Uncovering Wrongful Convictions

Professor James Acker on

Uncovering Wrongful Convictions

Thursday, March 4, 2021
3:00 - 4:30 pm EST
Online via Zoom 
$10 OLLI at BCC & Berkshire Museum members/$15 non-members

University at Albany Professor James Acker will examine several aspects of wrongful convictions: miscarriages of justice that involve the conviction and punishment of persons who have been found guilty of committing crimes although factually innocent. The leading causes of wrongful convictions will be explored, with illustrative case studies, and suggested reforms designed to guard against their recurrence will be identified. Questions and additional discussion following the presentation will be welcomed.

James Acker is Professor Emeritus at the University at Albany SUNY, where he taught in the School of Criminal Justice. He earned a J.D. at Duke University and practiced law in North Carolina before earning his Ph.D. at the University at Albany. His principal areas of scholarship include criminal law, criminal procedure, capital punishment, and wrongful convictions. He has authored and co-edited a number of books, including Scottsboro and Its Legacy (Praeger); Criminal Procedure: A Contemporary Perspective (Jones & Bartlett); Criminal Law (Jones & Bartlett); America's Experiment with Capital Punishment: Reflections on the Past, Present and Future of the Ultimate Penal Sanction (Carolina Academic Press); Wrongful Conviction: Law, Science, and Policy (Carolina Academic Press); and (with his daughter Elizabeth) Two Voices on the Legal Rights of America’s Youth (Wadsworth/Thomson Learning). His articles have appeared in journals including the Law and Society Review, the Criminal Justice Review, Justice Quarterly, Law and Human Behavior, Law and Policy, the Criminal Law Bulletin, the Albany Law Review, and the Vanderbilt Law Review.

Admission is $10 for OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Museum members, and $15 for the general public.  Admission is free for Berkshire Community College students, youth 17 and under, and those holding WIC, EBT/SNAP, or ConnectorCare cards.