Exoneration

Meet the Exonerated

David Protess | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Wrongful Convictions, Death Penalty, Innocence Project, The Exonerated, Exoneration, Death Row Exoneration, Exoneration Report, National Registry of Exonerations, Innocence, Criminal Exonerations, Chicago News

The next time you see an exoneree take his first steps to freedom, look past their smiles. Get pissed. Get involved. Make a difference.

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Law and Disorder: The Psychology of False Confessions

Wray Herbert | Posted 03.13.2012

Read More: Exoneration, Social Perception, False Confession, Forensic Psychology, Law, Criminal Justice, Confession, Innocence Project, Dna Evidence, Cognitive Bias, Mind, Theories of Crime, Psychology and Law, Crime Psychology, Crime and Psychology, Psychology Crime Law, Crime News

Confessions are powerful and damning evidence, which is a good thing if the defendant is guilty. But what if the defendant is innocent?

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Report: Judge Turned A Blind Eye To Wrongful Convictions

AP | Posted 09.28.2011

Read More: Exoneration, Prison Reform, Life Sentence, Percy Anderson, Federal Judge, US District Court, Daily Journal, Los Angeles, Crime News

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in Los Angeles allowed reports indicating inmates might have been wrongly convicted to languish for years, saying ...

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After 25 Years In Prison, Falsely Accused Man Helps Others Avoid Same Fate

Nicole Skibola | Posted 06.07.2011

Read More: Exoneration, Centurion Ministries, Exonorated, Innocence, Criminal Justice System, Darryl Burton, False Conviction, Prison, Wrongful Conviction, False Imprisonment, Impact News

During the week of August 28, 2008, Darryl Burton was exonerated of his capital murder charge -- after spending 24 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

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When Did Convicting the Guilty Become More Important Than Exonerating the Innocent?

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Exoneration, Hank Skinner, Douglas Warney, Henry Skinner, Anthony McKinney, Dna, Prof. David Protess, Medill Innocence Project, Medill Innocence Project Mckinney, Compensation Wrongfully Convicted, Politics News

To foreclose evidence that might prove innocence is not in keeping with the duty of prosecutors. The same vigor that goes into convicting the guilty should be exerted in exonerating the innocent.

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Is the Supreme Court Going "Soft on Crime"?

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Exoneration, Hank Skinner, Dna Testing, Soft on Crime, Death Penalty, Medill Innocence Project, Post-Conviction Relief, Anthong McKinney, Habeas Corpus, Politics News

The Supreme Court has ruled in the case of Hank Skinner that he has the right to pursue DNA testing under federal civil rights laws. This case was a no-brainer to begin with, why did it go all the way to the Supreme Court?

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Take the Loco out of Local New York Politics: Local Issues That Matter

Lynne Glasner | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Exoneration, Jeffrey Deskovic, Death Row Exoneration, Eric Schneiderman, Criminal Justice System, Conviction, Attorney General, DNA Exoneration, Wrongful Conviction, Dna Evidence, New York City, New York News

Although we know there are many aspects of our criminal justice system that are broken, most politicians are unwilling to support measures that might address the injustices.

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Conviction: Sister's Long Struggle Against Injustice

Pat Nolan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Exoneration, Minnie Driver, Death Row Exoneration, Hilary Swank, Exonerated, Justice Fellowship, Innocent, Innocence Project, Sam Rockwell, Entertainment News

There is already a great deal of Oscar buzz about Swank's portrayal of Betty Anne Waters' eighteen year struggle against the injustice suffered by her brother. But such instances of injustice need to be a larger part of the real-life public discussion as well.

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Recording Interrogations is a Public Safety Imperative

John Terzano | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Wrongful Conviction, Electronic Recording, Exoneration, The Justice Project, Criminal Justice, False Confessions, Home News

Last month, Frank Sterling was exonerated by DNA evidence after being incarcerated 18 years for a crime he did not commit. Sterling was wrongfully con...

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Reversal of Fortune: How a Pardon Halts Detention and Deportation

Arlene M. Roberts | Posted 05.25.2011

The fate of a young immigrant man seemed set in stone - mandatory detention since he was a 'criminal alien' followed by deportation to the country of ...

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Another Exoneration Demonstrates the Need for Criminal Justice Reform

John Terzano | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Science, The Justice Project, Exoneration, Innocence Commission, North Carolina, Politics News

A fair and accurate system not only prevents wrongful convictions, it more effectively identifies the guilty and strengthens public trust in our system of justice.

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The Rape That Wasn't: The Wrongful Conviction of Jarrett Adams

John Maki | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Wisconsin Innocence Project, Exoneration, Wrongful Conviction, Law, Racism, Innocence Project, South Side of Chicago, Chicago News

While Jarrett Adams' wrongful conviction for rape is a riveting story, the real story, as he likes to say, is what he's doing now. After he won his freedom, he went back to school.

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Two More Exonerations Stress the Need for Credible Evidence

John Terzano | Posted 05.25.2011

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

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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James Bain, Florida Man, Exonerated After 35 Years Behind Bars

AP | MITCH STACY | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Dna Testing, Dna, Exoneration, Polk County, Seth Miller, Ed Threadgill, Exonerated, Florida-Innocence-Project, James Bain, Home News

BARTOW, Fla. — James Bain used a cell phone for the first time Thursday, calling his elderly mother to tell her he had been freed after 35 years...

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DNA: The Freedom Fighter (Part III of III)

Cari Shane | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Forensic Science, Snitches, False Confessions, Dna, Prison, Paul-Enzinna, Eyewitness Identification, Morrison Bonpasse, Alfred Trenkler, Criminals, Exoneration, Inmates, Innocence Project, Judicial System, Politics News

Since 2006, Maine resident Morrison Bonpasse has worked tirelessly for the exoneration of a man he had never met or even heard of until just a few years ago.

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Our Justice System Needs to Protect Children's Human Rights

Bernardine Dohrn | Posted 05.25.2011

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

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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William McCaffrey's Exoneration Highlights Plight Of Wrongly Convicted

reuters.com | Edith Honan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Exoneration, Prison, Crime, William-Mccaffrey, Prisoners, William-Mccaffrey-Innocent, Innocence Project, New York, New York City, New York News

A recent spate of exonerations in New York state has put renewed focus on the plight of the wrongly convicted, with advocates saying it is not as easy...

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DNA: The Freedom Fighter (Part II of III)

Cari Shane | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: The Innocence Project, Law, Marvin Anderson, Dna, Conviction, Exonerated, Gary Dotson, Exoneration, Inmates, Dna Evidence, Legislation, Crime, Health, Politics News

As we countdown the top stories of 2009, for a small group of Americans there's no top-100 list, top-20 or top-10 list. For these few dozen Americans there's only one story worth recapping: their exoneration.

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Why Young People Falsely Confess to Police

Steve Drizin | Posted 05.25.2011

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, Video, Chicago News

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 05.25.2011

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

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 05.25.2011

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

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 05.25.2011

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

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 05.25.2011

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

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 05.25.2011

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

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 05.25.2011

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

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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