WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS

POLITICS
A Few Bad Apples, Or The Fruits Of A Poisonous Tree?
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
Having prosecutors police themselves is like having a hungry fox guard the henhouse. In almost all of the cases of exoneration in recent years, prosecutors have fought tooth and nail to maintain these false convictions knowingly and intentionally.
BOOKS
Death (Penalty) Be Not Proud
By Glenn C. Altschuler, Contributor
Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies and De...
In the last twenty years, capital punishment has fallen out of favor in the United States.
CRIME
Are Innocent Prisoners' Paths To Justice Distorted?
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
Innocent people shouldn't have to suffer from underfunded attorneys. These attorneys need to be fully funded to be effective for those who cannot afford counsel.
CRIME
Speaking at Harvard Law, "Making a Murderer" Attorney Dean Strang Highlights Our Troubling Rate of Wrongful Convictions--and Suggests a Solution
By Michael Shammas, Contributor
Writer & Lawyer
The vast majority of prosecutors are true professionals, keenly aware of their immense power and its consequent responsibility. They form accurate conclusions on guilt far more often than the converse. Still, cognitive bias and overconfidence touch us all.
ENTERTAINMENT
'Orange Is the New Black' Keeps Missing How Wrongful Convictions Affect Women
By Alison Flowers, Contributor
Journalist, Author of "Exoneree Diaries: The Fight for Innocen...
The acclaimed show has brought complex criminal justice issues to the mainstream, with viewers in more than 190 countries. But one critical area that remains untouched by OITNB is how wrongful convictions affect women.
TECH
DNA Software Claims to Prevent Wrongful Convictions, but Lacks Third-Party Validation
By Darlene Dang , Contributor
Student Success Consultant at Skillify
The Innocence Project at Cardozo Law School reports 337 post-conviction exonerations in the U.S. since 1989. But damage done
CRIME
Two Men Convicted for Drug Crimes That Never Happened
By Jessica S. Henry, Contributor
professor and writer about all things justice
Innocent people are convicted of crimes that never even happened. These are worst case events that show what happens when the justice system goes completely off the rails. This is true whether a man is convicted of a low-level misdemeanor crime or a more serious felony offense.
POLITICS
Secretary Clinton, Join Bernie Sanders & the Democratic Party: Oppose Capital Punishment
By Michael Shammas, Contributor
Writer & Lawyer
But as a former defense attorney, Hillary knows better. She knows there's no consistent way to reserve executions for just
Handcuffed Prisoner
Andy Sacks via Getty Images
POLITICS
A Record Number Of People Were Exonerated In 2015 For Crimes They Didn’t Commit
By Matt Ferner
"Making A Murderer" isn't just a problem in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
CRIME
Our Judicial System: Ignoring Injustice or Colluding in It?
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
Prosecutors have the power to prevent almost all wrongful convictions by seeking the truth, not just a conviction. If the pursuit of justice were the only goal, innocent men and women would not find themselves collateral casualties.
CRIME
When Officers of the Court Go Wrong
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
The same power dynamic seen in the Holtzclaw case allows police to coerce false testimony and secure wrongful convictions. At the end of the day, there are so many victims.
CRIME
Solitary Confinement Makes Mass Incarceration More Problematic
By Susan K Smith, Contributor
Rev. Dr.
State officials in New York are reforming their policy of keeping people convicted of non-violent offenses in solitary confinement. Some hail the decision; others, including corrections officers, object, saying that solitary confinement is necessary to maintain control, and they say that keeping an individual in solitary confinement is not inhumane.
CRIME
Overturned: After 25 years, John Hincapie Is Freed
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
There are many different ways that people fight wrongful convictions. We all know that one place to fight is in the courtroom
CRIME
How to Restore Faith in Our Broken Judicial System
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
Many people are responsible for securing wrongful convictions. Consider last year's record-breaking number of exonerations -- 125 in all. How many prosecutors, police officers, judges, or lawyers were fired for their participation in these 125 wrongful convictions? None.
CRIME
When Prosecutors Deny Justice for the Innocent
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
While some prosecutors do their job honestly and stand for justice, there are others who are responsible for intentionally wrongfully convicting innocent people. And as if that weren't enough, they do whatever is necessary to maintain these false convictions.
POST 50
An Authentic Hero Leaves the Stage
By Joe Seldner, Contributor
Journalist/Producer
Jim McCloskey, founder and head of the crusading group Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to fighting for the wrongfully convicted, is the real deal.
CRIME
From the Ring to the Courthouse: The Fight of My Life
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
I went on to win in numerous fights and tournaments. A lot of my boxing teammates went on to turn professional. At the age of 22, my whole life would change for the worse when I was wrongfully charged with, and eventually convicted for a murder I had nothing to do with.
CRIME
The Truth Is in the Numbers: Stop Wrongful Convictions
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
I'm one of many prisoners who are completely innocent, but continue to suffer at the hands of prosecutors who represent anything but justice. We are not guilty, so we don't want sympathy. We demand justice from the legal system that has failed us.
CRIME
Conviction by Any Means Necessary: How Prosecutors Stole 19 Years of My Life
By Lorenzo Johnson, Contributor
Imprisoned for 22 years for a crime he didn't commit. Freed Ju...
I had to make the hardest decision of my life. After meetings with my family, legal team and supporters, I chose to turn myself in and fight to prove my innocence once and for all.
CRIME
Exonerations Of The Wrongfully Convicted Hit Record High In The U.S. In 2014
By Reuters, Reuters
Of the total known exonerations in 2014, more than half were obtained at the initiative or with the cooperation of law enforcement
CHICAGO
Remembering Jane Raley, Advocate for the Innocent
By Jeanne Bishop, Contributor
public defender, human rights activist and author
She was the consummate professional, a criminal defense lawyer who was not afraid to cry with her clients. She could also laugh, cracking up her colleagues with salty comments about some of the bad actors in the wrongful conviction cases she pursued.
CRIME
Forensic Science Is Not CSI, in Ferguson or Anywhere Else
By William Lynch III, Contributor
Vice President, New Business Initiatives, Bill Lynch Associate...
None of this is to say that we need to toss all the evidence out and start at square one. Nor am I saying that the evidence supporting Wilson's account is totally false. My point is that everyone must realize that forensic science is not absolute like on television.
CRIME
Wrongfully Convicted African-Americans Wait Longer To Be Exonerated Than Others: Study
By Michael McLaughlin
"I'm not surprised by the numbers," said Sam Gross, the exoneration registry's editor and a University of Michigan law professor
CRIME
Amazing Grace
By Steven A. Drizin, Contributor
Clinical Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
In my life as a lawyer, I've been privileged to play a role in exonerating a number of innocent men and women. But last week, as I sat in a Brooklyn courtroom, waiting for State Supreme Court Judge Matthew J. D'Emic to vacate the convictions of David McCallum and Willie Stuckey, I knew I was witnessing something special.
CRIME
New Commission to Regulate Prosecutorial Misconduct
By Bennett L. Gershman, Contributor
Professor of Law, Elizabeth Haub Law School, Pace University
New York State is poised to become the first state in the nation to create a public commission specifically designed to investigate complaints of misconduct by prosecutors. It is essential to the integrity of the justice system and the public's confidence that the system functions fairly and accurately.
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