Key Information
About the content
The United States criminal justice system is typically an accurate and efficient system—although, as a human creation, it is not perfect. This course will employ a social scientific perspective to understand why innocent people are sometimes convicted of crimes they did not commit. In this course we will discuss wrongful convictions, their causes, and their solutions.
Syllabus
Each week we
will cover two lessons in the course. Each lesson, while related, will be considered independently.
Week One:
Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
Social Science and Public Policy: Due Process and Crime Control
Week Two:
Wrongful Conviction Defined
Wrongful Conviction Demographics and Statistics
Week Three:
Wrongful Conviction and the Criminal Justice Process—Where do things go wrong?
Causes of Wrongful Conviction: Eyewitness Misidentification—An Introduction
Week Four:
Causes of Wrongful Conviction: Eyewitness Misidentification—System Variables
Causes of Wrongful Conviction: Eyewitness Misidentification—Estimator Variables
Week Five:
Causes of Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions
Causes of Wrongful Conviction: Jailhouse Snitches and Informants
Week Six:
Causes of Wrongful Conviction: Government Misconduct and Poor Defense
Myths and Misconceptions of Decision-Makers: Judges, Juries, and the Public
Week Seven:
Using Social Science to Prevent Wrongful Convictions
What can you do?
Instructors
- Tim Robicheaux - Department of Sociology and Criminology
Content Designer
Founded in 1855 as Pennsylvania's only land-grant university, The Pennsylvania State University combines academic rigor with a vibrant campus life. A nationally recognized Research-I institution, Penn State teaches students to be leaders with a global perspective. Supporting not only the citizens of our Commonwealth, Penn State engages in collaborative activities with industrial, educational, and agricultural partners in the United States and abroad to generate, disseminate, integrate, and apply knowledge that is valuable to society.
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