Newsroom Archive
The Crime Report published an op-ed by Associate Professor of Psychology Matthew B. Johnson titled “Race, Sex and Wrongful Convictions” about the disproportionate number of cases involving African-Americans wrongfully convicted of sexual assaults against whites. In the article, he highlights the findings of his recent research, “African Americans Wrongly Convictedof Sexual Assault Against Whites: Eyewitness Error and Other Case,” published in Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice.
To read the op-ed, click here.
Professor Johnson’s general interest involves how psychology informs due process. His scholarship, practice, and research have focused on the areas of interrogation and confession, mental status defenses, and parental rights termination in family court. He frequently provides expert witness testimony in criminal and family court matters. His publications and testimony have been cited favorably in several New Jersey Appellate and Supreme Court decisions. He has published widely in professional journals and law reviews. Professor Johnson serves on the Executive Committee of New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP.org). He also was a member of the American Bar Association, Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities – Task Force on Mental Disability and the Death Penalty. In 2003 Dr. Johnson received the Frantz Fanon MD Memorial Award from the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus of the Post Graduate Center for Mental Health. He was named the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2007.