- Conviction of the innocent is regular –
Research shows that an estimate as high as 2.3 to 5 percent of the total prisoners in the U.S have been convicted wrongly. That is, an approximate of 46000 innocent people being put behind bars. In other words, 1 of every 25 people is being sentenced for a crime they didn’t commit.
- The testimony of an eyewitness doesn’t hold much weightage –
Although eyewitnesses are necessary to hold up a case in court, it is not the most significant deciding factor for the verdict. This is so because eyewitnesses can easily be manipulated into citing whatever they are told to.
- Forensic is not full proof –
Today, the whole process of testing and analyzing the DNA is considered one of the most reliable forensic tool. But in many cases DNA samples and other scientific evidence have been tampered with, thereby resulting in manipulated results.
- The innocent sometimes confess to crimes not committed –
It is human nature to admit to things, regardless of whether they do it or not when intimidated. Sometimes coercion can get the best of us. When you are locked up in the prison cell and abused both verbally and physically, you give in to avoid further torture. A large number of people in prison undergo this deception, and this ends in long years of jail for no fault of theirs except for giving in to the pressure of the authorities.
- Ignorance of the law is used as an excuse –
Year after year a number of laws have been passed without much awareness about any of them, thereby keeping most people in the dark. Many times, ignorance of the law in place can land you in legal trouble that you did not intend to be in in the first place. Therefore, in cases where the defendant is charged with violating a law that was newly put in place, these individuals are given the right to assert their ignorance of the law as a defense to avoid any uncalled for punishment.
- Insanity is not always a safe ground –
Insanity and mental disturbances have almost always been an excuse to get out of otherwise definitely punishable offenses. However, as per studies, the insanity defense is used in less than 1% of all the court cases and also when used, it has a success rate of only 26%. Defeating a criminal charge by using self-proclaimed insanity both temporary and permanent as a means to get yourself out of trouble is quite a typical story line in most of the American soap operas. However, when it comes to real-world scenarios I instead you opt to plea bargain.