My topic is miscarriage of justice and I picked this topic because those in jail still have a voice and should be heard. After doing research on Miscarriage of Justice I have come to a conclusion that the government does not give out a lot of opportunities for parole so that people will stay in privately owned prisons. If prisoners are not given the opportunity to stand in court to prove their innocence then how are they supposed to get a chance at freedom? The inmates are still citizens and if they say that they did not commit the crime , they should be entitled to a chance to prove their innocence.
I interviewed police officer Sandra Forsythe who has been working for the Baltimore City Police Department for 26 years. The topic of miscarriage of justice seemed to interest her very much which makes sense since this has been her job for so long. I asked detective Forsythe how she felt about the issue and if the police played a major role in wrongful convictions. I learned that it’s actually not all on the police , it has to deal with the witness picking suspects out of a line up. Whoever they pick out of the line the police then proceed to question them. If the police officer’s evidence lines up with what the witness says they can proceed to take the case to court. If the person who's taken to court can not prove that they are innocent then they will most likely be convicted. She believes that we should not always lawyer up immediately because that can show that you have a guilty conscience Detective Forsythe expressed her feelings on how this process is not always effective and not fair but they have to go off what the witness provides. We can not just put all the wait on the police, they need the citizens to cooperate to make proper arrest. We briefly discussed race and she does believe that sometimes race can play a factor in wrongful convictions.
I asked her why she chose this career to go into, and she responded by saying that “it was just a regular job at first”. She was young and just came out of the military and wanted a job that was similar. Our interview concluded on the topic of politics and the police department. Detective Forsythe believes that two shouldn't mix at all; it would just make things more complicated because it would seem like the democratic party with the most members/power would be in trouble. This interview was very insightful and helpful and I was glad that I was able to get the point of view from a police officer. Especially since the citizens of our city don't have the best relationship with police officers; this shows that all law enforcement are not against those they are supposed to protect. This is another major issue that we have to fix in the community. Trust is important because if the citizens do not trust the ones put into place that are supposed to protect them. I believe that this injustice can eventually be fixed if the government begins to give equal opportunity to those still in jail.
Here is some audio of the interview.
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