Assignment - M5A1



Assignment - M5A1

Origin of the Bill

The legitimacy of the criminal justice system is largely based on its effectiveness and its fairness. The effectiveness of the system depends on its ability to discover crimes, investigate, and identify offenders and appropriate punishment for the accused guilty of an offense. The issue of wrongful convictions and detention has been raised countless of times in the past. Various individuals were framed or due to lack of evidence or support were convicted of crimes they had not committed. Wrongful convictions weaken the two pillars of the legitimacy of the criminal justice system (Merrefield, 2009). The wrongly convicted person is sentenced to punishment for an offense he did not commit, so that the true perpetrator remains at large. In addition, wrongful convictions have the effect of undermining public confidence towards the system. This is the reason this bill was originated to ensure that the innocent individuals were not convicted wrongly. The act is known as “The Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act.”

Brief Explanation of the Problem

The historical meaning of justice has not changed. In today's world as well, justice is measured in accordance with a prescribed set of values, which are determined on the basis of property, rights, racial or ethnic background and power. The prevailing practice of justice in contemporary times can best be understood by applying the concept on the political front. However, there have been numerous issues of criminal injustice in the past. Studies show that criminal behavior is motivated by a feeling of injustice that individuals experience when they become aware that other people are having advantaged in the justice system. There have been countless wrongful convictions in the past.

Erroneous convictions in capital cases are extremely infrequent, death penalty opponents argue the number of exonerations to date grossly underestimates the ...