How Can Innocent People Be Convicted of Crimes in NYC?

How Can Innocent People Be Convicted of Crimes in NYC?

It’s a scary thought, but innocent people do sometimes get convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. This can happen for a bunch of reasons. The justice system isn’t perfect, and mistakes can be made. In this article, I’ll go over some of the main ways innocent folks can end up in jail in New York City.

False Confessions

Sometimes innocent people confess to crimes they didn’t do. This happens more than you’d think! There’s a lot of reasons someone might falsely confess:

• They’re scared and just want to get out of the interrogation room
• They’re promised a lighter sentence if they confess
• They’re exhausted and disoriented from a long interrogation
• They’re trying to protect the real criminal who may be a friend or family member

NYC detectives have gotten some false confessions from teens and folks with mental disabilities. They use tricky interrogation tactics that can make innocent folks admit to stuff they didn’t do. Some people just crack under pressure. And false confessions have led to wrongful convictions in NYC.

Eyewitness Misidentification

Mistaken eyewitness testimony is another big reason for wrongful convictions. Human memory isn’t perfect – sometimes people remember an event wrong or ID the wrong person. Issues like:

• Stress distorting memory of a crime
• Leading questions by police making witnesses guess
• Unconscious racial bias affecting cross-racial ID’s

All these can lead to bogus eyewitness evidence. And studies show eyewitness misID’s played a role in over 70% of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence. So it’s a huge factor.

Misconduct by Police and Prosecutors

Sometimes wrongful convictions happen because the authorities bend or break rules. Examples are:

• Coercing confessions from suspects
• Hiding evidence that points to innocence
• Planting evidence to strengthen a weak case
• Pressuring witnesses to give false testimony
• Misrepresenting forensic evidence

While most cops and DAs try to do the right thing, these types of misconduct do occur. And sometimes innocent folks get railroaded as a result. Some police lab scandals have also led to bogus forensic evidence being used in NYC cases.

Bad Lawyering

Lots of criminal defendants in NYC don’t get adequate legal representation. Public defenders are overloaded with cases. And some appointed lawyers lack experience or just don’t work hard enuff. When an innocent person has a bad lawyer, it increases chances they’ll be wrongly convicted. Issues like:

• Not investigating their case properly
• Failing to challenge dubious evidence
• Not preparing for trial and mounting a weak defense

This is especially dangerous for innocent folks who get stuck with bad representation. Without a zealous advocate, they can easily be steamrolled by prosecutors.

Why Does This Matter?

Wrongful convictions destroy lives. Innocent folks may spend years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit. While locked up, they lose jobs, homes, relationships – their whole lives get derailed. Even after their release, they suffer stigma and psychological trauma.

These injustices also undermine public trust in the system. How can people have faith in justice if it punishes the innocent? And the real criminals remain free to reoffend.

There are no easy solutions. But we can reform police practices to prevent misconduct. Give suspects better legal protection from coercion. Improve eyewitness ID procedures. Ensure adequate funding for indigent defense. And make it easier to challenge convictions when new evidence appears. No one solution will fix everything. But with smart reforms, we can reduce the chances of innocents being convicted in NYC’s justice system.

Famous NYC Wrongful Conviction Cases

Here are some well-known examples of innocent folks wrongly convicted in New York City courts:

Central Park Five

In 1989, five black and Latino teens – Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise – were wrongly convicted of beating and raping a jogger in Central Park. They were coerced into giving false video confessions after hours of intense police interrogation. DNA evidence later proved a serial rapist named Matias Reyes committed the crime alone, and the five were exonerated in 2002 after spending years in prison. Their case highlighted issues around false confessions, police misconduct and racial bias.

David McCallum and Willie Stuckey

In 1985, McCallum and Stuckey confessed to kidnapping and murdering a Queens man named Nathan Blenner. Their confessions were coerced by detectives, and they later recanted but were convicted based on the false admissions. After nearly 30 years in prison, they were cleared in 2014 when a review found their confessions didn’t match the crime scene evidence. Prosecutors dismissed the charges, and the judge declared them “actually innocent.”

Jabbar Collins

Collins was convicted of murder in 1995 based on false witness testimony coerced by Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes. After spending 16 years in prison, he was exonerated in 2010 when it was shown Hynes’ office had suppressed evidence proving Collins was in Puerto Rico at the time of the murder. Collins won a $13 million settlement from NYC for the wrongful conviction.

Jeffrey Deskovic

At age 17, Deskovic was convicted of raping and murdering a classmate in Westchester County based on a coerced false confession. He spent nearly 16 years in prison before DNA evidence linked the murder to a convicted killer named Steven Cunningham. Deskovic was exonerated in 2006 and later won a $41 million lawsuit against New York State and Westchester County.

What Laws & Reforms Can Help?

Here are some specific laws and policy reforms that could help prevent wrongful convictions in New York City:

Recording of Interrogations

Requiring police to record full interrogations of suspects, not just confessions, would help prevent false and coerced admissions. It also protects cops from false allegations of misconduct. A bill to mandate recording recently passed the NY state legislature.

Blind Administration of Lineups

Having someone who doesn’t know the suspect administer photo and live lineups helps prevent inadvertent hints that influence eyewitness picks. NYPD guidelines already encourage this practice.

Right to Counsel at Lineups

Allowing a suspect’s lawyer to be present at identification procedures provides a safeguard against unfair influence. A bill to guarantee this right died in the NY legislature.

Overturn Convictions Based on Bad Science

Many past convictions relied on flawed forensic techniques like bite-mark analysis or microscopic hair comparison. A new NY law makes it easier to challenge these old convictions.

Compensation for Exonerees

New York previously had a cap of $1 million on compensation for wrongfully convicted people. That cap was removed in 2020, allowing more adequate compensation in line with harm suffered.

Prosecutorial Conduct Commissions

Independent state and local panels to investigate allegations of misconduct against prosecutors could help increase accountability. A bill to create such panels passed the NY Senate but not the Assembly.

The Bottom Line

Wrongful convictions are a flaw in our justice system that can ruin innocent lives. There are many causes, but also ways NYC can reform to reduce these injustices. It takes political will to implement changes, even when they challenge longstanding law enforcement practices. But protecting the innocent should be a priority. The integrity of our courts depends on only convicting the guilty, not the blameless. With care and wisdom, we can make the system better at seeking truth and justice.

Sources

The Innocence Project on Causes of Wrongful Convictions
National Registry of Exonerations on Race and Wrongful Convictions
The New Yorker on Why Innocent People Plead Guilty
New York Times on Wrongful Convictions in New York
NYCLU Report on Reforms to Prevent Wrongful Convictions