HUMAN RIGHTS:
Wrongful Convictions
September-October, 2014 Article written by Parker Addison
A photo of President George W. Bush, along with colleagues, signing the PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001. This act, passed shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attack, allowed for unwarranted and secretive search and seizure, wiretapping, and the hidden obtaining of personal information from third parties. Not only does the act itself upset the balance of power within our government, it also violates the First and Fourth Amendment. As well, this act opened the door for many of the wrongful arrests and convictions that occur today.
Photo contributed by Eric Draper
EACH YEAR, IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE, close to 10,000
American citizens are convicted for crimes they did not commit. These innocent men and women are then subject to brutally unjust punishments within our country’s prisons due to the U.S.’s overly power hungry crackdown on terrorists. The U.S. has experienced an unpleasant history with some of the Middle East’s radical groups such as AlQaeda and the Taliban. Even though the wars the U.S. has been fighting are not on our soil, the U.S. government is bringing some of the fight back home, on our streets, and in to our everyday lives. Since 2001, under the presidency of George W. Bush, America has been enforcing increasingly
harsh laws on antiterrorism. According to the 2009 State website, the president announced, “If you do business with terrorists, if you support them or sponsor them, you will not do business with the United States of America.” As a result of the recent terrorist attack o n t h e Wo r l d Tr a d e Center, this action against terrorism was acceptable at the time. However, as we move away from that event, the regulations and
punishment against suspected terrorist informants in the United States has since become increasingly harsh.
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It may be no surprise that many of the suspected terrorist associates are muslim or descend from Middle Eastern ethnicities. This issue takes root from the large amount of racial profiling that takes place in the United States. A r a b s a re f re q u e n t l y randomly selected for s e a rc h e s a t a i r p o r t s (we’ve all seen it happen), however the problem does not end there. Due to the law passed under p. !1
the Bush administration in 2001, law enforcement officers have been given the right to detain individuals even without a probable cause. As a result of this, many Arabic descendants are accused of crimes or working with the Taliban.
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A survey conducted in Columbus, Ohio suggests that a large number of people arrest each year in the United States, approximately 10,000 of those people have not committed the crime they were convicted for. Previous studies that took place in the mid 1900’s result in a lower number for wrongly convicted citizens. This seems to show a trend t h a t m o re a n d m o re people are having their rights to a fair trial and just punishment violated as our country grows. Once these wrongly accused victims are within our prisons, h o w e v e r, t h e s t o r y becomes even worse.
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Within our prisons, these citizens are subject to many abusive conditions. According to the Human Rights Watch, “Prisoners and d e t a i n e e s … c o n f ro n t
conditions that are abusive, degrading and dangerous…[and] violate the human rights of all persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person,” The people behind bars in these prisons where they do not belong are often provided with little and very poor medical care if they are to get sick or injured. In many cases these prisons do not accommodate for human needs, and when someone is locked up in solitary confinement for 23 hours each day due to a crime that has not been committed, it is apparent that basic human rights are lacking.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Lopez is released after William 23! years in prison due to a wrongful conviction. Died 20 ! after months he was freed. ! Photo contributed by Aaron Showalter
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The United States has some issues when it comes to fair arrests and punishments in prisons. This problem is no doubt better than conditions w e re b e f o re , t h o u g h much work still needs to be done to protect our citizens. Not only are m a n y o f t h e U . S . ’s prisons massively out of line when it comes to a proper environment for the prisoner, but there are many new people being detained due to a law passed thirteen years ago after a terrorist attack. Arabic American citizens are frequently detained unjustly for suspicion that stems from racial profiling. This attitude and multitude of human rights violations can be stopped if we look to the roots of the issues. If the United States attempts furthermore to rid the security force of racial profiling, to obey the Amendments, and make sure the gover nment looks to clean up prison conditions, this array of unjust punishment can finally come to an end.
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Article written by Parker Addison