Perceived Black Criminality and Its Impact on Contributors to Wrongful Convictions In
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Perceived Black Criminality and its Impact on Contributors to Wrongful Convictions in Cases of African American Men A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Elizabeth J. Lattner August 2020 © 2020 Elizabeth J. Lattner. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled Perceived Black Criminality and its Impact on Contributors to Wrongful Convictions in Cases of African American Men by ELIZABETH J. LATTNER has been approved for the Center for Law, Justice & Culture and the College of Arts and Sciences by Amanda K. Cox Lecturer of Sociology and Anthropology Florenz Plassmann Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 Abstract LATTNER, ELIZABETH J., M.A., August 2020, Law, Justice & Culture Perceived Black Criminality and its Impact on Contributors to Wrongful Convictions in Cases of African American Men Director of Thesis: Amanda K. Cox Historically, African Americans have been subjected to differential treatment under the law in many aspects, including police, prisons, and in respect to this research, wrongful convictions. An explanation of why African Americans are disproportionately represented among those wrongfully convicted is that contributors to wrongful conviction that involve perceived criminality, such as racial bias, eyewitness error and official misconduct, are more common in cases of African American exonerees. This experimental study examines the effects of perceived criminality and cultures of racial hostility on the contributors to wrongful convictions in 2,141 male exonerees. The present research aims to examine how contributors to wrongful conviction that involve perceived criminality differ between white and male exonerees, and further how those contributors differ in cases of black men in areas that have greater legacies of lynching versus areas that do not. This study attempts to expand upon previous research that has examined racial threat theory, specifically the threat of black crime hypothesis, and the impact of lynchings on the current criminal justice system. Using data from the National Registry of Exonerations and the Tuskegee Institute Archives, this quantitative study used logistic regression models to predicted the probability of experiencing the six different 4 contributors to wrongful conviction. The results from this study indicate that official misconduct and mistaken witness identification (two contributors that involve perceived criminality) are more likely among black exonerees than white exonerees, and more so in states with greater legacies of lynching. 5 Acknowledgments I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Amanda Cox, whose absolute confidence in me overshadowed any doubts I had. Without her constant support, the goal of this project would not have been achieved. 6 Table of Contents Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 8 List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Background and Conceptual Framework ........................................................ 13 The Problem with Detecting Wrongful Convictions .................................................. 14 Determining the Prevalence of Wrongful Convictions ............................................... 16 Contributors to Wrongful Convictions ....................................................................... 19 Eyewitness Misidentification ................................................................................ 20 Official Misconduct .............................................................................................. 22 Ineffective Assistance of Counsel ......................................................................... 27 Forensic Errors ...................................................................................................... 28 Contributors that Disproportionately Impact African American Men ........................ 32 Racial Bias ............................................................................................................ 33 Official Misconduct .............................................................................................. 34 Eyewitness Misidentification ................................................................................ 36 Harsher Punishments ............................................................................................ 38 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework ................................................................................... 40 History of Differential Treatment of African Americans Under the Law .................. 40 Perceived Black Criminality ................................................................................. 40 Racial Threat Theory and Threat of Black Crime Hypothesis ............................. 43 Chapter 4: Methods ........................................................................................................... 47 Purpose/Research Questions and Hypotheses ............................................................ 47 Research Design.......................................................................................................... 48 Sampling ..................................................................................................................... 50 Measures ..................................................................................................................... 51 Dependent Variables ............................................................................................. 51 Independent Variables .......................................................................................... 52 7 Interaction Variables ............................................................................................. 53 Control Variables .................................................................................................. 54 Procedures ................................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 5: Analysis and Results ....................................................................................... 56 Analysis....................................................................................................................... 56 Official Misconduct Logistic Regression Model .................................................. 58 Mistaken Witness Identification Logistic Regression Model ............................... 60 Perjury or False Accusation Logistic Regression Model ...................................... 62 Logistic Regression Models for Remaining Variables ......................................... 64 Results ......................................................................................................................... 66 Predicted Probability of Official Misconduct ....................................................... 67 Predicted Probability of Mistaken Witness Identification .................................... 69 Predicted Probability of Perjury or False Accusation ........................................... 71 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion ............................................................................. 74 Theoretical Implications ............................................................................................. 74 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 76 Policy Implications and Future Research ................................................................... 77 Preventing Official Misconduct ............................................................................ 78 Preventing Mistaken Witness Identification ......................................................... 79 Addressing Systemic Racism ................................................................................ 80 Future Research .................................................................................................... 82 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 83 References ......................................................................................................................... 85 8 List of Tables Page Table 1 Dependent Variables ........................................................................................... 51 Table 2 Independent Variables ........................................................................................ 53 Table 3 Correlation Matrix .............................................................................................. 57 Table 4 Official Misconduct Logistic Regression Model ................................................ 59 Table 5 Mistaken Witness Identification