Blind Injustice : A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions / Mark Godsey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Godsey, Mark, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Judicial error--United States.

Judicial error.

Prejudices--United States--Psychological aspects.

Prejudices.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (265 pages)

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In this unprecedented view from the trenches, prosecutor turned champion for the innocent Mark Godsey takes us inside the frailties of the human mind as they unfold in real-world wrongful convictions. Drawing upon stories from his own career, Godsey shares how innate psychological flaws in judges, police, lawyers, and juries coupled with a "tough on crime" environment can cause investigations to go awry, leading to the convictions of innocent people. In Blind Injustice, Godsey explores distinct psychological human weaknesses inherent in the criminal justice system-confirmation bias, memory malleability, cognitive dissonance, bureaucratic denial, dehumanization, and others-and illustrates each with stories from his time as a hard-nosed prosecutor and then as an attorney for the Ohio Innocence Project. He also lays bare the criminal justice system's internal political pressures. How does the fact that judges, sheriffs, and prosecutors are elected officials influence how they view cases? How can defense attorneys support clients when many are overworked and underpaid? And how do juries overcome bias leading them to believe that police and expert witnesses know more than they do about what evidence means? This book sheds a harsh light on the unintentional yet routine injustices committed by those charged with upholding justice. Yet in the end, Godsey recommends structural, procedural, and attitudinal changes aimed at restoring justice to the criminal justice system.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

About This Book

1. Eye Opener

2. Blind Denial

3. Blind Ambition

4. Blind Bias

5. Blind Memory

6. Blind Intuition

7. Blind Tunnel Vision

8. Seeing and Accepting Human Limitations

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 16. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9780520962958

0520962958

OCLC:

981908093