Week 11: Wrongful Convictions
Note: Due to unresolvable technical difficulties, there is not an IGTV video component that coincides with this week’s text
Summary
Throughout the summer we’ve been exposed to daunting statistics: millions of individuals across the nation cycle in and out of correctional facilities each year. Countless persons, particularly those from communities of color and low socioeconomic classes, are forced into the machine of mass incarceration and exposed to violence at the hands of the state.
Within these large numbers that cloud criminal justice news articles and research studies, are the narratives and personal experiences of the innocent — wrongfully convicted, yet forced to face jail, prison, an in some cases, death. Criminal justice issues impact entire communities and public confidence in the system is (rightfully) diminished when innocent people are convicted.
As monitored by the Equal Justice Initiative, the are more innocent people in our nation's jails and prisons today than ever before. Since 1989, over three hundred people have been exonerated through DNA evidence, revealing a flawed justice system replete with instances of mistaken eye witness identification, false confessions or misleading forensic science, prison informants, corruption, and much more.
DNA Makes a Difference
What has historically been considered a “game-changer” for law enforcement, DNA evidence and scientific advancements have contributed to numerous miscarriages of justice. As detailed in a 2016 study, the nature of DNA exonerations has changed over the years. Until recently, most DNA exonerations were seen in sexual assault cases; however, since 2008, the majority has shifted to homicide cases.
Due to the power and validity of DNA testing, Congress and all fifty states have enacted statutes providing access to post-conviction DNA testing. For more on DNA’s revolutionary role in freeing the innocent, visit the Innocence Project’s website.
False Confessions — “Why would anyone confess to a crime they did not commit”?
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 27% of people on the registry who were accused of homicide gave false confessions and 81% of people with expressed mental health concerns did the same. Sociologists and other researchers who study wrongful convictions have revealed a variety of factors that may contribute to false confessions including:
Unfortunately, it is legal for police to use deceptive tactics when interrogating potential suspects. On too many occasions, members of law enforcement will make untrue claims about the collection of forensic evidence that prove someone’s guilt — even if there is no evidence at all. When facing such claims, particularly when told by someone in a position of perceived authority, an innocent person may feel pressured into confessing.
Despite the growing statistics and data to back up the prevalence of false confessions and poor forensic science practices, those two factors alone fail to uncover why so many false convictions take place. Researchers suggest underlying issues in law enforcement, race relations, and the overall process of the criminal justice system “run far deeper.”
Government Misconduct
According to the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism and further confirmed in a variety of court documents, many cases of wrongful conviction include evidence of negligence, fraud, and misconduct by prosecutors and other law enforcement official, “the very people responsible for ensuring truth and justice” in the system.
Confirmed in an Innocence Project fact sheet, in closed cases from 2004 to 2015, approximately 29% of cases were closed because of lost or destroyed evidence.
Coincidence? unlikely.
Exonerations
2018 was considered a record year in exonerations and saw the passage of 17 wrongful conviction reforms in 14 states.
On average, innocent persons spend about 8.8 years in prison. According to a Time Magazine article, 1 in 3 were sentenced to a minimum of 50 years in prison and 19 were exonerated after they died.
In 2004, Congress passed a law titled, the Justice For All Act (see terms and definitions). By creation, it sought to guarantee compensation to exonerate individuals of federal crimes, warranting the receipt of $50,000 for each year spent in prison and $100,000 for each year spent on death row.
Despite bipartisan support and alleged universality, entitlement to compensation varies by state. Presently, Wisconsin pays $5,000 for every year spent in prison; however, the overall income is capped at $25,000. In the state of Kansas, wrongfully convicted persons must undergo review by a state committee and plea for compensation.
To read and listen to the narratives of wrongfully convicted persons who were later exonerated, click here.
Note: It is essential that we don’t find ourselves in a predicament in which we actively “organize” persons into categories of who is right versus who is wrong. There cannot be a hierarchy of who is most deserving of human dignity.
Yes, the incarceration of the innocent and subsequent exposure to horrid conditions, abuse, and lasting mental health implications is awful. Yes, people are going to prison for not committing any crimes. This doesn’t negate from the fact that even those who have committed acts deemed illegal and criminal, face similar dangers while imprisoned. They shouldn’t be subject to the torture and horrid nature of mass incarceration either.
Statistics to Know
- Since 1989, over 365 individuals have been exonerated based on new evidence of innocence
- Of the 365 that have been exonerated, 62% identify as Black, 30% are white, 7% are Latinx, and 1% are Asian
- According to the Innocence Project, New York leads most states in the number of wrongful convictions. Since 2000, 18 wrongfully convicted people have been exonerated with DNA evidence.
- Data from the National Registry shows that more than half of exonerations involve perjury or false accusations
- 25% of overturned wrongful convictions involve a false confession
- Out of 100 sentenced to death, 4 are likely innocent but only 2 have been exonerated
- Criminologists at the University of Pennsylvania found, in the state of Pennsylvania, about 6% of state prisoners are wrongfully convicted
Terms & Definitions
miscarriage of justice: also known as a “failure of justice,” most notably occurs when a person is convicted and punished for a crime that they didn’t commit
exonerate/exoneration: to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship; to clear from accusation or blame
Justice for All Act: 2004 law guaranteeing individuals exonerated of federal crimes $50,000 for every year spent in prison and $100,000 for every year spent on death row. These laws, however, vary from state to state as compensation after a conviction is commonly overturned.
Who to Follow
The Innocence Project, organization working to exonerate the wrongly convicted through DNA testing. They also hold a goal of reforming the criminal justice system in efforts to prevent future injustice. They also have an “Innocence Network,” a group of independent organizations that exonerate and support the innocent. You can find your local group here.
Bryan Stevenson, lawyer, social justice activist, founder, and executive of the Equal Justice Initiative. He initiated Montgomery, Alabama’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice, honoring the names of over 4,000 Black Americans lynched in the south from 1877 to 1950. He is best known for his New York Times Bestseller, Just Mercy.
Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a private, nonprofit organization committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the U.S. According to their website, the EJI does this through, “challenging racial and economic injustice” and “protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.” They’re headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama.
National Registry of Exonerations, registry collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information about all known exonerations of innocent criminal defendants in the U.S. They seek to provide comprehensive information in order to prevent future false convictions.
Additional Resources
Book: Just Mercy — A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson
Series: When They See Us, Ava DuVernay (Netflix)
Video: 6 Talks on the phenomena behind wrongful convictions, TEDBlog
In an Apparent First, Genetic Genealogy Aids a Wrongful Conviction Case, The Marshall Project
Wrongful convictions have stolen at least 20,000 years from innocent defendants, Washington Post -Opinions Section
The Wrongly Convicted, TIME
False Confessions, Mistaken Witnesses, Corrupt Investigators: Why 139 Innocent People Went to Jail, The New York Times
A Leading Cause for Wrongful Convictions: Experts Overstating Forensic Results, The New York Times
Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations: Understanding the Role of Forensic Science, National Institute of Justice
NIJ Listening Session with victims and exonerees of Wrongful Conviction, National Institute of Justice
How to talk about innocence related issues with elected officials, organizations, media, and others, The Innocence Project
Candice is a graduate student studying incarceration and human rights at Columbia University. She holds dual degrees in Criminology and Communication Arts and Sciences from Penn State and abides by a personal motto, “change the narrative.”
