Question

Read the excerpts from "Wrongful Convictions” by Jon Gould and Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

"Wrongful Convictions”

Being known to the police or having your photo in a mug shot book means that you are more likely—if you are innocent—to be wrongly convicted.

Just Mercy

We also make terrible mistakes. Scores of innocent people have been exonerated [cleared] after being sentenced to death and nearly executed. Hundreds more have been released after being proved innocent of noncapital crimes through DNA testing. Presumptions of guilt, poverty, racial bias, and a host of other social, structural, and political dynamics have created a system that is defined by error, a system in which thousands of innocent people now suffer in prison.

Which statement best describes the relationship between the evidence in the two excerpts?


The evidence in both excerpts shows that assumptions are a cause of wrongful convictions.
The evidence in both excerpts shows that poverty is a reason for wrongful convictions.
The evidence in both excerpts shows that social structures are a cause for wrongful convictions.

Answer 1

The evidence in both excerpts shows that assumptions are a cause of wrongful convictions.

Justification: Gould’s excerpt says being known to police or having your mug shot makes an innocent person more likely to be wrongly convicted—an example of presumptions about guilt. Stevenson explicitly lists “presumptions of guilt” as a cause, so both passages point to assumptions/presumptions as a factor.