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- All Subjects: Criminal Justice
- Creators: School of Social Transformation
- Resource Type: Text
Expectation for college attendance in the United States continues to rise as more jobs require degrees. This study aims to determine how parental expectations affect high school students in their decision to attend college. By examining parental expectations that were placed on current college students prior to and during the application period, we can determine the positive and negative outcomes of these expectations as well as the atmosphere they are creating. To test the hypothesis, an online survey was distributed to current ASU and Barrett, Honors College students regarding their experience with college applications and their parents' influence on their collegiate attendance. A qualitative analysis of the data was conducted in tandem with an analysis of several case studies to determine the results. These data show that parental expectations are having a significant impact on the enrollment of high school students in college programs. With parents placing these expectations on their children, collegiate enrollment will continue to increase. Further studies will be necessary to determine the specific influences these expectations are placing on students.
The United States Supreme Court decided Ramos v. Louisiana in 2020, requiring all states to convict criminal defendants by a unanimous jury. However, this case only applied to petitioners on direct, and not collateral, appeal. In this thesis, I argue that the Ramos precedent should apply to people on collateral appeal as well, exploring the implications of such a decision and the criteria that should be used to make the decision in the case before the court, Edwards v. Vannoy (2021). Ultimately, I find that because the criteria currently used to determine retroactivity of new criminal precedents does not provide a clear answer to the question posed in Edwards, the Court should give more weight to the defendant's freedoms pursuant to the presumption of innocence while considering the potential for any disastrous outcomes.
Eyewitness identification has been one of the most crucial components in identifying perpetrators in criminal cases (The Innocence Project, 2022). Law enforcement officials utilize numerous procedures, the most common being photographic arrays, live lineups, and showups (The National Academies Press, 2014). While this process is critical in identifying a suspect during an ongoing investigation, it is not without faults. Misidentification of a suspect often has detrimental effects, with many innocent individuals being wrongfully convicted (The Innocence Project, 2022). In order to fully understand the causes of misidentification, a proper understanding of the process of eyewitness identification must be understood. Through investigating two published studies, one by Rose & Beck and the other by Gonzalez, it is seen that suggestion and police-introduced bias can have a negative impact on an identification, especially in lineups and showups. The case of Malcolm Alexander explains first-hand how police bias and suggestion can plant a false memory, leading to a misidentification, and, at times, a false conviction. Through a qualitative research-based interview with a Phoenix employee who has made identifications with police, suggestion is once again revealed though the questions asked by the officer. Through these findings, suggestions to improve eyewitness identification procedures are established.
Eyewitness identification has been one of the most crucial components in identifying perpetrators in criminal cases (The Innocence Project, 2022). Law enforcement officials utilize numerous procedures, the most common being photographic arrays, live lineups, and showups (The National Academies Press, 2014). While this process is critical in identifying a suspect during an ongoing investigation, it is not without faults. Misidentification of a suspect often has detrimental effects, with many innocent individuals being wrongfully convicted (The Innocence Project, 2022). In order to fully understand the causes of misidentification, a proper understanding of the process of eyewitness identification must be understood. Through investigating two published studies, one by Rose & Beck and the other by Gonzalez, it is seen that suggestion and police-introduced bias can have a negative impact on an identification, especially in lineups and showups. The case of Malcolm Alexander explains first-hand how police bias and suggestion can plant a false memory, leading to a misidentification, and, at times, a false conviction. Through a qualitative research-based interview with a Phoenix employee who has made identifications with police, suggestion is once again revealed though the questions asked by the officer. Through these findings, suggestions to improve eyewitness identification procedures are established.
Despite countless research reports, research studies, and studies of human psychology verifying that the Reid Method interrogation tactics used by police in the United States cause false confessions, the method is still heavily accepted and used on suspects everyday. This research paper will look into the Reid Method interrogation tactics, their connection to false confessions in order to establish a basis for repealing and replacing the Reid Method with an alternative interrogation technique. This paper will show that the guilt-presumptive nature of the Reid Method leads to innocent individuals falsely confessing and spending years in prison. Evidence of this phenomenon will be shown through research papers, studies, case examples, and an interview with a false confession expert Dr. Richard A. Leo. The Reid Method is problematic and jeopardizes the presumption of innocence for every citizen in the United States and should be repealed by an alternative interrogation technique called P.E.A.C.E in order for justice to be renewed.