TIle Land of the Free 1

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I, Running Head: The Land of the Free

The Land of the Free

lermaine Archer

Mercy College
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The Land ofthe Free 2

The United States has long been referred to as the land of the free. HQwever, there

are far too ~any wrongfully imprisoned people in this country for that reference to be

true. There are various reasons people are unjustly incarcerated, ranging from faulty

identifications to malicious prosecution. More could and should be done ~ to prevent and

address these injustices.

First, there are too many wrongly incarcerated people in this country for the

United States to be referred to as the land of the free. Many convicted felons have served

years in prison only to be later exonerated through DNA evidence. Michael Mercer spent

12 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, even though the trial evidence against

him consisted solely of the accuser's inconsistent testimony. He was fortunate to have

physical evidence
, in his case, and further DNA testing eventually proved him innocent.
(O'Shoughnessy, 2003).

Mercer's case shows that there are serious flaws in the Criminal Justice System.

Yet, he is one of the fortunate few. In the majority of criminal cases, there is no DNA

evidence to examine fS most jury verdicTs are based on the testimony of eyewitnesses or

victims. In cases such as those, innocent men and women can remain wrongfully

incarcerated for years with little or no chance to prove their innocence.

Admittedly, there is no such thing as the perfect judicial system. Nevertheless,

America represents itself as the land of the free and iSjherefor1eld to a higher standard

ofjustice. American justice holds that if there is a reasonable doubt a person committed a

crime, that person is to be presumed not guilty. (United States Code Annotated, 2000).

The amount of people wrongfully incarcerated in America makes it difficult to accept the

notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

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Next, I will highlight two of the various reasons people are unjustly incarcerated.

The most common reason wrongful incarcerations occur is faulty identification. Forty-

years ago the United States Supreme Court recognized there was a "high incidence of

miscarriage ofjustice from mistaken identity." (United States Reports, 1967}'<In facyt

was "estimated that more than 4,250 Americans [were] wrongfully convicted due to

sincere yet woefully inaccurate eyewitness identifications." (A. Moensenns, et aI., 1967).

A more recent victim of misidentification was Lawrence Fowler, who spent eight

years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Although 12 witnesses, including a New

York City cop, testified that Fowler was with them the night of the shooting, one alleged

eyewitness testified that Fowler was the killer and Fowler was convicted. Eight years
)
later, while in Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Fowler received notification from his

lawyer that a federal informant had admitted that he had been falsely accused. Fowler

was later released from prison without even an apology (c. Coleman, 2007).

A second cause of wrongful imprisonment is malicious prosecution. Joseph

Salvati, who served 29 years in prison fbr crimes he did not commit, was a victim of

malicious prosecution. Salvati was only exonerated after paperwork surfaced revealing

that not only did the government's sole witness at trial falsely accuse him, but that the

government knew the accusations were false. A federal judge awarded Salvati 29 million

dollars, one million for each year spent in prison. The judge also concluded that "F.B.!.

officials up the line allowed their employees to break laws, violate rules and ruin lives"

during the "framing of an innocent man." (p. Belluck, 2007)(For every Lawrence Fowler

and Joseph Salvati, there are countless others who are innocent yet unable to prove it.
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~
Lastly, I will move on to what ~tI"e could and should be done in order to prevent

and address such injustices. Scott Christianson, a former New York State criminal justice

official and investigative reporter, outlined steps that could be taken to reduce and

address the amount of wrongful convictions.

To begin with, a commission "armed with

, subpoena power" to review wrongful

e
convictions and "increase public accountability" for such injustices should be appointed.

This commission should "establish a reporting system databas5' would report

whenever a conviction is proven faulty and explain "what went wrong and ... what can be

done to prevent a recurrence," similar to airplane crash investigations.

In addition to the commission and the database, "Post-conviction standards

should be changed to make it easier for an inmate to get a new trial based on newly

discovered evidence." Also, "the Court of Claims should annually report [any] actions

relative to actions filed under the Unjust Conviction Law." Finally, the state legislature

"should reconsider whether prosecutors who engage in gross misconduct should continue

to be exempted from civil liberty" actiors. (C. Christianson, 2007).

The above steps are surely a step in the right direction. These measures could be

expanded to include some form of punishment for individuals found to have testified

falsely against innocent people. This rna y seem unduly harsh, but some kind of

punishment is necessary in order to deter people from making hasty accusations that

result in unjust incarcerations. The penalty could include prosecution under the Civil

Rights Law, as a wrongfully incarcerated person is a person that has been wrongfully

deprived of his or her civil liberties.

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While a crime victim should certainly be able to find solace within the judicial

system, that victim does not have the unfettered right to create more victims. This is

precisely what happens when a person is falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned as a

result thereof A victim unquestionably deserves justic~ustice does not consist of the

imprisonment of innocent people. Whenever this occurs, justice is twice denied. Not only

are innocent people wrongfully deprived of their freedom, but also the true perpetrators

remain at large leaving society no safer. Therefore, crime victims should be more careful

when accusing someone of a crime so that they do not wrongfully accuse an innocent

person and so that they do not risk being prosecuted for wrongfully depriving a person of

his or her liberty.

In conclusion, there are far too many wrongfully incarcerated people in this

country for the United States to be truly considered the land of the free. Many people

have been exonerated through DNA eVidencepne can only imagine how many

innocent people remain incarcerated for crimes that do not involve DNA. There are

various reasons wrongful convictions occur, ranging from mistaken identification to

malicious prosecution. More could and should be done to prevent and address these

injustices, beginning with the appointment of a commission to study wrongful

convictions. Prosecutors should be subject to civil and criminal liabilities whenever they

are found to have intentionally convicted an innocent person. Finally, I believe witnesses

found to have falsely testified against an innocent person resulting in the imprisonment of

that person should also be subject to some form of prosecution.

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References

Belluck, P: (July 27, 2007). U.S. Must Pay $101.8 Million For Role in False Convictions.
New York Times, p. 19.

Christianson, C. (May 15, 2007). Appoint Commission to Study Wrongful convictions.

New York Law Journal, p.2.

Coleman, C. (January 29, 2007). Freed in Slay He Didn't Commit. New York Daily News,
p.5.

Moensenns, A., et aI. (1967). SCientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases. New York:
Columbia.

No Author (2000). United States Code Annotated, Amendment 6. New York: West.

No Author (1967). United States Reports Volume 388. New York: West.

O'Shoughnessy, P. (August 31, 2003). DNA Opens Prison Doors. New York Daily News,
p.8.