost while the exoneree was incarcerated. It may be hard for them to find jobs."
"A problem that is often overlooked is the stigma that goes along with exoneration," Hicks added. "Wrongful Conviction and Innocence Projects are still very controversial topics, and it is not so easy to convince people in the world that there are, in fact, innocent people sitting in our prison system today.
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