The American judicial system is far too often a source of injustice for the innocent rather than justice for the guilty. Despite all the alleged protections built into the trial process, a person facing criminal charges is virtually presumed guilty until proven innocent - not the reverse. This book is about thousands of innocent Americans who each year are convicted of serious crimes they did not commit. Many are convicted of crimes that did not even occur. Journalist Martin Yant vividly and dramatically explains the process by which American justice is miscarried, providing carefully researched details about over 100 wrongful convictions.
Presumed Guilty: When Innocent People Are Wrongly Convicted
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Most persons who are arrested are de facto guilty of something. This presumption of guilt, when it replaces the de jure presumption of innocence, leads to wrongful convictions. Yant, commentary editor of the Columbus Dispatch , clearly has the evidence to prove this thesis as he collects several dozen examples of justice gone awry. From Sacco and Vanzetti and Bruno Hauptmann to Randall Dale Adams (subject of the documentary film The Thin Blue Line ) and several lesser-known defendants who fell through the cracks of the criminal justice system, Yant uses a journalistic style to show how police and prosecutors, whether acting in good faith or not, sometimes abuse their power. He also offers a good review of some of the best research on capital punishment and prosecutorial error. A good addition to any criminal justice collection.
- John Broderick, Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- John Broderick, Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invaluable critique of American criminal "justice.",
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Presumed Guilty (Hardcover)
We tend to a caste system in the U.S. There are those accused of "crime" and the rest of us, good-thinking people. This book shatters that myth by exposing the number of people falsely accused and convicted--who sometimes spend decades in prison or are even executed!--while the truly guilty run free. Unethical prosecutors (who seldom suffer any consequences), ignorant and biased judges, overzealous police more intent on conviction than real justice--all are covered. It's hard to put down, and ends with succinct recommendations to change the system so that the criminal injustice system DOES change. Highly recommended.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
The American criminal-justice system is far too often a source of injustice for the innocent rather than of justice for the guilty. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
wrongful convictions, polygraph exam, alibi witnesses, eyewitness identification, capital trial, suppressed evidence Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York Times, Stanford Law Review, Associated Press, United States, Randall Dale Adams, Dallas Times Herald, Columbus Dispatch, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, World Report, The Innocents, David Harris, Scottsboro Boys, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, William Bernard Jackson, Charles Stuart, Dallas County, Joyce Ann Brown, Long Beach, People Weekly, Randall Adams, Robert Wood, Ronald Huff, San Francisco, Washington Post New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The American criminal-justice system is far too often a source of injustice for the innocent rather than of justice for the guilty. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
wrongful convictions, polygraph exam, alibi witnesses, eyewitness identification, capital trial, suppressed evidence Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York Times, Stanford Law Review, Associated Press, United States, Randall Dale Adams, Dallas Times Herald, Columbus Dispatch, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, World Report, The Innocents, David Harris, Scottsboro Boys, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, William Bernard Jackson, Charles Stuart, Dallas County, Joyce Ann Brown, Long Beach, People Weekly, Randall Adams, Robert Wood, Ronald Huff, San Francisco, Washington Post New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 23
books:
See all 23 books this book cites
3
books
cite this book:
- The Leo Frank Case (A Brown Thrasher Book) by Leonard Dinnerstein on page 189, page 190, and page 212
- The Death Penalty in America by Hugo Adam Bedau on page 187, and page 211
- Pileup on Death Row by Burton H. Wolfe on page 196, and page 212
- Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South by Dan T. Carter on page 191, and page 212
- Guilty Until Proven Innocent by Donald S. Connery on page 83, and page 96
See all 23 books this book cites
- Hidden Victims: The Effects of the Death Penalty on Families of the Accused (Critical Issues in Crime and Society) by Susan F. Sharp in Back Matter
- Wrongly Convicted: Perspectives on Failed Justice (Critical Issues in Crime and Society) by Saundra Westervelt on page 196
- Punishment and the Death Penalty (Contemporary Issues) by Robert M. Baird in Back Matter
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
