Life after Death Row

Westervelt, Saundra D.; Cook, Kimberly J.

doi:10.36019/9780813553399

Cited by 36 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…First, our multistage framework rests on an integration of several well-established but isolated phenomena studied throughout psychology. In particular, we draw heavily on research in the areas of truth and deception detection (e.g., Vrij, Hartwig, & Granhag, 2019), Miranda rights and decision making (e.g., Smalarz, Scherr, & Kassin, 2016), police-induced false confessions (e.g., Kassin et al, 2010), forensic confirmation biases (e.g., Kassin, Dror, & Kukucka, 2013), plea bargaining (e.g., Redlich, Bibas, Edkins, & Madon, 2017), jury decision making (e.g., Kovera, 2017), and the stigma that follows from conviction (e.g., Hoskins, 2019; Westervelt & Cook, 2012). Each of these research areas points to a specific problem; collectively, as we discuss, these problems are interdependent, have compounding effects, and can lead to pernicious consequences.…”

Section: Overview Of the Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mercifully, some wrongly convicted confessors who suffered the accumulated disadvantages are exonerated—consistent with a general trend of wrongful exonerations that are being discovered at alarming rates around the globe. Exoneration is a fortunate experience for those wrongly convicted, but it masks the difficulties that many experience when rematriculating back into society (Thompson, Molina, & Levett, 2012; Westervelt & Cook, 2012; Westervelt & Humphrey, 2001). Only recently has psychological science started to identify the stigma that some innocents face after exoneration (Clow & Leach, 2013, 2015).…”

Section: Stage 5: Postconviction Appeals and Exonerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cumulative Disadvantage: A Psychological Framework for Understanding How Innocence Can Lead to Confession, Wrongful Conviction, and Beyond

Scherr

Redlich

Kassin

2020

Perspect Psychol Sci

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False confessions are a contributing factor in almost 30% of DNA exonerations in the United States. Similar problems have been documented all over the world. We present a novel framework to highlight the processes through which innocent people, once misidentified as suspects, experience cumulative disadvantages that culminate in pernicious consequences. The cumulative-disadvantage framework details how the innocent suspect’s naivete and the interrogator’s presumption of guilt trigger a process that can lead to false confession, the aftereffects of which spread to corrupt evidence gathering, bias forensic analysis, and virtually ensure wrongful convictions at trial or through pressured false guilty pleas. The framework integrates nascent research underscoring the enduring effects of the accumulated disadvantages postconviction and even after exoneration. We synthesize findings from psychological science, corroborating naturalistic evidence, and relevant legal precedents to explain how an innocent suspect’s disadvantages can accumulate through the actions of law enforcement, forensic examiners, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, juries, and appeals courts. We conclude with prescribed research directions that can lead to empirically driven reforms to address the gestalt of the multistage process.

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Section: Overview Of the Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Stage 5: Postconviction Appeals and Exonerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cumulative Disadvantage: A Psychological Framework for Understanding How Innocence Can Lead to Confession, Wrongful Conviction, and Beyond

Scherr

Redlich

Kassin

2020

Perspect Psychol Sci

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“…What remains largely understudied is whether individuals who are wrongfully convicted experience similar difficulties, and whether race impacts these experiences. To date, there has been no published experimental research investigating whether exonerees experience stigma from landlords in their attempts to secure housing, despite anecdotal evidence of exonerees’ difficulties in this area (e.g., Westervelt & Cook, 2012).…”

Section: Housing Discriminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of race and criminal history on landlords’ (un)willingness to rent to exonerees.

Zannella¹,

Clow²,

Rempel³

et al. 2020

Law and Human Behavior

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Objective: When wrongfully convicted individuals are released from prison, at first glance, it is a triumph; however, anecdotal evidence from exonerees suggests that obtaining housing postrelease is often challenging. We empirically examined whether race (Study 1) or type of criminal offense (Study 2) influenced landlords' willingness to rent to exonerees compared to releasees (i.e., rightfully convicted individuals released from prison) and control (i.e., members of the public). Hypotheses: We hypothesized that: (a) exonerees and releasees would receive fewer replies and fewer "yes" available responses compared to control, (b) Indigenous and Black renters would receive fewer replies and fewer "yes" available responses compared to White renters, and (c) individuals convicted of murder would receive fewer replies and fewer "yes" available responses compared to individuals convicted of robbery. Method: The authors responded to online apartment listings across Canada (Study 1) and in Toronto (Study 2) inquiring about unit availability. All rental inquiries were identical with the exception of criminal status and race (Study 1), and criminal status and criminal offense (Study 2). Results: Results demonstrated that landlords were significantly less likely to respond (Study 1:

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“…Two students not present for the lecture were, consequently, the only students to remark on a subsequent exam that their best strategy as innocents would be to waive their rights because they had nothing to hide. These anecdotal examples are not uncommon and have been observed empirically (e.g., Kassin & Norwick, 2004) and are evident in many of the stories of the wrongfully convicted (Westervelt & Cook, 2012). The empirical evidence, combined with the numerous instances of wrongful convictions that were catalyzed by innocent people waiving their rights, beg the question: How powerful is innocence?…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

Knowingly but naively: The overpowering influence of innocence on interrogation rights decision-making.

Scherr

Normile

Bierstetel

et al. 2018

Law and Human Behavior

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Most suspects waive the guaranteed protections that interrogation rights afford them against police intimidation. One factor thought to motivate suspects' inclination to waive their rights stems from the acquiescence bias whereby suspects mindlessly comply with interrogators' requests. However, research bearing on the phenomenology of innocence has demonstrated the power of innocents' mindset, which could motivate some innocent suspects to waive their rights knowingly (instead of mindlessly complying). To test these ideas, participants (N = 178) were (a) rightfully (guilty) or wrongfully (innocent) accused of wrongdoing during an experimental session, (b) administered 1 of 2 forms that by signing either waived or invoked their rights to a student advocate, and (c) given questions to assess their degree of knowing during the decision-making process (i.e., extent to which individuals were cognizant of their decisions). Results demonstrated that unknowing innocent and guilty individuals tended to passively comply, engaging in a pre-interrogation acquiescence bias by signing waive and invoke forms at similar rates. But, as participants became more cognizant of their decisions, they acquiesced at lower rates and their change from acquiescence differed depending on their status. As innocents became more cognizant, they signed the waiver form at higher rates than the invoke form, thereby demonstrating that innocence can motivate some suspects to knowingly forgo their rights. Conversely, as guilty individuals became more cognizant, they signed the invoke form at higher rates than the waiver form. These findings have implications for reforming pre-interrogation protocols, protecting suspects' civil liberties, and preventing innocents from offering false self-incriminating evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Life after Death Row

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Cumulative Disadvantage: A Psychological Framework for Understanding How Innocence Can Lead to Confession, Wrongful Conviction, and Beyond

Cumulative Disadvantage: A Psychological Framework for Understanding How Innocence Can Lead to Confession, Wrongful Conviction, and Beyond

The effects of race and criminal history on landlords’ (un)willingness to rent to exonerees.

Knowingly but naively: The overpowering influence of innocence on interrogation rights decision-making.

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