Wrongful Convictions

More than 3,000 wrongfully convicted individuals have been exonerated since 1989, having collectively served more than 26,700 years in prison. In addition to the damage wrongful convictions cause to the falsely imprisoned, they also allow the true perpetrator to commit additional crimes. Dozens of states have adopted reforms aimed at preventing wrongful convictions, which usually result from false confessions, faulty or misleading forensic evidence or mistaken eyewitness identification. Some states have also made it easier for convicted people to access DNA testing, if appropriate, to help prove their claims of innocence. In recent years, a robust movement has emerged to exonerate the innocent, but their lawyers say most false convictions go uncorrected. To fix the problem, they say, forensic science must be improved, and police officers and prosecutors should be held more accountable for official misconduct. States should also compensate exonerated individuals more generously, advocates say. Forensic scientists defend their practices, and law enforcement officers say they need to be protected from frivolous lawsuits.