Deaf / Disabled Wrongful Conviction Infographic (created for HEARD organization)

[ID: blue, yellow white infographic has images of DNA strand, sound waves, strange puzzle of lightbulb, puzzle piece and gear to indicate confusion and use of no or improper accommodations, a polygraph line a parent holding two children and a fishing rod.]

infographic has the following information written:

Deaf/Disabled Wrongful Conviction

Did you know that some people in jail & prison are innocent!

Sometimes judges and juries decide that a person is guilty of a crime that the person did not do, and sometimes innocent people plead guilty to crimes they did not do!

If an innocent person is convicted of a crime they did not do it is called wrongful conviction. When an innocent person pleads guilty to a crime they did not do, it is also called a wrongful conviction. Wrongful convictions happen for many reasons including: eyewitness misidentification, police and prosecutor misconduct or mistake, old or improper science, false or forced confessions, & because of plea agreements.

Deaf and disabled people have a higher risk of wrongful conviction!

In addition to the causes of wrongful conviction above, here are just some common patterns HEARD has noticed in deaf/disabled people's wrongful conviction cases:

1. ableism, audism, racism, classism, etc.

The legal system is ableist, audist, racist, classist, etc. In addition there are MANY cross-cultural miscommunications & misunderstandings (e.g., hearing to deaf; abled to disabled; Indigenous/Black DeafBlind to white sighted hearing; Deaf nod; language deprivation; not knowing name of person known for a long time, etc.)

2. No physical evidence

In most of these cases there is NO physical evidence tying the deaf person to the crime.

3. hearing/Abled person's testimony is the case

The only “evidence” in many of these cases is testimony of a hearing/speaking/abled person who could more effectively communicate with police, attorneys, court, jury, etc. Sometimes this witness recants (recant means takes back their comment & says they lied) but the legal system often does not accept/believe them after the fact.

4. Improper or no accommodations

Improper or no accommodations provided by police, attorneys, court, jury, etc. Sometimes appropriate accommodations are provided at court proceedings only but by then it is too late or not enough.

5. unqualified interpreters/technology

Unqualified interpreters/technology (VRI, VRS, pen & paper) used by police, attorneys, courts. (e.g. certified interpreters who are not qualified; police, friends, families, accusers are frequently used as "interpreters" even though they are NEVER qualified to interpret.)

6. confusing, presumptive, coercive interrogations

Interview and interrogation processes used by law enforcement nationwide lead to misunderstandings & miscommunication which cause wrongful convictions. The most common interview/interrogation process in these cases & nationwide is the Reid Technique.

7. Deaf/disabled person maintains their innocence

Deaf/disabled person maintains their innocence even when punished additionally (e.g., denied parole for years because they show “no remorse” for crime, or still maintain their innocence even if sent back to prison for not registering as a sex offender, for example).

8. Marginalized deaf/disabled people

Deaf/disabled people with other marginalized identities have even higher likelihood of wrongful conviction (e.g., DeafDisabled, youth, Black/Indigenous/Latinx, low/no income, LGBTQI, etc.).

9. plea "agreements"

Over 90% of cases in the United States are resolved through plea agreements instead of trial! Many people including disabled/deaf, low/no income, single parents, and other marginalized people accept plea agreements even when innocent.

10. trusting of policing & legal systems

If you dont know about & assert your right to NOT talk to police at all & your right to DEMAND an attorney immediately, you are at a higher risk of wrongful conviction. Even when deaf/disabled people have asserted their right to an attorney, attorneys with little to no knowledge about deaf/disability cultures have allowed police to continue interrogations.

ASL version at bit.ly/deafwrongfulconvictionASL. Created by HEARD (www.behearddc.org), a volunteer-dependent nonprofit organization that works to end violence against & incarceration of deaf/disabled people. 

Research provided by Talila A. Lewis and Amber Farrelly. Infographic created by Talila A. Lewis.

 Follow HEARD on IG+Twitter @behearddc. Use #DeafWrongfulConviction to share & learn. Published: Dec. 2019.]