Paper Exploring Social Movements: The Innocence Project's Impact on Justice and Social Change

The important role of social movement in administering justice can be viewed through the works of The Innocence Project. Many people in society are convicted for crimes not committed. As a body, the police force plays a big role in the incrimination of an innocent person, with evidence planted against the convict being enough to send him to jail for a very long time. The prosecutors' wrongful accusation and poor witness identification have led to the jailing of over 67% of the victims of false accusations.

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The Innocence Project, a non-profit making organization, has come in to help these wrongfully accused persons who later get justice. A case in point is that of Mr. Jaythan Kendrick, who had been wrongly convicted for over 25 years of murdering an older woman in Queens. The suspect's misidentification by the witness and witnesses gave a good case against him, proving him guilty of the crime charged. However, this social group's intervention has helped him prove his innocence in a court of law stating the various manipulations of the justice system because he is a person of color. He was in jail up to the end of last month, where a reasonable amount of evidence, including the DNA of the item (purse) in question, proved that he did not commit the crime.

This is one of the many cases that The Innocence Project has undertaken as an agent of social change and development. The project advocates for reforms in the justice system that may have caused innocent people's wrongful convictions.

Social change entails alterations over time in the social institution, culture, and behavioral patterns, which happen at different rates and are inevitable (Reisch, 2016). The role of social movements and social organizations in enhancing change is evident in the article explains the important role played by social movements in bringing about change in society. He explains the lengths to which social movements bring social change into society and the risks involved. Their view towards the experience of social change is the participation of the public in the change process. This may involve the radicalization of ideas and the active participation of masses of people in the change process. The Innocence Project aims to attain a just judicial system with the lowest number of victims of injustices caused by wrongful accusations, planting of incriminating evidence, and poor witness identification.

Crime Thinc

The Crime Thinc journal advocates for the use of force and social organizations in the putting forward of a social change. The social change agents involved in these activities are the social groups that acknowledge the different authorities' failure to bring the necessary change hence must act accordingly. They explain that there is a necessity for people's active involvement in the process of social change. They play a great role as the voice of many followers of the ideas. The article 'Writings on the Wall' explains the use of revolutions to achieve social change. It explains the role of government in administering social change. They are totally against citing that everybody should be responsible for the impacts caused on the world based on their action. It explains the use of revolutionary ideologies in the achievement of social change.

The article enhances the ideologies on the abolishment of anarchies, explaining that everyone will gain. Standing together against various social crimes, including police brutality as viewed in the US, can be a source of change, making the various authorities respond to the affected group or community's demands. Social disorganizations through things like political unrest can be a source of social change in society.

The article on 'Uprising, Counterinsurgency and Civil War' explains the important roles of social movements as agents of change. These social movements may negatively affect society, including the promotion of racism, xenophobia, and fear in society. The use of uprisings to coerce the government to the majority will have been evident in the past months, including that of 'Black Lives Matter' in the fight against racism and police brutality is a source of change.

The movements had so many followers that the need to use force during the riots was necessary. In the explanation of this statement, Dalton Conley cites, sometimes you get swept in the social movement whether you like it or not.' This further explains the power that social movements have as an agent of change. The use of revolutions in the article is a method used in propagating change in the social system. However, the use of this method brings about conflict between the law enforcers and the revolts. They risk a lot in these activities' involvement but are waiting for a better future through the change achieved. The revolts have a high chance of loss, including deaths and loss of freedom, which is a known consequence of revolutions and uprisings in society to bring change. The differences in ideologies can cause an uprising or a revolution, especially when a certain group's ideas are the only ones being considered (Bernatzky& Snow, 2018).

The above arguments show the role played by social movements in the propagation of social change. Though they use different tactics like radicalization of ideas while the other uses the unfair justice system's attack, they achieve change in the long run.

References

Bernatzky, C., & Snow, D. A. (2018). Social Movements and Social Change. Core Concepts in Sociology, 276.Reisch, M. (2016). Social Movements & Social Change.