Criminal Justice Article Review
The final paper will be concentrated on public opinion regarding various types of convictions. Moreover, the paper will be focused on identifying the essential reasons for wrongful convictions and how the effects of this misconception can be mitigated. Overall, the paper will discuss the implications inherent in the existing legislation and the process of conviction.
Kent and Carmichael (2015) joined their efforts to examine the issue of an increased number of wrongful convictions. They found that during the last ten years, the number of resultant exonerations has also increased. The authors of the article stated that this increased public confidence in the legal system and trust in the authoritative power of criminal justice laws. Kent and Carmichael (2015) claimed that several states did not fully adopt the laws that presupposed the application of the due process clause and that negatively influenced the level of protection against wrongful convictions. One of the key findings of the study is that the states with the Republican-based legislature are less expected to apply the due process clause. Quite contrarily, the Democratic representative advocated for the “innocence movement.” Overall, Kent and Carmichael (2015) were successful in identifying the issues that were inherent in the existing process of adoption of criminal justice policies and evaluating the influence of political and social contexts.
In their research article, Kent and Carmichael (2015) addressed the issue of wrongful convictions and provided an accurate analysis of public opinion regarding this matter. Moreover, the implications included several critical variables and factors that contributed to the development of the wrongful conviction trend (Mallicoat, 2016). As a result, the authors of the research article obtained an array of descriptive data which allowed them to analyze the predictors of wrongful convictions and associated factors.
The authors of the article recommend strengthening the presence of the due process clause and implementing it repeatedly. Their key finding allowed them to conclude that there is a strict necessity to review the existing outlooks on the pivotal processes of criminal justice to reduce the number of wrongful convictions (Marion & Oliver, 2015). The current policy and the criminal justice system are expected to improve significantly if the due process clause is applied more frequently. Kent and Carmichael (2015) do not oppose the Republican government, but their findings suggest that the wrongful conviction policy should be slightly more flexible than it currently is. The authors’ recommendations sound reasonable and believable.
This journal article correlates with multiple research projects on the correctness of the existing criminal justice policies (Miles & Raynor, 2014). The key findings of the study provide us with a roadmap for future research and help us evaluate the eminence of the current wrongful conviction policy. Despite the robust findings, there are several limitations inherent in the study. Kent and Carmichael (2015) realize that numerous local measures took place that had no connection with the legislation concerning wrongful convictions. Moreover, the most critical limitation of the study is that each state has a different approach to the issue of wrongful convictions (Siegel, 2015). In perspective, this means that this criminal justice policy should be addressed separately within each state. I believe that the concept of social justice is supported by the evidence presented by the authors of the reviewed article. They advocate for the employment of a much more flexible approach to convictions, and I think that it is worth considering these potential improvements within the context of criminal justice in the United States.
References
Kent, S., & Carmichael, J. (2015). Legislative responses to wrongful conviction: Do partisan principals and advocacy efforts influence state-level criminal justice policy? Social Science Research, 52(2), 147-160. Web.
Mallicoat, S. (2016). Crime and criminal justice: Concepts and controversies. New York, NY: SAGE.
Marion, N. E., & Oliver, W. (2015). Public policy of crime and criminal justice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Miles, H., & Raynor, P. (2014). Reintegrative justice in practice: The informal management of crime in an island community. Farnham, UK: Ashgate.
Siegel, L. J. (2015). Criminology: The core (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
