| dc.description.abstract |
Court Findings of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims in Post-Conviction Appeals Among the First 255 DNA Exoneration CasesThe Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution establishes the right to assistance of counsel for individuals accused of crimes, and the U.S. Supreme Court has established that states must provide representation for indigent defendants. Unfortunately, the lack of national standards for creating and funding such a system has left most states with inadequate, underfunded systems. This problem has led to overburdened and sometimes incompetent defense lawyers and a lack of funding for the investigative process, all of which can contribute to inadequate defense, and in some cases, wrongful convictions… DNA exoneration cases offer a unique perspective on this issue, given that we know the clients in these cases were convicted of crimes they did not commit. However, as this review will demonstrate DNA exonerees do not seem more likely to find relief on this claim than those in the larger prison population. A review of published appeals among the DNA exonerations reveals that 54 exonerees (about 1 in 5) raised claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and courts rejected these claims in the overwhelming majority of cases. (palabras claves: condenas erróneas, exoneración, inocencia, identificación ocular, reconocimiento de imputados, ADN, defensa) |
