2012年职称英语考试《综合类A级》考试真题_职称英语考试真题综合类

2012年职称英语考试《综合类A级》考试真题

In 1992, two law professors, Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, decided to use DNA evidence to help set free such mistakenly convicted prisoners. With the help of their students, they created a not-for-profit organization called the Innocence Project. Most of their clients are poor men, many from racial and ethnic minorities. In fact, studies have shown that U. S. judges and juries are often influenced by racial and ethnic background, and that people from minority groups are more likely to be convicted.

Some of these men had been sentenced to death, a form of punishment used in thirty eight states out of fifty (as of 2006). For most of these prisoners, their only hope was another trial in which DNA testing could be used to prove their innocence.

Between 1992 and 2006, the Innocence Project helped free 100 men. Some of these prisoners had been in jail for ten, twenty years or more for crimes they did not commit. However, the goal of the Innocence Project is not simply to set free those who are wrongfully in jail. They also hope to bring about

real changes in the criminal justice system.

Illinois in the late 1990s, a group of journalism students at Northwestern University were able to bring about such a change in that state. They began investigating some Illinois prisoners who claimed to be innocent. Through DNA testing, the students were able to prove that in fact the prisoners were

not guilty of the crimes they had been accused of. Thirteen of these men were set free, and in 2000,Governor Ryan of Illinois decided to stop carrying out death sentences until further study could be made of the prisoners cases. The use of DNA in criminal cases is still being debated around the world. Some fear that governments will one day keep records of everyones DNA, which could put limits on the privacy and freedom of citizens. Other people mistrust the science of DNA testing and think that lawyers use it to get their clients free whether or not they are guilty. But for those whose innocence has been proven and who are now free men, DNA testing has meant nothing less than a return to life. And with the careful use of DNA testing, no innocent person should ever be convicted again.