A case involving Malcolm Alexander, who served 38 years in jail for a wrongful conviction involving a rape case, had an ineffective trial lawyer and flawed eyewitness identification procedure. In this case, the integrity of evidence is a rape kit, semen-stained towel, parts of hair, and eyewitness identification procedure (Innocence Project, 2019). Admissibility in a case is the process of presenting evidence before the judge or a jury to consider when deciding the case. However, false evidence altered the case trial leading to the sentencing of Malcolm. This evident when the victim continuously identified Malcolm in an identification procedure despite lack of involvement in the crime. The police Did multiple identification procedures that led to contaminating the victim’s memory to identify the wrong person. The trial failed to use a rape kit to confirm whether alexander was involved in the rape crime. Evidence is critical in a court trial as it helps judges reach a decision that favors both parties involved in the case. For the evidence to be admissible, it must be relevant and enough to prove the innocence or guiltiness of an individual (Dundas, 2017). Altered or flawless evidence may impact the outcome of the case leading to wrongful convictions. There are three categories of evidence that a court can use to make a legal procedure effective. This evidence may be oral, documented, or factual. Malcolm’s case had three evidence that the court did no use in the first case trial that led to his wrongful conviction. Failure of the defendant’s attorney to file critical proceedings and a motion to challenge the evidence tabled in court law may affect the whole trial process. This is where the only evidence tabled in the courtroom may not be admissible, especially when it is one-sided, lacking factual data. Systems should make sure that both victim and defendant attorneys are available during court procedures to be in a position to dispute allegations tabled in the courtroom. Admissible evidence requires that the prosecutors and defendants present complete evidence that supports the cases (Shah., 2017). Thus, judges should make it a necessity that during every court proceedings, each side is represented. In addition, courts should also allow both sides of cases to review their evidence before continuing with the trial. Failure to dispute allegations of one party makes the proof tabled to be irrelevant. There has been a large number of exonerations in the United States due to wrongful convictions. These wrongful convictions have led to the destruction of families, and made individuals suffer from health conditions such as trauma. Nevertheless, legal experts have outlined some steps that law systems can use to avoid wrongful convictions (Bryan, 2017). These steps may include recording interrogations and establishing a convict review unit. Recording interrogations is critical since it helps understand how individuals confessed to a crime they did not commit. There are incidences where lead detectives of a crime force individuals to confess through threats to a crime they never committed. Recordings will provide powerful proof showing how some lead detectives threaten people to falsify evidence (Bryan, 2017). Another step would be creating a convict review unit. This move will enable the conviction task to review factually based proof. The conviction task comprises lawyers and investigators who work together to review wrong convictions. These individuals help to balance cases that help find justice for both parties. After Malcolm’s wrongful conviction, the innocence project took the case to prove his innocence. They found that the rape kit and semen-stained towel had been destroyed after Malcolm’s conviction. The post-conviction remedy involved hair evidence that police found from the scenes of crime (Innocence Project, 2019). The innocence project had to perform several DNA tests for their hair evidence which later failed to match Malcolm’s involvement with the rape case. The court later exonerated Malcolm by dismissing his indictment. However, most individuals do suffer from mental health issues after the court grants them their freedom.
References
BRYAN CLARK Idaho Falls Post Register. (2017, July 9). How to stop wrongful convictions . Twin Falls Times-News. https://magicvalley.com/news/how-to-stop-wrongful-convictions/article_4212b36b-29e0-5fb2-8af0-c5df3c47f47f.html
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Dundas lawyers. (2017, October 27). The importance of evidence and its ubiquity . Brisbane Technology, IT, and IP Lawyers. https://www.dundaslawyers.com.au/the-importance-of-evidence-and-its-ubiquity/
Innocence Project. (2019, April 11). Malcolm Alexander exonerated after 38 years in Louisiana’s Angola prison . Innocence Project. https://innocenceproject.org/cases/malcolm-alexander/
Shah, M. S. M. B., Saleem, S., & Zulqarnain, R. (2017). Protecting digital evidence integrity and preserving the chain of custody. Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law , 12 (2), 12.
