What I learned from my Shawshank presentation

My group of Tim, Dan, and I researched post-conviction DNA testing. I learned that innocent until proven guilty is not completely true; someone may have been found guilty but still be innocent. There have been over 311 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States (innocence).  The main reason for incorrect convictions have been racism, eye witness misidentification, improper forensic science, over-zealous police, and inept defense counsels (Schneider). The average time done in prison for those who have been exonerated is 13.6 years (Van Buskirk). Those people can sue the state but no amount of money can take the years back they have missed, the years the could have spent with their family and family, the years they could have gotten an education or job, but most of all their image. Even though they have been proven innocent people may still see them as criminals and that will never change. 

This project helped me better understand shawshank because I saw how easy it is for someone who is innocent to be proven guilty. That relates to Andy who is innocent but found himself stuck in prison. When people who are sent to jail and  they haven't done anything they may do crazy things.  The average time done in prison for those who have been exonerated is 13.6 years and that gives people time to think. (Van Buskirk). people may go crazy trying to prove their point or like the case of Andy try and escape.  


Van Buskirk, Christian. "GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT: CLEARING 
           MASSACHUSETTS'S UNCERTAIN ROAD TO POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING."

          St. John's Law Review 85.4 (2011): 1-27. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Sept.

          2013.

Schneider, Sydney. "WHEN INNOCENT DEFENDANTS FALSELY CONFESS: 

         ANALYZING THE RAMIFICATIONS OF ENTERING ALFORD PLEAS IN THE

         CONTEXT OF THE BURGEONING INNOCENCE MOVEMENT." Opinion: n. pag.

         Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
 

Innocence Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
          http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Alan_Newton.php.