Justice Affects the Innocent
Wrongfully Accused Individuals Suffer due to the Public Pressure
Sep 10, 2009
When something gruesome happens, like a murder or rape, it shakes and terrorizes a community. It is not only the person involved that is immediately affected, but also residents and surrounding members of the community that begins to feel the fear of the unexplained actions of a sole individual. People begin demanding answers and punishment, so their lives can regain some stability and security.
However, this pressure from the public can lead to wrongfully convicting individuals and letting the guilty walk free, as in the case of Walter Ellis. In this case, it was believed that Jeffrey Dahmer, a convicted serial killer, had committed some murders, as “some slayings occurred while (Dahmer) was terrorizing the state” of Wisconsin, claims Dinesh Ramde, a journalist from the Toronto Star. The reason behind this article being published in a Canadian newspaper, although it surrounds American murder cases, is most likely due to the fact that America and Canada are neighbours and often share news, both newspaper and on television.
The Need for Comfort and Answers to Violent Crimes
People demand answers and closure – it is natural in situations where there is no control. To restore this security and regain control, answers are needed to please the soul and get peace within. It is common that people feel threatened by things and events that occur out of their control or occurs without their knowledge or support, such as abuse, discrimination or murder.
In such extreme criminal cases, people pressure the media and police to lock up the responsible individuals and throw away the key, preferably as soon as possible. However, the process of finding such answers, demands patience as there are rules, laws and time restrictions on many criminal cases and investigations. Since this process can take years to complete, the public can become frustrated and impatient.
DNA – The Right Answers Are Possible
The analysis of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, has become a well respected method for finding the responsible criminals and placing them behind bars. DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all living organisms. The role of DNA in crime investigations is that it is often a blue print of code that identifies the individual responsible, as DNA is never duplicated in two individuals. Even identical twins will have a different DNA code – similar, but vastly different.
DNA analysis is, however, not used in every criminal case as it is a long process that is quite costly. In the case of Ellis, DNA was eventually used to prove that Ellis was the guilty person and not Dahmer as originally believed. However, this process did take over 20 years, but according to police chief Edward Flynn, “these cases...were never forgotten” (Toronto Star, September 8, 2009).
Using DNA in crime scene investigations can cause delays, as it is a long process. Not only does the scientific process take time – obtaining DNA from the victim, separating differential DNA from the scene (that of the victim and that of the guilty, along with other interfering DNA), and processing it.
It is also necessary in some cases to enter the DNA code obtained into CODIS (the FBI’s Laboratory’s Combined Offenders DNA Index System), which is a U.S. national database of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence and missing persons within the U.S., so one can compare samples. Not only does this process take time, but there are also limited resources in terms of investigators, scientists and volunteers. This is therefore the last step to take place in any case, such as murder, and in some cases, like the Ellis case, it does not happen until 20 years later.
The Dangers of Desperation
The lack of patience driven by the human need for control and security can have immense consequences of finding the guilty individual. The desperation of needing the answers can cause people to become wrongfully accused, because the evidence also fits other scenarios, as seen in the Ellis case. Although the rightful person would be convicted, the events also mirrored the crimes of Dahmer. Wrongfully accusing an individual is dangerous because of two reasons – not only does an innocent person suffer by being charged with a crime this person did not commit, which is reflected on the flaws in the system, but a guilty person remains walking within communities, who believe it is safe to do so.
Walter Ellis, a now convicted killer, is a prime example of how the need for answers and security has been the result of system failure. Several murders had been originally linked to the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer because they occurred while he was terrorizing the state of Wisconsin. However, the lack of evidence and DNA could not prove the murderer and it was believed that Dahmer had committed the murders.
It was not until DNA analysis proved that it was Walter Ellis who was responsible, that he was charged and convicted. Ellis had up until the arrest walked around among unknowing citizens, doing his daily chores and grocery shopping like everyone else, blending in to society’s security blanket. As shown by the example of Ellis, it can be the desperate need for security and answers that can cause society’s security to be threatened.
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