Picking+Cotton

=**Big Ideas**=

How can a justice system be just? To what degree is a system flawed if people are flawed? What can we do to make sure that justice is served to the best of our abilities? What happens when a mistake costs a person his/her life?

Pre-reading
Go to The Innocence Project

[|Innocence Project, New England (local cases)]

1. Click on the "Our Work" section. Read it, and take notes. You will take notes on the following:
 * Exonerate/Improve/Inform/Support**

2. Click on "Cases." Read a minimum of three cases, one from each of the following categories: Exonerated by DNA, Exonerated by Other Means, and Active. **Take notes so that you are ready to report back to the class.**

3. Read "The Causes."
 * Take notes and be ready to report your findings to the class.**

The Death Penalty
Which states have the death penalty? For which crimes can a person be given the death penalty?

[|Crimes Punishable by Death] media type="custom" key="27112360"

media type="custom" key="27112382"

Link to Book Site

=[|Video-- The Innocence Project of Texas]= Interviews with Jennifer and Ronald, including questions from other people who have been wrongly convicted of crimes