Criminal Justice System: False Conviction

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Emmett Louis Till, a fourteen year old boy, was falsely accused of rape in 1955 by Carolyn Bryant and he was later murdered. On January 27, 2017, Bryant pleaded guilty to the false accusations against Till (Steinbuch). Every year in the criminal justice system there are 200,000 rape allegations and according to Cassia Spohn, a professor and director of the school criminology and criminal justice at Arizona State, in 2014, eight percent of rape allegations made to the police department, were classified as “false” (Spohn, Gross). Due to these false allegations of rape, over 500 people are falsely convicted of rape and later incarcerated. False convicts of rape develop psychological disorders such as anxiety, certain phobias, clinical depression, …show more content…
Jay Cheshire, a seventeen year old, was a victim of a false conviction of rape. On October 1, 2009, Cheshire was convicted of rape then further diagnosed with clinical depression after the conviction. He was to undergo professional therapy; however, two weeks after the conviction he committed suicide (Mail Online). Although he was to undergo therapy, the financial issues his mother and him encountered make it difficult to receive professional …show more content…
Mandery evaluated a case study which consisted of 118 falsely convicted rapists and with analyzing the results she came to the conclusion with the challenges an exoneree faces after incarceration can be “fixed” with a substantial compensation. He states “people exiting prison need, but often do not have, physical and mental health care, education, food, housing, jobs, and a support network (2013, p. 350).” In order for an exoneree to regain the support lost after incarceration, he or she needs to be compensated with the damages depending upon his or her sentence. Mandery says the falsely convicted rapist may seek compensation through: tort claims, private bills, or compensation statutes. However, the “best” way to gain compensation is through preexisting statutes (2013, p 365).” Although one may sue for compensation through preexisting statutes, the drawbacks remain. Gaining compensation through statutes is difficult since only twenty seven states have enacted statutes to compensate the wrongly convicted (Trinh). For example, California has a cap of 2 million dollars no matter the how long the sentence was (Trinh). Also, the amount of money given from the government is dependent on what they feel as “recoverable.” Although certain states have limitations on the money granted, there are different
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