Wasted Lives Have you ever felt the feeling of being punished and accused of something you didn't even do? It can be one of the worst feelings and wrongfully convicted people are victims of the mistakes made by the justice system. 0.5% of felony convictions result in wrongful convictions, an inordinate number of which have affected the lives of innocent people. “We call for more integrated approaches to address a wide range of, often interconnected, social, psychological and mental health problems experienced by those wrongly convicted.” As explained in the article Suffering wrongful and illegal convictions. No amount of money can replace the time you have freely given up. In recent years there have been many cases where people have been unjustified by the law after being wrongfully convicted and sent to prison as innocent people due to witness tampering, DNA exoneration, and mishandling of physical evidence. In a courtroom, witnesses are essential to have in a trial in order for the judge to find the defendant guilty or not guilty. Sometimes it happens when lawyers or others interfere with these witnesses which leads to false accusations. Witness tampering means harming or otherwise threatening a witness by trying to influence their accounts. The crime of witness tampering in federal cases is defined by law as “tampering with a witness, target, or informant.” This could result in the defendant being falsely accused and facing charges unfairly brought by a judge. Some people involved in this malicious activity are lawyers, family members or even the public. Plaintiff's lawyers force witnesses to give false accusations to prove a point that... middle of paper... these innocent people's lives are being wasted in prison. Nothing can make up for the time spent in prison that these people have lost, not only could it cause mental health problems, but also psychological and social problems that may never be repairable. Bibliography: Wildeman, Jennifer, Michael Costelloe and Robert Schehr. “Experiencing unjust and illegal sentences.” Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 50.7 (2011): 411-432. Educational research completed. Network. November 17, 2011.- Alexandrowicz, G.W. Dimensions of Law: Canadian and International Law in the 21st Century. Toronto: Emond Montgomery Publications, 2004. Print.- Bryndis Bjork Asgeirsdottir, et al. “False confessions and individual differences: The importance of victimization among youth.” Personality and Individual Differences 45.8 (2008): 801-805. Educational research completed. Network. November 17. 2011.