"The annals of criminal law are rife with
instances of mistaken identification."
—The
Michigan Supreme Court in People v. Anderson (1973)
Nowadays the term ‘innocent before proven
guilty’ has swapped to ‘guilty before proven innocent’.“Wrongful conviction,”
expressed as the convictions of literally innocent persons that ignore persons
who have committed the act and men rea of crimes but whose convictions were
obtained in violation of constitutional or other procedural rights in a manner
not reckoned as harmless error by appellate courts. The dearth of
accountability of police and prosecutors, reliance on junk science and
deceptive eyewitnesses, and the penniless defence crisis are major contributors
to wrongful convictions that have undermined the integrity of our system and
ruined the lives of innocent men and women this is nothing but a miscarriage of
justice.
The reasons behind this wrong are
seldom Bad Lawyering i.e. The failure
of hackneyed lawyers to investigate, call witnesses, or prepare for trial has
piloted to the conviction of innocent people.
Eyewitness Misidentification
i.e. the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions universally. Research
shows that the human mind is not like a video camera; we neither record
incidents exactly as we see, nor recall them like a tape that has been rewound.
Instead, witness memory is like any other evidence at a crime scene; it must be
well-looked-after carefully and recouped logically, or it can be polluted. Junk Science Countless forensic testing
methods have been applied with little or no scientific justification and with
inadequate calculations of their reliability. As a result, forensic analysts
sometimes testify in cases without a proper scientific basis for their findings
and the worst forensic analysts get affianced in misconduct.FalseConfessions as innocent suspects
make impeaching statements, deliver utter revelations, or plead guilty.
Notwithstanding the age, capacity, or state of mind of the confessor, what they
often have mutually is a decision that at some point during the
cross-examination process that confessing will be more beneficial to them than
continuing to uphold their incorruptibility. Government Misconduct: the government representatives take steps
to ensure that a suspect is convicted despite weak evidence or even clear
impermeable innocence. Snitches statements
from people with spurs to testify i.e. mostly incentives that are not divulged
to the jury are the dominant evidence in convicting an acquitted person. People
have been wrongfully convicted in cases in which snitches are paid to testify
or obtain favours in return for their testimony.
Countries such as the United States,
United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, etc. have enacted a statutory right
to compensation, but it is limited to wrongful conviction by the righteousness
of a final order, after all, appeals have been dog-tired and a new fact, which
then leads decisively that the convicted person was precisely innocent. In its
277th report titled “Wrongful Prosecution (Miscarriage of Justice): Legal
Remedies” (August 2018), This Report was predominantly based on a reference
made by the High Court of Delhi, the case of Babloo Chauhan v State Government
of NCT Delhi[1],
has rightly pointed that the practices in other countries would be derisory to
address the complete shortfalls of the criminal justice system in India, where
individuals have spent several years in imprisonment even erstwhile to a conviction.
The major problem the victims suffer
is their Right to compensation. Under
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) under article
14(6), the consigner is required to take actions to ensure the right to
compensation for wrongful imprisonment and incarceration. While India had
stated reservations while ratifying the ICCPR that the Indian legal system does
not comprehend the right to compensation for victims of unlawful arrest and
detention, the jurisprudence created by the Supreme Court of India has made
this reservation outmoded.
In case of Nambi Narayan[2],
the Supreme Court stipulated a compensation of 50 lakhs to former ISRO
scientist Nambi Narayanan, 24 years after he was illegally detained on the
indictment of leaking official secrets to a spy racket.The fact that the
payment of compensation was ordered 24 years after the wrongful arrest is a
stern reminder of the need to correct wrongs caused by illicit arrests timely
and preserve freedom. This calls for legitimate recognition of the Right to compensation in cases of
wrongful arrests and imprisonment, which the victims of such indictments can
avail without waiting for several years of process before the courts.
The remedies available in India
against this evil Public Law remedies are available in the form of petitions
under Article 32 before the Supreme Court or under Article 226 before the
respective High Court under the Constitution of India but, the main drawback is
how to calculate the compensation.Private Law Remedy, a claim for compensation
for wrongful acts done by interventions of the State are often pursued before
Civil Courts which forms part of the Civil law remedy available to the
accused.Criminal Law Remedy in Chapter XI of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) makes
punishable offences involving fabrication of records, of perjury, illegal
confinement and commitment to trial of innocent persons by a police officer and
Section 211 IPC is of worth as it penalises institution of false criminal
proceedings or falsely charging a person of a crime. This section is made
pertinent to all persons including public servants as well.
Many times, victims don’t approach
the supreme court directly for prevailing justice and compensation as a result
of lack of financial resources and information. A legitimate right of compensation
should be provided to the victims to live a decent life which they have lost by
the fault of no other but the justice system itself.
[1]BABLOO CHAUHAN @ DABLOO Vs.STATE GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI CRL.A.-157/2013(Delhi High Court, 30/11/2017)
[2]Mr. S. Nambi Narayanan vs State Of Kerala WP(C)KLHC01-072982-2012
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miscarriage_of_justice
https://www.law.umich.edu/clinical/innocenceclinic/Pages/wrongfulconvictions.aspx
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