Psychology and Issues in the US Legal System

Frebruk Mikre

The legal system in the US, like many other systems present in America, is full of flaws that can be prevented easily and have solutions backed by science and statistics. Psychology can be applied and help improve many issues present in legal institutions, such as false eyewitness testimony, biased interrogation techniques, and fingerprint or tire tread identification. Eyewitness accounts remain one of the most powerful tools available to incarcerate a suspect even though they have been found to be very malleable and often inaccurate. Studies on confirmation bias have shown that many interrogations often result in inaccurate and skewed conclusions that can possibly even force a false confession from an innocent person. Tunnel vision, the tendency to omit any suggestion of opposition to one’s beliefs, is an extreme flaw that is reinforced by the pressure on lawyers to close cases and gain convictions. Dehumanization is arguably one of the most integral factors when it comes to the wrongful conviction of a person or the improper treatment of inmates in prison. In an already judgmental society, there is no question that we have to reform the way we think of criminals, justice, and psychology related issues. The US, although it calls itself a first-world country, has cities with some of the highest homicides per capita in the world and the highest prison population on the globe, showing that there needs to be a serious discussion regarding not just the way legal institutions think of crime, but the way the public thinks of it also. I am pursuing Ingenuity Innovation and will work with Dr. Nicole Shoenberger, in the Department of Sociology at Loyola University Maryland. Through a criminological lens, I will explore the connection between perceived safety and COVID by examining data.