Convicting the Innocent or Freeing the Guilty? Public Attitudes Toward Criminal Justice Errors.

Abstract

Two types of judicial errors-convicting an innocent person or acquitting a guilty person-challenge the integrity and legitimacy of criminal justice. How citizens view these errors plays an important role in criminal justice policy. Utilizing data from a national survey, this study applies the established Western theories to explore the correlates of public attitudes regarding the relative acceptance of wrongful convictions and erroneous acquittals in contemporary China. The findings lend support to both constructionist/conflict and symbolic theories.