Mapping the Process: Path Analysis and Wrongful Convictions

• In Event: Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Effects

Abstract

While the bulk of wrongful convictions literature has focused on the correlates of wrongful convictions, recent studies have begun to search for causal factors using empirical social science methods. This study furthers this research by adding a component not found in these studies: temporal sequence. Recommended by Gould and Leo (2009) as a potential avenue for wrongful conviction research, path analysis considers the order in which factors, such as misidentification, forensic science errors, and false confession, occur within cases as well as their frequency across cases. In this study, we apply path analysis to a subset of wrongful convictions to map the various pathways from initial implication to conviction and test the viability of a larger scale study to identify causal factors within each pathway.

Authors

• Samantha Senn, American University

• Belén Lowrey, American University

• Loralys McDaniel, American University

• Jon Gould, American University