Errors of impunity
Encyclopedia
Errors of impunity is a term used in Brian Forst's book Errors of Justice and in Robert Bohm's introduction to a special edition of The Journal of Criminal Justice on miscarriages of justice
. They are defined as lapses that result in criminal
s either remaining at large or receiving sanctions that are below a socially optimal level. If convicting a innocent man, called a miscarriage of justice
, is a Type I error for falsely identifying culpability, then an error of impunity would be a Type II error of failing to find a culpable man guilty.
s: the community may be able to do more to prevent them, but generally prefers to consider them beyond the reach of the criminal justice system to do so. About half of all felony victimizations in the U.S. are not reported to the police, and many of those that are reported are committed by skillful, elusive offenders. The second category is made up of those errors that are real, unambiguous, significant, and avoidable. Examples include failures of the police to follow up leads to capture dangerous offenders and inmate escapees
.
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
. They are defined as lapses that result in criminal
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s either remaining at large or receiving sanctions that are below a socially optimal level. If convicting a innocent man, called a miscarriage of justice
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
, is a Type I error for falsely identifying culpability, then an error of impunity would be a Type II error of failing to find a culpable man guilty.
Definition
Forst divides errors of impunity into two categories. The first category is made up of those that are like car accidentCar accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
s: the community may be able to do more to prevent them, but generally prefers to consider them beyond the reach of the criminal justice system to do so. About half of all felony victimizations in the U.S. are not reported to the police, and many of those that are reported are committed by skillful, elusive offenders. The second category is made up of those errors that are real, unambiguous, significant, and avoidable. Examples include failures of the police to follow up leads to capture dangerous offenders and inmate escapees
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
.
Causes
Errors of impunity can be caused in much the same ways as miscarriages of justice can, including, without limitation, the following:- A skilled lawyer might be able to exploit a technicality in order to have crucial evidence ruled inadmissible.
- A skilled defense lawyer can make an otherwise credible witness lose his or her credibility by making the witness appear mentally incompetent in other aspects of his or her daily life (e.g. a person with autismAutismAutism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
might be labeled as mentally insane due to their neurological disorder, therefore questioning if the witness was having hallucinations). - A type of legal immunity, such as diplomatic immunityDiplomatic immunityDiplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...
or sovereign immunitySovereign immunitySovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine by which the sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution....
. - corruptPolitical corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
judges, police, or detectives that can be bought offBriberyBribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
.
Effects
Forst argues that a variety of social costs are incurred as the number of culpable offenders set free increases: public safety and the quality of life are compromised, the credibility of deterrent effectiveness is lost, and citizens become increasingly inclined to perceive injustices to victims and alienation from the police and courts, if not from government generally. As a result, Forst argues, the integrity of the justice system becomes threatened both by the reality and perception of ineffectualness. These lapses can run through the entire justice system, from ineffective policing and prosecution to weak sentencing and corrections.Notable cases
- Dr John Bodkin AdamsJohn Bodkin AdamsJohn Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
, was a British general practitionerGeneral practitionerA general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
working in EastbourneEastbourneEastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, UK. He was arrested in 1956 for the murders of Edith Alice MorrellEdith Alice MorrellEdith Alice Morrell , was a resident of Eastbourne and patient of the suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams. He was tried for her murder in 1957 but acquitted...
and Gertrude HullettGertrude HullettGertrude "Bobby" Hullett , a resident of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, was a patient of the suspected serial killer Dr John Bodkin Adams, who was charged with her murder but never tried for it.-Jack Hullett:...
. He was tried in 1957 and found not guilty of the first charge and the second was dropped via a Nolle prosequiNolle prosequiNolle prosequi is legal term of art and a Latin legal phrase meaning "to be unwilling to pursue", a phrase amounting to "please do not prosecute". It is a phrase used in many common law criminal prosecution contexts to describe a prosecutor's decision to voluntarily discontinue criminal charges...
, an act which the judge, Mr Justice DevlinPatrick Devlin, Baron DevlinPatrick Arthur Devlin, Baron Devlin, PC was a British lawyer, judge and jurist. He wrote a report on Britain's involvement in Nyasaland in 1959...
, later described "an abuse of process". Police archives, opened in 2003, suggest that evidence was passed to the defence by the DPPDirector of Public ProsecutionsThe Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
in order to allow Adams to avoid the death sentence, then still in force. Home OfficeHome OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
pathologist Francis CampsFrancis CampsFrancis Edward Camps, FRCP, FRCpath was a famous English pathologist notable for his work on the cases of serial killer John Christie and suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams.-Early life and training:...
suspected Adams of killing 163 patients in total. Adams was only ever fined for minor offences and struck off the medical register for four years. - Karla HomolkaKarla HomolkaKarla Leanne Homolka, also known as Karla Leanne Teale , is a Canadian serial killer. She attracted worldwide media attention when she was convicted of manslaughter following a plea bargain in the 1991 and 1992 rape-murders of two Ontario teenage girls, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, as well as...
was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony against her lover Paul BernardoPaul BernardoPaul Kenneth Bernardo, also known as Paul Jason Teale , is a Canadian serial killer and rapist, known for the sexual assaults and murders he committed with his wife Karla Homolka and the serial rapes he committed in Scarborough.-Early life:Bernardo's mother, Marilyn, was the adopted daughter of a...
for his murders. She portrayed herself as an abused victim, but later evidence proved she was in fact equally culpable, taking part in the murders, but Canadian authorities were unable to prosecute. - Ronald EbensRonald EbensRonald Madis Ebens, with his stepson, Michael Nitz, as an accomplice, fatally beat Vincent Chin, a Chinese American, on June 23, 1982. This led to a federal indictment for violating Vincent Chin's civil rights, but only after public outrage at the probationary sentence and small fine imposed by...
, with his stepson Michael Nitz, viciously beat Vincent ChinVincent ChinVincent Jen Chin was a Chinese American beaten to death in June 1982 in the United States, in the Detroit, Michigan enclave of Highland Park by Chrysler plant superintendent Ronald Ebens, with the help of his stepson, Michael Nitz...
in the head with a baseball bat, on June 19, 1982. On March 16, 1983, after a plea bargain was reached the previous month to reduce the charge to third-degree manslaughter (which had no minimum sentence and could be dealt with probation), Judge Charles KaufmanCharles Kaufman (judge)Charles Kaufman , was a judge for the Third Circuit Court of Michigan, with jurisdiction over Southeast Michigan and its largest city, Detroit, MI...
sentenced Ebens and Nitz on to three years probation and $3,720 in fines and court costs for the murder of Vincent Chin. Kaufman cited the defendants' clean prior criminal records and that there was no minimum sentence for a manslaughter plea as he responded, "These weren't the kind of men you send to jail... You don't make the punishment fit the crime; you make the punishment fit the criminal." Citing the judge's POW record as one of several reasons to invalidate the lenient sentence in favor of a more stringent punishment, advocacy groups unsuccessfully tried to vacate the original sentence. Kaufman's sentence was upheld as valid and final, due to the Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardyDouble jeopardyDouble jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction...
.
- John Wilson, a Scottish football fan, was filmed during a game attacking CelticCeltic F.C.Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
manager Neil LennonNeil LennonNeil Francis Lennon is a former footballer from Northern Ireland. He is the current manager and former captain of Celtic....
. He admitted the charge in court but was a acquitted of assault by the jury and convicted merely of breaching the peace. According to the Guardian, it was "one of the few occasions in Scottish legal history when an individual is acquitted of a crime that he freely admitted carrying out. A joke rapidly emerged that Colonel Gaddafi had offered to surrender to Nato if he could be guaranteed a trial in Edinburgh."