Page Description
Learn how to identify and engage your intended audience with insights on issues of ethics and justice.
The intended or target audience consists of those who have a sense of humanity and understand the impact of justice being misused for the wrong reasons. Extreme examples are illustrated in a series of videos about individuals who have had to endure these disastrous experiences for many years.
Het doelpubliek bestaat uit degenen die een gevoel voor menselijkheid hebben en begrijpen welke impact het heeft wanneer justitie om verkeerde redenen wordt misbruikt. Extreme voorbeelden worden belicht in een reeks video’s over mensen die jarenlang deze desastreuze ervaringen hebben moeten doorstaan.
1 The Truth About The US Jury System
26 feb 2018
Guilty or not guilty. This is how Americans have helped keep crime in check for two and half centuries. But the US jury system isn’t perfect.
For instance, it wasn’t until 1968 that women were allowed to serve on juries in all 50 states. And while it’s been illegal to exclude African Americans from jury duty for more than 135 years …… they remain dramatically underrepresented, even today.
Each year, over 30 million people are sent a summons in the mail. From that, an estimated 1.5 million are selected to serve on a jury. And it’s during that selection process when most of the problems emerge. Attorneys have a certain number of “strikes”, or peremptory challenges, where they can remove jury candidates without any explanation. For decades, it was perfectly legal to use these strikes on a discriminatory basis — and that’s exactly what prosecutors did.
2 Wat is er gebeurd met juryrechtspraak? – Suja A. Thomas
2 mrt 2017
Bekijk hier de volledige les: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happen…
Tegenwoordig beslissen jury’s in de Verenigde Staten over minder dan 4% van strafzaken en minder dan 1% van civiele zaken die bij de rechtbank zijn ingediend. Tegelijkertijd neemt het aantal jurysystemen in andere landen toe. Wat is er gebeurd in de VS? En zou het wegvallen van jury’s positief kunnen zijn? Suja A. Thomas verdiept zich in beide kanten van dit dilemma.
Les door Suja A. Thomas, animatie door Globizco.
Wrongly imprisoned for murder or manslaughter? KU Leuven students search for possibly innocent convicts
A project at KU Leuven has tasked students from three different fields of study to analyze true murder cases where someone may have been wrongfully convicted. Based on their findings, a dossier can be compiled that could potentially lead to a new trial. The students are now looking for new cases to investigate.
Could it be possible that people in our country have been wrongfully convicted of a crime they didn’t commit? Officially, there have been no reported cases of judicial error in our country, but that doesn’t mean it has never happened. The KU Leuven students are working on a case where the convicted person maintains their innocence.
Where the justice system has closed all doors, the “Benefit of the Doubt” project conducts a new analysis of the investigation, available evidence, and possible scenarios. The project began as a pilot project two academic years ago but now aims to take off.
Every year, about ten master’s students from the fields of law, criminology, and forensic science spend a year studying a real murder or manslaughter case. The students study all the details of the case, each from their own expertise, to deliver a final judgment on the conviction.
Unlike in the United States, the students do not plead the case in court. However, the convicted person’s lawyer can subsequently decide to request a review of the case before the Commission for the Review of Criminal Cases (CHS), established in 2018.
The students are now looking for a new case to tackle. To be selected for the project, the complete dossier must be available with the consent of the convicted person and their lawyer. Cases can be reported through the project’s website.
Project supervisor Tamara De Beuf emphasizes that it is essentially an educational project that operates independently. “So, we do not work for the lawyers of the convicted person,” she told VRT NWS. “We investigate whether the conviction may have been wrongful and whether there are still possibilities to conduct investigations. We do not have contact with the lawyer, except to review the dossier.”
The exact number of people in Belgium who have been wrongfully imprisoned after a wrongful conviction or judicial error cannot be determined with certainty. “In America, there is a database showing that 3,307 people have been acquitted who were previously wrongfully convicted,” De Beuf told Belga. “In the Netherlands, 11 people have been recognized as wrongfully convicted, and in Germany, 31. It can be expected that there are similar numbers in Belgium, but there may also be differences,” she said. “The legal system is not entirely the same: for example, in Belgium, we work with a jury for murder cases, while the Netherlands does not.”
The idea for the project originated at KU Leuven following a research project in the Netherlands called “Reasonable Doubt.” “Reasonable Doubt” started in 2003 at Maastricht University and now runs at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Onterecht in de cel voor moord of doodslag? Studenten KU Leuven zoeken mogelijk onschuldig veroordeelden
Een project van de KU Leuven laat studenten uit drie verschillende studierichtingen waargebeurde moorddossiers analyseren, waarbij iemand mogelijk onterecht veroordeeld is. Op basis daarvan kan een dossier samengesteld worden dat eventueel tot een nieuwe strafzaak kan leiden. De studenten zijn nu op zoek naar nieuwe zaken die ze kunnen onderzoeken.
Kan het dat mensen in ons land onterecht zijn veroordeeld voor een misdrijf dat ze eigenlijk niet hebben gepleegd? Officieel is er in ons land nog geen gerechtelijke dwaling gerapporteerd, maar dat wil niet zeggen dat het nog nooit is gebeurd. De studenten van de KU Leuven gaan slag met een zaak waarbij de veroordeelde de onschuld blijft volhouden.
Daar waar het rechtssysteem alle deuren heeft gesloten, maakt het project “Voordeel van de twijfel” een nieuwe analyse van de gestelde onderzoeksdaden, de beschikbare bewijsmiddelen, en de mogelijke scenario’s. Het project is al twee academiejaren geleden in proefproject gestart, maar wil nu echt uit de startblokken schieten.
Elk jaar is een tiental studenten uit de richtingen Rechten, Criminologie en Forensische Wetenschappen een jaar lang aan de slag gegaan met een waargebeurd moord- of doodslagdossier. De studenten, allemaal masterstudenten, bestuderen alle details van de zaak, elk vanuit hun eigen expertise, om een eindoordeel af te leveren over de veroordeling.
In tegenstelling tot in de Verenigde Staten is het niet zo dat de studenten de zaak zelf voor de rechtbank gaan bepleiten. De advocaat van de veroordeelde kan nadien wel beslissen om een herziening van de zaak te vragen bij de in 2018 opgerichte Commissie Herzieningen in Strafzaken (CHS).
De studenten zijn nu op zoek naar een nieuwe zaak om hun tanden in te zetten. Om voor het project geselecteerd te kunnen worden, moet het volledige dossier beschikbaar zijn met akkoord van de veroordeelden en hun advocaat. Via de website van het project kunnen zaken aangemeld worden.
Tientallen onterecht veroordeelden
Projectbegeleider Tamara De Beuf benadrukt wel dat het in essentie een onderwijsproject is dat in alle onafhankelijkheid werkt. “We werken dus niet voor de advocaten van de veroordeelde”, zegt ze aan VRT NWS. “We zoeken uit of er veroordeling eventueel onterecht is gebeurd. En of er nog mogelijkheden zijn om onderzoeksdaden te stellen. We hebben geen contact met de advocaat, behalve om het dossier in te kijken.”
Hoeveel personen er in België onterecht in de gevangenis zijn beland na een onterechte veroordeling of gerechtelijke dwaling, is onmogelijk met zekerheid vast te stellen. “In Amerika bestaat een database waaruit blijkt dat 3.307 mensen zijn vrijgesproken, die eerder onterecht waren veroordeeld”, zegt De Beuf daarover aan Belga.
“In Nederland zijn er 11 personen erkend als onterecht veroordeelden, in Duitsland 31. Het valt te verwachten dat het in België om gelijkaardige aantallen gaat, maar er zijn ook verschillen mogelijk”, klinkt het. “Het juridisch systeem is niet volledig gelijk: in België werken we bijvoorbeeld met een volksjury voor moordzaken, in Nederland niet.”
Het idee voor het project is aan de KU Leuven ontstaan in navolging van een onderzoeksproject in Nederland, dat “Gerede twijfel” heette. “Gerede twijfel” startte in 2003 aan de Universiteit Maastricht en loopt nu aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
3 Interview with a Death Row Inmate who was INNOCENT.
4 Anthony Ray Hinton Exonerated After 30 Years on Death Row
30 sep 2015
Anthony Ray Hinton walked out of the Jefferson County Jail a free man for the first time in 30 years at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, April 3, 2015. “The sun does shine,” Mr. Hinton said moments after being released following his exoneration. He was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.
“Race, poverty, inadequate legal assistance, and prosecutorial indifference to innocence conspired to create a textbook example of injustice,” EJI Director Bryan Stevenson said. “I can’t think of a case that more urgently dramatizes the need for reform than what has happened to Anthony Ray Hinton.”
“The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row” is a memoir by Anthony Ray Hinton, a man who spent 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. Here are some key points from the book:
Wrongfully convicted: In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Birmingham, Alabama. Despite having no physical evidence or witnesses linking him to the crime, Hinton was convicted and sentenced to death.
Life on death row: Hinton spent nearly 30 years on death row, enduring extreme isolation, brutal conditions, and the constant fear of execution. He also witnessed the executions of many of his fellow inmates.
Maintaining hope: Despite the grim circumstances, Hinton maintained hope and a positive attitude throughout his time on death row. He found solace in his faith, and used humor, friendship, and music to keep his spirits up.
Legal battle: With the help of the Equal Justice Initiative, Hinton’s case was eventually taken up by a team of lawyers who fought to prove his innocence. It took years of legal battles and multiple trips to the Supreme Court, but in 2015, Hinton was finally exonerated and released from prison.
Forgiveness: Despite the injustice he suffered, Hinton has chosen to forgive those who wrongfully convicted him and put him on death row. He now works as an advocate for criminal justice reform, and speaks out against the death penalty.
Overall, “The Sun Does Shine” is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit, and a scathing indictment of a justice system that too often fails the innocent.
5 WATCH LIVE: Former death row prisoner Anthony Ray Hinton shares his path to freedom and forgiveness
Live gestreamd op 15 jun 2022
Anthony Ray Hinton was sentenced to death and held in solitary confinement for 28 years on Alabama’s death row before he was exonerated in 2015. On Wednesday, June 15 at 11:00 a.m. ET, join Washington Post senior critic-at-large Robin Givhan for a conversation with Hinton about the young readers edition of his book, “The Sun Does Shine,” in which he shares his long road to freedom and forgiveness.
Washington Post Live is the newsroom’s live journalism platform, featuring interviews with top-level government officials, business leaders, cultural influencers and emerging voices on the most pressing issues driving the news cycle nationally and across the globe. From one-on-one, newsmaker interviews to in-depth multi-segment programs, Washington Post Live brings The Post’s newsroom to life on stage.
6 Why the Innocent Plead Guilty
Federal Judges Jed S. Rakoff and Michael M. Baylson debate the public misconceptions and systemic failings of America’s criminal justice system as described by Judge Rakoff’s widely-read article in the New York Review of Books. Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
7 How a case gets to the US Supreme Court
28 mrt 2017
The only way is by surviving “the rule of four”.
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what’s really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com to get up to speed on everything from Kurdistan to the Kim Kardashian app.
Most often, the US Supreme Court grants or denies petitions to hear a case after reviewing a written request called a “petition for writ of certiorari”. Also called “the writ of cert”, it is reviewed by the Justices and granting the petition depends on whether or not it passes “the rule of four”. If it does, the case is probably one of three types: a case of national importance, a case in which a lower court decision has invalidated federal law, or a case involving a split decision in lower courts. Famously, Bush v. Gore was an example of national importance, Gonzales v. Raich was a case in which a lower court invalidated federal law, and Obergefell v. Hodges was selected by the Court in order to resolve a circuit split decision. By following this protocol of case selection, the Court has been designed to be reactive to legislative decisions made in other branches of government, as opposed to an active legislative body that seeks to create and institute new laws. Overall, the result of this design is a Court that prioritizes case selections that will enable them to enforce the uniformity of federal law throughout the country.
8 What It’s Like Being A Supreme Court Justice
20 jul 2018
Being a Supreme Court justice is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But it’s still a job, and a grueling one, at that. Justices often evaluate thousands of cases a year, selecting dozens that will go before the court and making decisions that will impact millions of Americans.
The position does come with some decent perks, though, like lifetime employment, a generous retirement package and obvious prestige. As Justice Clarence Thomas once told California college students, being on the Supreme Court is an honor, but he wouldn’t say he actually liked it. In fact, he lamented, there’s no money and no privacy.
9 Why U.S. Supreme Court Justices Serve For Life – Cheddar Explains
25 aug 2022
In a new AP poll, 67% of Americans are in favor of Supreme Court term limits. After all, a supreme court justice is the ultimate referee of all U.S. law. And even if they’re in poor health or facing mental decline or just… older than most voters think they should be, they can just… keep… on… working.
So here’s what we want to know – why did the founding fathers ever think it was ok to give judges lifetime tenure? Did this part of the American experiment have its desired outcome? And what would it take for term limits to actually be implemented for the first time in the court’s 232-year history?
10 Why U.S. Supreme Court Justices Serve For Life – Cheddar Explains
25 aug 2022
In a new AP poll, 67% of Americans are in favor of Supreme Court term limits. After all, a supreme court justice is the ultimate referee of all U.S. law. And even if they’re in poor health or facing mental decline or just… older than most voters think they should be, they can just… keep… on… working.
So here’s what we want to know – why did the founding fathers ever think it was ok to give judges lifetime tenure? Did this part of the American experiment have its desired outcome? And what would it take for term limits to actually be implemented for the first time in the court’s 232-year history?
Further reading:
Why Supreme Court Justices Serve For Life
Was There An Armenian Genocide? bit.ly Why Does Armenia Hate Turkey? bit.ly
11 Former Justice Stevens on the 3 worst Supreme Court decisions of his tenure
12 Collapse of rape trial has cost two years of my life’ – Luke Allan
13 Caught Cheating With Sexy Girl Prank – Just For Laughs Gags
3 jan. 2012