Not guilty : are the acquitted innocent?

Givelber, Daniel. (Author). Farrell, Amy. (Added Author).

Summary: Overview: As scores of death row inmates are exonerated by DNA evidence and innocence commissions are set up across the country, conviction of the innocent has become a well-recognized problem. But our justice system makes both kinds of errors-we acquit the guilty and convict the innocent-and exploring the reasons why people are acquitted can help us to evaluate the efficiency and fairness of our criminal justice system. Not Guilty provides a sustained examination and analysis of the factors that lead juries to find defendants "not guilty," as well as the connection between those factors and the possibility of factual innocence, examining why some criminal trials result in not guilty verdicts and what those verdicts suggest about the accuracy of our criminal process.

Record details

ISBN: 9780814732175 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN: 0814732178 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN: 9780814725344 (ebk.)
ISBN: 0814725341 (ebk.)
ISBN: 9780814744406 (ebk.)
ISBN: 0814744400 (ebk.)
Physical Description: print
xvi, 211 p. ; 24 cm.
Publisher: New York : New York University Press, c2012.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (p.189-201) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	1. Introduction: Invisible innocence -- 2. Judge and jury decisions to acquit: what we know from social science research -- 3. Screening for innocence -- 4. Understanding why judges and juries disagree about criminal case outcomes: are jury verdicts an expression of sentiment? -- 5. The defense case -- 6. Impact of race on judge and jury decision making -- 7. Conclusion.