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Exoneration

Two More Exonerations Stress the Need for Credible Evidence

John Terzano | Posted 10.12.2009 | Politics

Read More: Exoneration, The Justice Project, Oklahoma, Death Row, Jailhouse Informants, Jailhouse Snitch, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Politics News
John Terzano

Two new exonerations reveal the very real threat of false testimony, and the strong need for corroborating evidence to ensure that credible testimony is presented to juries in criminal trials.

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Our Justice System Needs to Protect Children's Human Rights

Bernardine Dohrn | Posted 10.05.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Center-on-Wrongful-Convictions-of-Youth, Central Park Jogger, Human Rights, Chicago News, False Confessions, Criminal Justice, Northwestern University, Exoneration, Steve Drizin, Juvenile Justice, Anthony Caravella, Chicago News
Bernardine Dohrn

Routine police interrogation methods have elicited an outrageously high proportion of false confessions -- coerced confessions given by innocent suspects, especially children, who quickly recant.

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Why Young People Falsely Confess to Police

Steve Drizin | Posted 10.02.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Exoneration, Thaddeus Jimenez, West Memphis Three, Center-on-Wrongful-Convictions-of-Youth, Central Park Jogger, Lacresha Murray, Bernardine Dohrn, False Confessions, Juvenile Justice, Steve Drizin, Marty Tankleff, Ryan Harris, Criminal Justice, Northwestern University, Chicago News
Steve Drizin

I've seen police lie to children in all manner of ways, telling one child that his dead sister's blood was found in his bedroom and a different boy that his father had awakened from a coma and told police the boy was his assailant.

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Barney Brown: His First Year of Freedom

John Maki | Posted 09.24.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Exoneration, Juvenile Justice, Rainbow Coalition, Barney Brown, Innocence Project, Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, Double Jeopardy, Wrongful Conviction, Florida, Northwestern University, Criminal Justice, Chicago News
John Maki

On September 24, Barney Brown celebrates his first year of freedom after 38 years of wrongful incarceration. His story is one of the most egregious wrongful convictions in U.S. history.

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Lapses Are the Norm, Not the Exception When It Comes to Our Justice System

Amy Bach | Posted 11.11.2009 | Politics

Read More: Exoneration, Dna, Edward Flynn, Criminal Justice System, Walter Ellis, Department of Justice, Evidence, Dna Evidence, Troy Davis, John Dipko, Politics News
Amy Bach

Law enforcement agencies work independently of each other, and don't coordinate well as a rule. When problems do arise, they are quick to renounce responsibility. Usually, they blame each other.

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Trial and Error: Houston, We've Got a Problem

Lynne Glasner | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Exoneration, Trisha Meili, Texas-Executions, Jeffrey-Deskovic, Criminal Justice System, Crime, Manhattan District Attorney, Richard Aborn, Wrongful Conviction, Death Penalty, Central-Park-Jogger, Politics News
Lynne Glasner

As Morgenthau steps down as DA, one of the three primary contestants stands out. Richard Aborn has a track record of working for reform.

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Still Clinging to the Barbarity of the Death Penalty

Byron Williams | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Texas, Exoneration, Corsicana, New Yorker, Death Row, Cameron Todd Willingham, Death Penalty Advocates, Death Penalty Debate, David Grann, Death Penalty, Arson, Innocence Project, Barry Scheck, Politics News
Byron Williams

Since it is impossible to avoid error, the only way one can support the death penalty is to suggest that we have expendable portions of society.

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When It Comes to Claims of Actual Innocence, Courts Need to Consider Recantations

John Maki | Posted 09.20.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Exoneration, Johnnie Lee Savory, Capital Punishment, Death Row, Cook County Criminal Justice System, Criminal Justice, Recantations, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Thaddeus Jimenez, Innocence, Troy Davis, Antonin Scalia, Illinois Death Penalty, Chicago News
John Maki

You might think that judges would be willing to review convictions based on testimony that was later recanted, but in fact courts frequently ignore recantations.

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Lack of Consistency Leads to Lack of Justice

John Terzano | Posted 07.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: Exoneration, Texas, The Justice Project, DNA Tesing, Innocence Protection Act, Politics News
John Terzano

We recently released a report on thirty-nine DNA cases of wrongful conviction in Texas. Collectively, these thirty-nine innocent men served almost 500 years for crimes they did not commit.

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New Report Analyzes Texas Wrongful Convictions Exposed by DNA

John Terzano | Posted 04.27.2009 | Politics

Read More: Texas, Exoneration, Wrongful Conviction, The Justice Project, Dna, Politics News
John Terzano

An analysis of all wrongful convictions in Texas reveals distinct patterns in the types of mistakes that lead to convicting the innocent.

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The Price of Justice: Time to Invest in Criminal Justice Reforms

Ginny Sloan | Posted 03.08.2009 | Politics

Read More: Exoneration, Wrongful Conviction, Criminal Justice, Dna, Ginny Sloan, Jon Gould, Lawyers, Criminal Justice System, Prisoners, Legislation, Politics News
Ginny Sloan

It is easy -- but wrong -- to say that we can save money by slashing government funding for lawyers for defendants who cannot afford to hire their own.

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Letting Go of the Death Penalty

Richard C. Dieter | Posted 02.13.2009 | Politics

Read More: Exoneration, Law, Death Row, Death Row Exoneration, California, Execution, Criminal Justice System, Crime, Economic Crisis, Financial Crisis, Death Penalty, Criminal Justice, Politics News
Richard C. Dieter

California has 670 people on death row. Each one of them costs the state about $90,000 per year over what it would cost to keep them in prison if they were condemned to permanent jail time instead.

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Florida Exoneration Reveals a Lack of Prosecutorial Accountability

John Terzano | Posted 01.15.2009 | Politics

Read More: Exoneration, Prosecutorial Accountability, The Justice Project, Florida, Florida Innocence Project, Politics News
John Terzano

Investigating the prosecutors who might be responsible for the miscarriages of justice in Florida would be a critical first step in preventing acts of misconduct in the future.

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