Mistaken Identification Research Articles

Forensic Examinations in Cases of Mistaken Biometric Identification

In connection with innovation of modern biometric technologies in various spheres of life, both at the levels of individuals and of the State, there exists an increasing risk of serious negative consequences of potentially possible mistaken identifications. Such cases already happened both in Russia and abroad. In the course of legal proceedings on facts of mistaken identity and its consequences, forensic examinations are carried out in most cases. Depending on the type of biometric registration and identification system, forensic computer-technical, traceological, portrait, video technical examinations as well as forensic medical examination and other medicolegal examinations are assigned. The article gives an assessment of legality and scientific validity of performing forensic anthropometric examinations of photographs and video recordings of the suspects captured on them.

Reflector variables in augmented reality lineups: Assessing eyewitness identification reliability in children and adults with confidence, response time, and proximity to the lineup.

Attending to the behaviors of eyewitnesses at police lineups could help to determine whether an eyewitness identification is accurate or mistaken. Eyewitness identification decision processes were explored using augmented reality holograms. Children (n = 143; Mage = 10.79, SD = 1.12 years) and adults (n = 152; Mage = 22.12, SD = 7.47 years) viewed staged crime videos and made identification decisions from sequential lineups. The lineups were presented in augmented reality. Children were less accurate than adults on the lineup task. For adults, fast response times and high post-identification confidence ratings were both reflective of identification accuracy. Fast response times were also reflective of accuracy for children; however, children's confidence ratings did not reflect the likely accuracy of their identifications. A new additional measure, the witness' proximity to the augmented reality lineup, revealed that children who made mistaken identifications moved closer to the lineup than children who correctly identified the person from the crime video. Adults who moved any distance towards the lineup were less accurate than adults who did not move at all, but beyond that, adults' proximity to the lineup was not reflective of accuracy. The findings give further evidence that behavioral indicators of deliberation and information-seeking by eyewitnesses are signals of low lineup identification reliability. The findings also suggest that when assessing the reliability of children's lineup identifications, behavioral measures are more useful than metacognitive reports.

Suspect race affects defense attorney evaluations of preidentification evidence.

When an officer places a suspect in an identification procedure and the witness identifies the suspect, it falls on attorneys to make decisions that reflect the strength of that identification. The factor that most affects the strength of identification evidence is the likelihood that the suspect is guilty before being subjected to the procedure, which scholars refer to as the prior probability of guilt. Given large racial disparities in exonerations based on eyewitness misidentifications, the current work examined whether defense attorneys are less sensitive to prior evidence of guilt when the defendant is Black as opposed to White. We predicted that when the defendant's race was described as White rather than Black, attorneys' judgments would be more sensitive to variations in the evidence that would influence the base rate of guilt. We also predicted that attorneys would rate the case as stronger when the victim's race was described as White rather than Black. We gave 316 defense attorneys case files (modeled after the New York Police Department's style) that varied the strength of the preidentification evidence (strong vs. weak), the race of the defendant (Black vs. White), and the race of the victim (Black vs. White). Attorneys made judgments that were sensitive to the base rate of guilt, but self-report measures demonstrated that they did not understand the extent to which the base rate of guilt influences the reliability of eyewitness evidence. Participants also rated the strength of the preidentification evidence as stronger for Black than for White defendants. Although attorneys are intuitively sensitive to the strength of preidentification evidence, they lack conscious awareness of how a suspect's prior probability of guilt affects likelihood of a mistaken identification, which may have implications for their ability to make race-neutral evaluations of preidentification evidence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of suspect development practices in eyewitness identification accuracy and racial disparities in wrongful conviction

AbstractThis article reviews the three previously studied categories of variables that are related to eyewitness identification accuracy: estimator (characteristics of the witnessing conditions), system (characteristics of the identification procedure that are under the control of the criminal legal system), and reflector (variables that reflect the likely accuracy of a witness). Although eyewitness scholars frequently turn to these variables and models of memory to explain why eyewitnesses make mistakes, none of these variables provides a reasonable explanation for the large racial disparities in wrongful convictions based on mistaken identifications, yet problematic policing practices might. The policies and practices guiding police efforts to develop suspects as well as the decisions of officers to place a suspect at risk of misidentification determine the base‐rate of innocent suspects that appear in identification procedures. Current police practices—from developing suspects based on hunches, through facial recognition technology, or by pressuring reluctant witnesses to make identifications—increase the likelihood that innocent suspects will be placed in lineups. An increase in lineups with innocent suspects increases the ratio of mistaken to correct identifications without changes in witness performance. Requirements for evidence‐based suspicion, video recording identification procedures, and prohibiting coercive interviewing techniques with reluctant witnesses are recommended for reducing the effect of unreliable suspect development methods on eyewitness evidence.

Estimation of eyewitness error rates in fair and biased lineups.

The risk of mistaken identification for innocent suspects in lineups can be estimated by correcting the overall error rate by the number of people in the lineup. We compared this nominal size correction to a new effective size correction, which adjusts the error rate for the number of plausible lineup members. We hypothesized that (a) increasing lineup bias would increase misidentifications of a designated innocent suspect; (b) with the effective size correction, increasing lineup bias would also increase the estimate of innocent-suspect misidentifications; and (c) with the nominal size correction, lineup bias would have no effect on the estimate of innocent-suspect misidentifications. In a reanalysis of previous literature, we obtained 10 data sets from Open Science Framework. In three new experiments (Ns = 686, 405, and 1,531, respectively), participants observed a staged crime and completed a fair or biased lineup. In the reanalysis of previous literature, less than four of six lineup members were identified frequently enough to be classified as plausible, M = 3.78, 95% confidence interval [CI: 2.20, 5.36]. In the new experiments, increasing lineup bias increased mistaken identifications of a designated innocent suspect, odds ratio (OR) = 5.50, 95% CI [2.77, 10.95] and also increased the effective size-corrected estimate of innocent-suspect misidentifications, OR = 3.04, 95% CI [2.13, 4.33]. With the nominal size correction, lineup bias had no effect on the estimate of innocent-suspect misidentifications, OR = 0.84, 95% CI [0.60, 1.18]. Most lineups include a combination of plausible and implausible lineup members. Contrary to the nominal size correction, which ignores implausible lineup members, the effective size correction is sensitive to implausible lineup members and accounts for lineup bias when estimating the risk of innocent suspect misidentifications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A revision of the Pieris napi-complex (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) and similar species with distribution in China

The taxonomic status of the Pieris napi-complex and similar species which occur in China are revised. Relevant species distributed in the adjacent regions were included to clarify the status of Chinese species and were briefly revised. All those species are described and illustrated and new synonyms are established. A molecular phylogenetic analysis is also performed on the species group including similar species, to investigate the phylogenetic relationships between taxa. Species of the Pieris napi-complex that occur in China and adjacent regions are redefined, with four similar species excluded (P. melaina, P. extensa, P. chumbiensis gyantsensis and P. melete). A distribution map and keys of the complex including similar species are provided. The taxon P. mihon Yakovlev, 2006 stat. nov. is raised from subspecies to species status; P. narina Verity, 1908 stat. rev. is confirmed as a distinct species rather than a subspecies of P. ochsenheimeri; Pieris euorientis Verity, 1908 stat. rev. is recovered as a distinct species sister to P. dulcinea. Two taxa, ssp. sauron and ssp. bryonides are moved from subspecies of P. euorientis and P. bryoniae, respectively, to P. napi, i.e. P. napi sauron Yakovlev, 2004 comb. nov and P. napi bryonides Sheljuzhko, 1910 comb. rev. A new synonym is proposed: Pieris ochsenheimeri tianshansis Tadokoro, Shinkawa & Wang, 2014, new synonym of P. mihon Yakovlev, 2006. A new mistaken identification is proposed: Pieris dulcinea kneitzi is a misidentification of Pieris erutae kneitzi Eitschberger, 1983 comb. rev. Five Chinese species belonging to the Pieris napi-complex were confirmed, namely P. narina, P. mihon, P. latouchei, P. dulcinea, and P. erutae. Among them, two species, P. mihon Yakovlev, 2006 and Pieris narina Verity, 1908, are newly recorded from China. The taxonomic status of Pieris steinigeri Eitschberger, 1983 and Pieris bryoniae sifanica Grum-Grshimailo, 1895 is also discussed.

A Background of Bias: Subtle Changes in Lineup Backgrounds Increase the Own Race Bias

AbstractIn police photo lineups, there can sometimes be small variations in shades and hues of the background images due to the faces being filmed under different lighting and cameras. Own race bias refers to a situation where people are better at remembering the faces of those who are the same race as them and find it more difficult to recognise faces from a different race. In this paper, we investigated the influence of small colour variations in backgrounds for the recognition of Black and White faces. Across 3 experiments, we found when small changes were introduced into the backgrounds of the images this increased false identifications for previously unseen Black faces, but not White faces. This finding suggests that the police need to ensure that the backgrounds of the photo lineups they use are all uniform to reduce mistaken identifications of innocent suspects.

Potential causes of racial disparities in wrongful convictions based on mistaken identifications: Own-race bias and differences in evidence-based suspicion.

We explored whether racial disparities in evidence-based suspicion (i.e., evidence of guilt prior to placement in a lineup) provide a better explanation of racial disparities in exonerations based on eyewitness misidentification than the own-race bias in eyewitness identifications. We predicted that the own-race bias in identification accuracy would be insufficiently large to fully explain the racial disparities in wrongful convictions in cases with mistaken identification. We also predicted that possible racial disparities in the prior probability of suspect guilt before subjecting suspects to the risk of misidentification might better explain racial disparities in wrongful convictions. We conducted a meta-analysis on 54 effect sizes extracted from 16 studies (1,503 individual participants) that tested whether there was an own-race bias in eyewitness identifications using a design that varied the race of both the witnesses and the target faces (Black vs. White). We also constructed two curves that plotted the prior probability of suspect guilt against the posterior probability of guilt: one if an identification were to be obtained for a Black suspect and one if an identification were to be obtained for a White suspect. Participants, irrespective of their race, were better able to discriminate among previously seen White than Black targets. However, the differential accuracy rates for identifications of White versus Black suspects were too small to explain racial disparities in exoneration data on their own. However, racial disparities in evidence that police have against suspects before placing them in an identification procedure would likely explain more of the variance in racial disparities in mistaken identifications that lead to wrongful convictions. Memory errors caused by the own-race bias are likely not the sole or even primary cause of racial disparities in misidentifications; rather, systemic bias in the amount of evidence that police have before placing a suspect at risk of misidentification likely explains more of the variance of racial disparities in wrongful convictions based on mistaken identifications. Requirements for evidence-based suspicion before placing suspects in an identification procedure are needed to prevent systemic racism in mistaken identifications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Many Faces of Josefa Jaramillo: (Mis)identifications and Historical Longing in the Colonial Present

Abstract Before 1970, the public had never seen a picture of Josefa Jaramillo, the Taoseña who married frontiersman Kit Carson in 1843 and stayed with him until they both died in 1868. Then, within six months, two such images crossed the portal of the Carson museum in Taos, each from a different donor. For fifty years since, historians, curators, and descendants have embraced the photos as authentic. But they are not pictures of the same person and it is possible that neither of them is an image of Jaramillo. The provenance of the pictures tells the story of a New Mexico still in the grip of colonialisms that had been unfolding for centuries, producing by 1970 a place that often ranked with southern states at the bottom of lists measuring economic and social well-being. It tells the story of a state that did not yet acknowledge what it had in common with the South: a history of slavery. It tells a story of women deemed indistinguishable from and interchangeable with one another. It tells a story of generational pain rooted in the trauma of continental empire. It tells a story of the desire for history, for connection and belonging. It tells a story of mistaken identification.

Supplemental Material for Potential Causes of Racial Disparities in Wrongful Convictions Based on Mistaken Identifications: Own-Race Bias and Differences in Evidence-Based Suspicion

Supplemental Material for Potential Causes of Racial Disparities in Wrongful Convictions Based on Mistaken Identifications: Own-Race Bias and Differences in Evidence-Based Suspicion

Eyes Instead of Ears: Eye Injuries Following Ocular Exposure to Otic Medications.

To determine the epidemiology of ocular exposures and toxicoses in dogs and cats from otic products, 79 dog and cat cases with an ocular exposure to a topical otic medication were retrieved from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Animal Poison Control Center database. Prescription products were involved in 75/79 (95%) of cases, and over-the-counter products in 4 (5%). Clinical signs included conjunctivitis, blepharospasm, epiphora, ocular discharge, and corneal ulceration. Medication error, specifically involving mistaken identification (i.e., an otic product confused with an ophthalmic product), occurred in 68/79 (86%) of cases. In 4 of these 68 cases, an otic instead of an ophthalmic medication was mistakenly dispensed to the pet owner. Unintentional delivery (i.e., accidental ocular exposure in the course of an otic application) occurred in 9/79 (11%) of cases, and 2 (3%) cases involved intentional delivery of otic products to the eyes. Because mistaken identification was the most common cause of ocular toxicoses from otic products, separate storage and/or distinctive packaging for ophthalmic versus otic products could reduce medication errors. Animal poison control center epidemiological data can be used as a source of information regarding veterinary medication errors.

Đánh giá hiệu quả định danh các chủng Burkholderia pseudomallei không điển hình bằng Vitek 2

The rate of accurate identification of B. pseudomallei strains causing melioidosis is about 86% by the Vitek 2 system. For atypical strains, sensitive to gentamicin, this rate is only about 57%. The mistaken identification of the causative agent lead to incorrect treatment regimens, which can lead to die. 30 strains of B. pseudomallei isolated from clinical samples, 6 strains of B. pseudomallei and 6 strains of B. thailandensis isolated from soil samples were identified using Vitek 2 system. The above bacterial strains were confirmed by multiplex PCR method and gene sequencing in previous studies. The results indicated that by Vitek 2 system, B. pseudomallei strains isolated from clinical samples had an accuracy rate of 97 %, B. pseudomallei strains isolated from soil samples had an accuracy rate of only 67%. Thus, the Vitek 2 identification method gives high diagnostic efficiency on typical B. pseudomallei strains isolated from clinical samples. However, with the group of bacteria B. pseudomallei atypical, isolated from soil, the wrong detection results up to 75%. The malonate reaction (MNT) on Vitek 2 is considered an important marker to distinguish B. thailandensis from B. pseudomallei.

Correlation of procedural and procedural forms of activity of public administration in the context of the Law of Ukraine «On administrative procedure»

The article examines the essence of the legal procedural and legal proceedings form of public administration activity in the context of the adoption of the Law of Ukraine «On Administrative Procedure». The main differences of legal procedural and legal proceedings forms are revealed. The latter, due to the presence of stages, can cause the onset of a legal consequence even before the final resolution of the case, for example, after the completion of a specific stage of the case. While the procedural form can cause a legal consequence only at the final stage of its implementation. It is noted that a mandatory element of the legal proceedings form is the stage of proving the circumstances of the case. Based on the analysis of the features and correlation of the procedural and legal proceedings form, the thesis is substantiated that in the field of public management and administration there are two independent varieties of the legal proceedings form: administrative justice and administrative proceedings. Administrative procedure is a branch type of procedural form in administrative law. The impracticality of distinguishing between the concepts of administrative procedure and administrative proceedings on the basis of statics and dynamics has been proven. As branch varieties of higher-order categories (procedural and legal proceedings, respectively), these concepts can and should be distinguished precisely by generic features. It is emphasized that administrative procedure and administrative proceedings are specific concepts of different content categories, and attempts to establish generic-specific connections between these concepts lead to a number of logical contradictions. These contradictions are analyzed on the example of the Law of Ukraine «On Administrative Procedure». The main problematic issues, the solution of which is necessary before the entry into force of this law, are indicated. The circle of relations that should receive the legal proceedings form in administrative law has been clarified. At the same time, it was emphasized that administrative justice is an independent type of legal proceedings form of court activity and should not be considered part of the theory of procedural forms of public administration activity. Differences between theoretical and normative constructions of procedural and legal proceedings forms are emphasized. It is noted that their mistaken identification hinders the construction of the theory of administrative-procedural law, causes discussions about the relationship between the categories «administrative process», «administrative proceedings», «administrative procedure».

Workflow Optimization for Identification of Female Germline or Oogonial Stem Cells in Human Ovarian Cortex Using Single-Cell RNA Sequence Analysis.

In 2004, the identification of female germline or oogonial stem cells (OSCs) that can support post–natal oogenesis in ovaries of adult mice sparked a major paradigm shift in reproductive biology. Although these findings have been independently verified, and further extended to include identification of OSCs in adult ovaries of many species ranging from pigs and cows to non–human primates and humans, a recent study rooted in single–cell RNA sequence analysis (scRNA-seq) of adult human ovarian cortical tissue claimed that OSCs do not exist, and that other groups working with OSCs following isolation by magnetic-assisted or fluorescence-activated cell sorting have mistaken perivascular cells (PVCs) for germ cells. Here we report that rare germ lineage cells with a gene expression profile matched to OSCs but distinct from that of other cells, including oocytes and PVCs, can be identified in adult human ovarian cortical tissue by scRNA-seq after optimization of analytical workflow parameters. Deeper cell-by-cell expression profiling also uncovered evidence of germ cells undergoing meiosis-I in adult human ovaries. Lastly, we show that, if not properly controlled for, PVCs can be inadvertently isolated during flow cytometry protocols designed to sort OSCs because of inherently high cellular autofluorescence. However, human PVCs and human germ cells segregate into distinct clusters following scRNA-seq due to non–overlapping gene expression profiles, which would preclude the mistaken identification and use of PVCs as OSCs during functional characterization studies.

Evidence strength (insufficiently) affects police officers' decisions to place a suspect in a lineup.

We examined whether variations in the strength of the evidentiary connection between a suspect and the crime under investigation affected officers' decisions to place suspects into an identification procedure and whether education about the problems associated with base-rate neglect sensitized officers to variations in evidentiary connection. Police officers (N = 279; age range = 24-70; 86% male) read a hypothetical crime scenario, adopting the role of the lead investigator. The scenarios varied in how closely the suspect was connected to the crime (evidentiary connection: weak vs. strong). Before reading the crime scenarios, half of the participants received education about the relationship between the base rate of guilt among suspects placed in lineups and the prevalence of mistaken identifications (education: present vs. absent). Officers indicated whether they would conduct an identification procedure with a witness based on the evidence they currently had against the suspect. We expected that participants would better distinguish between the strong and weak evidentiary connection conditions when education was present than when it was absent. Education did not sensitize officers to the strength of the evidence connecting the suspect to the crime under investigation, but officers were sensitive to variations in evidentiary connection without benefit of the educational intervention. However, a majority of officers were willing to subject a suspect to an identification procedure even when there was no evidence connecting the suspect to the crime. Officers' decisions about placing suspects in lineups reflect some level of base-rate neglect that remained even after education about the importance of increasing the ratio of culprit-present to culprit-absent lineups for decreasing mistaken identifications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURE AND TEXTURE OF THE TEXT AS A REVIEW THE WORTHINESS OF A CHILD'S FABLE SERIES OF KESETIAAN MERPATI BY M. SYAFII MASYKUR

This research was intended to identify the sctructure and texture of the text in a child’s story Kesetiaan Merpati by M. Syafii Masykur in addition to reviewing the language worthiness which is used by children under five years of age. The design of this research was qualitative descriptive research using the discourse analysis approach. The source of data in this research was the children's book story Kesetiaan Merpati, the data from this research was a lingual unit of words, clauses, or sentences found in children’s book story Kesetiaan Merpati. The data was collected by using the responsive technique and note-taking technique. To fulfill the aim of this research the data was taken by using a criterion-based sampling technique. The data were analyzed by using the distributional method and interactive analysis, which were data collection, data reduction, data presentation, deduction, and verification. The research found in the text structure of children's story Kesetiaan Merpati, there were orientation, complications, evaluation, resolution, and coda. Meanwhile, textual texture in the children’s story Kesetiaan Merpati consisted of grammatical and lexical. The narration of Kesetiaan Merpati found 45 grammatical errors; among these were ineffective sentence in 5 sentences, infrequent punctuation in 4 sentences, uneconomical word as 4, infrequent use of words as 4, the error of phonology as 3, the error of morphology as 1, the error of conjunction as 3, double subject as 2, the error of preposition as 1, the negative clause as 2, vocabulary as 8, nominalization as 6, technique term as 2 and the type of sentence used were paratactic and hypotactic complex. Hereinafter, on lexical of narration in 56 sentences. From the grammatical mistaken identification of the book story Kesetiaan Merpati by M. Syafii Maskur, it was not worthy to be given to a child under 5 years of age. This was seen in the many grammatical errors of a vocabulary that is difficult and uneasily understood by children of that age, as well as the clauses and metaphors.

The Decreasing Hazard Rate Phenomenon: A Review of Different Models, with a Discussion of the Rationale behind Their Choice

It is well known that, especially in the field of electronic components reliability studies and applications, the Exponential reliability model is by far the most adopted, although the data fostering it are few. This appears to be due partly to its simplicity (also in view of estimation, since it is characterized by a unique parameter), and partly because most components seem to be well represented, at least in their “useful life” time interval, by the Exponential model. This adoption is basically due to its peculiar “memory-less” property, i.e., the fact that such model possesses a constant hazard rate function, meaning that stochastic “accidents” cause the failure of the component, independently of its service time. This theoretical reason behind the choice of the Exponential model is largely prevailing over the classical statistical “goodness of fit” tests, since the high-reliability values attained by such devices does not allow the availability of an adequate number of lifetime values to be observed and analyzed in a statistical data analysis procedure. A second model also widely adopted is the Weibull model, especially if characterized by a shape parameter greater than unity, so implying an increasing hazard rate function. However, there are many cases—which can be also justified on a theoretical basis, as reviewed in this paper—in which a decreasing hazard rate function (at least for relatively large mission times) may be the best suited to describe the true model behind a given failure mechanism. The afore-mentioned theoretical basis of these apparently peculiar models is the main core of the present review article, whose aim also includes the illustration of the basic features of the main reliability models featuring an hazard rate function diminishing with time. The paper also discusses, resorting to graphical and numerical case-studies relevant to both field and simulated data, the consequences of mistaken model identification in terms of the hazard rate function behaviour, which may imply wrong maintenance actions.

Cryptic burrow traces in black shales – a petrographic Rorschach test or the real thing?

AbstractIn black shale studies, apparent lack of bioturbation is commonly taken as an indication of anoxic bottom waters. Yet, modern oxygen‐stressed environments show that even at suboxic levels (0.0 to 0.2 ml l−1 oxygen), microscopic eukaryotic benthic organisms live in the uppermost millimetres to centimetres of the substrate. Known as meiofauna, these organisms disturb the primary fabric as they move through the sediment. These modern examples inspired students of the rock record to report sub‐millimetre irregular–wiggly features in black shale thin sections as meiofaunal burrows. Preparation flaws in thin section manufacture can cause reduced light transmission that results in darkened regions when viewed in transmitted light, and one wonders whether micro‐burrows reported in the literature are indeed burrows, or alternatively artifact‐induced optical illusions. Examining shale thin sections of Archean to Tertiary age showed: (i) that burrow‐like features are common regardless of age; and (ii) that burrow identification varies significantly between observers. When transposing locations of presumed traces onto scanning electron microscope images of the same field of view (diamond polished surface), no evidence of fabric modification at locations of presumed burrows was observed. Microfabric within and outside ‘burrows’ was the same, and larger fabric elements traversed ‘burrows’ uninterrupted. Once both sides of the rock slice were polished, presumed burrows could no longer be observed, indicating that damage to the underside of the thin section caused the mistaken identification of micro‐burrows. Because burrows emplaced in water‐rich muds must undergo substantial compaction‐induced ‘flattening’ and deformation prior to lithification, geometries of presumed burrows that disagree with a plausible compaction regime provide an additional filter to separate potential burrows from artifact‐induced features. Recognizing meiofaunal disruption is an important aspect for accurate palaeoenvironmental interpretation of black shales. Yet, initial assessment via optical microscopy needs to be verified through scanning electron microscope‐based examination of shale fabrics.

Critical Race Theory, Wrongful Convictions and Disparate Exonerations of Minority and White Youths in the United States

Race is central to every aspect of the criminal justice system in the United States. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in 2013, black males accounted for 37 percent of the total male prison population in the United States with white males accounting for only 32 percent followed by Hispanic males at 22 percent respectively. In the general population, however, Black males comprise only 6 percent of the total males population while White males constitute 31 percent of the total males population in the U.S. followed by Hispanic males who make up 8.4 percent of the total male population. The conviction of innocent defendants is quite disturbing regardless of race or ethnicity. Nothing is more glaring of this phenomenon than when one considers that African American males make up only 6 percent of the total males population but are reported as committing 52 percent of the murders. It is widely known that the lack of formal processes and constitutional due process in the juvenile justice system and the potential for substantial deprivations of children’s liberty through extensive periods of incarceration has been pervasive, persistent, and ongoing in this country (Juvenile Justice Center, 2020). Critical Race Theory has done nothing less than shed more light on the predictability of youth treatment landing them behind bars for lengthy prison sentences for crimes in which they frequently did not commit. Critical Race Theory falls short, however, of offering any plausible explanations for why so many minority youths are falsely imprisoned. Other theories must be considered as plausible explanations for this phenomenon of disparate treatment between the races whether it be police shooting, disparate convictions and incarceration or racial profiling. These theories include Racial Conflict Theory, Racial Threat Theory and Petit Apartheid Theory. The core idea of Critical Race Theory is that racism does not stop at the individua level, but it is systemic or system-wide and ingrained in our policies, in our legal systems and institutions. Critical Race Theory has absolutely nothing to do with “punishing kids for their skin color or making young white kids feel guilty for being white no more than critical thinking is criticizing someone for well thinking. Critical Race Theory is a dialogue for raising awareness of policies and practices that have had a disproportionately negative impact on racial minorities in particular and youth in general irrespective of race. There were 2,310 people serving life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed as juveniles (known as JLWOP) at the end of 2016. This study examines the data extracted from the national registry of exonerations in the United States on every known exoneration from 1989 to 2020. Contributing factors to such disparate convictions among young African American males such as false confessions, mistaken identity, false accusations, witness tampering, perjury or false statements under oath particularly by police officers, prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate legal defense, and mistaken witness identification are highlighted and discussed as major contributing factors to the exoneree’s eventual release. This study assumes the position that, although all lives matter, it appears that African American Male Youths are more disproportionate among the population of those exonerated for crimes that they did not commit. The study proffers policy implications and policy changes that appear to be viable solutions to this egregious and tragic abuse of humankind.

Psychological science on eyewitness identification and its impact on police practices and policies.

The development of forensic DNA testing has led to the discovery of hundreds of cases of mistaken eyewitness identification in which innocent people were convicted. Although these discoveries of wrongful convictions from mistaken identification based on DNA testing have been a surprise and shock to the legal system and the public, psychological scientists have been less surprised. This is because psychological scientists were "blowing the whistle" on the eyewitness identification problem for decades prior to forensic DNA testing. Today, most law enforcement agencies in the United States have adopted reformed policies and procedures on eyewitness identification that are based on research by experimental social and cognitive psychologists. This article describes core aspects of this research and how the research has managed to have this impact on the U.S. legal system. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).