Gradesheet for 3503 wrongful conviction!, fall 2024/25
outline
weblog
resources
proposed marking scale for classmark (engagement exercises):
Bonus=A21 10=A-20 9=B18.5 8=B-17.5
7=C16 6=C-15 5=D14 4=D-13 <4=F10
Assignments: Most assignments are excuseable but not
makeupable
Q1: wed 18th, watch Justice Denied (below), and discuss whether the
charge/conviction is fault/error based or a cognitive bias like
tunnel vision, racism. Due Fri 20th
Q2: wed 2nd, watch the video for the Guy Paul Morin case (45 mins),
and briefly summarize what went wrong, in 2 pages or less, for
handin/email on Friday, 4th
Q3: wed 9th, how does your group vote in the Gruenke case.
Q4: wed 16th, have you changed your mind in the Gruenke case?
research work:
anderson -- 2 dspaced pages plus mixed
refspage; interesting case, and it is no surprise that it involves a
racial element; developing the race angle more would strengthen the
analysis, and subtitles would help organize the themes more;
overall, good beginning. B-14
morin -- 2 pages dspaced, and several
references; several cognitive biases are discussed, eg. confirmation
bias, and how they affected the case; this introduces an important
psychological angle on the case; try using subtitles to organize the
discussion of biases more. Good beginning. B-14
philleon -- 4 dspaced pages with subtitles,
plus refspage; there is a lot of detail here on the case and where
it went wrong; the literature on false confessions is especially
important; good organization and discussion of themes; including
some photos would add a visual dimension; good beginning on an
interesting case. B15
memphis3 -- 2 sspaced text, plus titlepage,
and some refs (none academic); it sounds like marginality was the
reason behind the tunnel vision, in that it was easier to scapegoat
the boys than find the true killer; developing that theme more would
strengthen the analysis; overall, good beginning. B15
avery -- 3 dspaced pages plus titlepage and 3
mixed refs; various aspects of the case are discussed, all of which
have a part to play in this case; using subtitles will help organize
those themes more; overall, excellent beginning. A-16
junkscience -- 4 sspaced pages including
titlepage, extensive refs page, subtitles, and photos; excellent
discussion of cases, all of which featured hair comparison analysis,
now considered highly unreliable; overall, excellent work, and
presented well. A17
truscott -- 5 dspaced pages including
titlepage, subtitles, and refspage; good discussion of the cognitive
biases relevant to this case, and how they got in the way of finding
the true killer; there is some evidence of a soldier from the nearby
base who was luring children, and that maybe the police knew about
it... overall, excellent work. A-16
eyewitness -- 2.5 dspaced pages plus
refspage; this shows a good understanding of the issues, and more
development of those issues which effect reliability would develop
the analysis more; subtitles would also strengthen the themes as
well; good cases, perhaps some photos would be interesting; good
beginning. B15
darrylhunt -- 3 dspaced pages plus
titlepage and refspage; there are some important issues here, eg.
the impact on public consciousness, which could be demonstrated
perhaps by media excerpts; and stylistically, subtitles would help
organize the themes more; overall, well written. B15
stinney -- 2 sspaced pages with subtitles,
pictures, and 3 (popular) refs, needs some academic refs too; there
are a lot of important issues here, such as racial bias and 'rush to
trial'; the media angle might be difficult to find articles, but it
certainly would be important too; overall, ambitious, and well
organized. A17
women -- 2 sspaced pages with subtitles, and a
refspage with multiple academic sources; this is a novel topic, and
there are not that many women wrongfuls (except perhaps in Ontario),
and some are quite famous (like Lindy Chamberlain); the bias against
'bad moms' is a good interpretive approach; excellent topic. A17
stephentruscott -- a group of five; 3
sspaced pages with subtitles, and a refspage of media sources; each
section is clearly authored, but for the project just show it as
group written; there is lots of detail on the case, and it is
summarized well; using media excerpts will better support the
analysis, and photos could be used to illustrate it; one detail that
comes up in cbc coverage is that there was a known sex offender at
the nearby airbase; overall, good work. A-16
romeophilleon -- two people; 3 sspaced
pages with subtitles, and webrefs page; well-written, and covers all
the issues, but also leaves some questions, such as should the
police have investigated the possibility of a false confession?;
media coverage of his release might be interesting to look at;
overall, excellent beginning. A-16
wrongfuls -- 1.5 sspaced pages, with
subtitles, graph, and 2 references; a good overview of some of the
issues; more detail on the work of the Innocence project, for
example, would add some history and depth to the analysis, given the
difficulty of examining all of these factors; overall, good
beginning. B15
mccollumbrown -- 2 sspaced pages with
subtitles and a web-refspage; rather than being the most notorious
of cases, this bears the signs of so many cases, marginal suspects,
coerced confessions, tunnel vision, racism, and so on; does the
media coverage at exoneration get at any of that? overall, some
questions, good beginning. B-14
cjohnson -- 2 dspaced pages with subtitles, 2
webrefs; this is one of only a few NS cases, and illustrates some
interesting features, such as (fabricated) graphic crime scene
evidence; more on when and how the investigation went wrong, and how
that was overturned, would add to the analysis; good beginning. B-14
darrylhunt2 -- such a typical case,
eyewitnesses who were wrong, racism in a small place, tunnel vision
perhaps; developing the cognitive and fault-based issues more would
strengthen the analysis, and subtitles would help develop themes
more; overall, good topic, could be developed more. C13
stevenavery -- 3 sspaced pages with
titlepage, picture, subtitles, and mixedrefs; such a typical case:
marginal suspect, suspect evidence, police suspicion and tunnel
vision, inadequate witness... ; more on how the reform group worked
to resolve such issues in the future would be interesting to
develop; overall, good beginning. B-14
gypsyrose -- 2.5 dspaced pages with
subtitles, and one movie ref; this is a very interesting case, and
certainly puts her in the position of being abused, and kept virtual
hostage by her mother; could a defense of self-defence be argued? --
developing that angle more explicitly would strengthen the analysis,
as well as media coverage. C13
briananderson -- 2.5 sspaced pages with
subtitles, photo, and 2 webrefs; an old case, and an otherwise cold
case; it is amazing that it came back for review at all, and it
would be interesting to look at media coverage and see whether it
names racism as a factor; talking about racism and wrongfuls would
also add; good beginning. B15
charlessmith -- 3 sspaced pages with
subtitles, pictures, and mediarefs; good review of a couple of
cases; more on why smith did what he did, and how he did it would
strengthen the analysis, eg. why did he provide info to prosecute so
many moms?; overall, this shows a lot of work, need more on the
psychology of smith. A-16
cogbiases -- 5 sspaced pages in point form,
with web mediarefs; this is a very detailed recantation of four
cases, but there is very little about cognitive biases, highighting
those more would add to the analysis; overall, good start with case
descriptions. B-14
marcellus -- 3 dspaced pages with subtitles,
and a media refspage; the 'research' and 'outcomes' sections seem
more like something the government would do, and not proposed here,
same as with the conclusion; the proposed scope of the research
needs to be narrowed down more; C13
brian -- 4 dspaced text ages, plus titlepage,
subtitles, and media refspage; this case should be notorious for the
racism it displays; this is a good overview, and more on the role of
the media would deepen the analysis; overall, good beginning. B15
tammybouvette -- 4 dspaced pages
including titlepage, and (mostly media) refspage; the case
description is fairly general, and it should have a summary of what
the circumstances of the case were; however, the writing is clear,
and the issues are explained well; overall, good beginning, should
describe the case more. C13 reread: good application of the
concepts, could have more refs. B-14
sophonow -- 2 people; 2.5 sspaced pages text
with subtitles, general refspage, and titlepage; the case is
described well, and the various problems are pointed out; what sort
of safeguards could have prevented this miscarriage happening
again?; overall, good beginning, needs more analysis, especially for
two people. B- 14
baltovich -- 2 pages dspaced with subtitles,
plus titlepage, and refs page with 2 refs; a basic description of
the case, and what went wrong; including media coverage of the case
would be interesting, especially since it seems to be implicated in
the faulty testimony; what was the reason for the eventual
exoneration? overall, good beginning. C13
mccullough -- 2 people; 2 sspaced, with
subtitles, titlepage, and 4 webrefs; the case is interesting, and it
seems that a major factor is the role of the police, which raises
the question of what sort of safeguards would prevent such
'mistakes' happening?; good beginning and parallels to other cases.
B15
gregparsons -- 2 sspaced pages with
subtitles, plus titlepage and 2 refs; good detail on the case, and
the police mistakes appear to have been systematic and biased; more
on whether those mistakes were fault-based or cognitive-based would
add to the analysis; overall, good beginning, there might even be
media coverage. B+15.5
banderson -- 6 dspaced pages with subtitles,
pictures, and several webrefs; the case is described well, and the
writing is good; more on the racial angle, and how natives are more
likely to be wrongfully convicted, etc., will strengthen the
analysis, and show how the issues are more systemic. good beginning
B15
mrbig -- 5 dspaced pages with titlepage,
refspage, and subtitles; the issue is a good one, and this procedure
can certainly lead to wrongful convictions; more detail on how they
work, and when they don't, would add to the analysis; unger is a
good example, are there others? good beginning. B-14
confessions -- 2.5 dspaced pages, with
academic references; false confessions, as pointed out, are related
to vulnerability quite often, such as youths, racial minorities, and
the poor; and juries are more likely to convict if there's a
confession even if it is retracted; good beginning, try using
subtitles to organize themes. B-14
rubincarter -- 2 pages with subtitles and
picture, and several references; good description of the case and
all his troubles; more on the psychological trauma of being falsely
accused and convicted would add to the analysis; overall, good case,
good beginning. B15
westmemphis3 -- 2 sspaced pages, 2
references; interesting case, and it is described well; using
subtitles might help organize the themes more, and if the media has
a role in sensationalizing the case, perhaps some examples can be
found. good beginning, could have more on the psychological angle.
B-14
mullins -- 3 dspaced pages plus several
references; this is a good case, and notorious enough it is the
subject of a cbc episode; using subtitles will help organize the
different stages of the case, and perhaps there is also media
coverage, eg. the Fifth Estate's "Death in the Family" which could
be used; good beginning. B-14
williammj -- 2 sspaced pages plus extensive
refspage; this is a good case, and was perhaps one of the first
which D. Smith was involved in; the psychological reasons for why
there was such a single-minded obsession with William could be
developed more; otherwise, good beginning. B-14
woodhouse -- 2.5 dspaced pages, titlepage,
and two media references; interesting case, because it's the
Winnipeg police, and they are not using proper procedures;
developing the psychological angle more would help explain their
behaviour, and using subtitles would help organize the themes more;
good case. C13
raplyrics -- 2 dspaced pages text, no
references; this is a very inventive topic, and could be really
interesting; including some examples, and perhaps referencing some
videos would have added to the proposal, but they can be added to
the project; overall, interesting topic, could organize it by cases,
perhaps. B-14
racism -- 5 dspaced pages with subtitles, mixed
references; good topic, especially as it is evident in so many cases
in Canada, eg. Woodhouse, Mullins; perhaps there are recommendations
for how to avoid racism in new cases? maybe look for federal reports
referencing racism in wrongfuls?; good beginning. B15
guypaul -- 5pages dspaced including subtitles,
titlepage, and refspage; the issue of junk science runs throughout
the case, and underlies a lot of the mistakes the police and
prosecution made, especially since they wanted to believe thy had a
case, so there's a cognitive bias there too...; overall, good case,
good treatment. B+15.5
kyleunger -- 5 dspaced pages including
titlepage, pictures, and mixed refs; this shows a lot of review
already, and major points of the case are mentioned; the mr big
sting is especially egregious, because there is such an incentive to
lie and admit to crimes not actually committed; excellent beginning.
A17
amandaknox -- 2 sspaced pages with
subtitles, pictures, and 3 references; the influence of the media in
this case is important, from how it framed the issues to how it
created the appearance of guilt and led to a rush to justice; making
the documentary the focus of attention is a good idea; excellent
beginning. A17
georgeallen -- 4 pages dspaced including
subtitles, two references; cases like this seem so common, a likely
suspect, a coerced confession, poor evidence which is later
overturned, it sounds like a soap opera; perhaps there are pictures
or news items which can be added in for interest?; overall, good,
could have more detail C13
interrogation -- 6 dspaced pages
including titlepage, 2 pages text with subtitles, 2 pages
references!, and a blank page; excellent proposal, well written, and
focused; keeping it case-based, but also examining the issues by
themselves will work well; could use some pictures, excellent
beginning A17
clarencewood -- 2.5 dspaced pages,
several references; looking at court documents and media reports is
ambitious, but would certainly fill in the full picture; adding a
few here would show what they look like; overall, a thought out
project, could use more detail. B-14
moreracism -- 2 dspaced pages with
subtitles, academic references; the issue of racism is an important
one in criminal justice and wrongful convictions; probably just
focusing on floyd would be enough, and it certainly was part of a
much bigger protest against police racism; overall, good beginning.
B-14
moreeyewitness -- 2sspaced pages,
webreferences, subtitles; an interesting case, and there is lots of
detail; perhaps there is some media coverage which could be added;
overall, good beginning. B15
menendez -- 2 dspaced pages, varied
references; this is a good, contemporary case to examine, especially
given the amount of media coverage; to see them as victims means
they should have had a plausible self-defense; perhaps the role of
the media is important in this injustice. B15