The rate of exonerations continues to rise, revealing an extremely unreliable criminal justice system. We pride ourselves on a system where everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but that is very often not the case. We have an obligation to correct these situations, and prevent them in the future. Better 10 guilty men go free than 1 innocent one be convicted.
Causes
Eyewitness Misidentification More than ½ of wrongful convictions can be traced to witnesses who lied or made false accusations, and over 75% of DNA exonerations have involved convictions based on mistaken identification.
Unvalidated Forensic Science Unvalidated forensic sciences have played a part in over 50% of convictions later overturned with DNA evidence. Some forensic techniques used as evidence aren’t yet scientifically validated, such as: hair microscopy, bite mark analysis, and shoe print comparisons. Many people have also been wrongfully convicted because lab workers made errors in testing, testified inaccurately, or made up results.
False Confessions Innocent defendants have made incriminating statements, confessed, or plead guilty in approximately 25 percent of DNA exonerations in the United States. Many factors could lead to this happening, such as the defendant’s poor mental health or the use of coercive interrogation techniques.
Jailhouse Informant Testimony Jailhouse informant testimony is one of the leading contributing factors of wrongful convictions nationally, playing a role in nearly one in five of the 367 DNA-based exoneration cases. Jailhouse informants are people in prison who are incentivized to testify against a defendant in exchange for a benefit, which can include receiving leniency in their own case. This creates a strong incentive to lie, and the secretive nature of the jailhouse informant system makes cross-examination and other legal safeguards against unreliable testimony ineffective. Jailhouse informant testimony is especially dangerous when such incentives are not disclosed to the jury, so they do not understand it could be bias.
Government Misconduct Government misconduct can include withholding or fabricating evidence, coercive interrogations, and suggestive methods used by police to obtain an identification or evidence. In 2018, a record number of exonerations involved misconduct by government officials. This is more likely to happen in a high profile case, where there’s a great amount of press.
Poor Defense Defendants are guaranteed a right to counsel but an ineffective defense attorney can lead to the wrongful conviction of an innocent person. Inadequate defense lawyering can include the overall failure to prepare for trial, to investigate the crime and the defendant’s alibi, and to challenge witnesses and experts.
Systemic Racism African Americans are burdened by a presumption of guilt, and are about six times likely to be incarcerated compared to their white counterparts. As a result, African Americans make up 47% of exonerations even though they are only 13% of the population.Innocent black people are about seven times more likely to be convicted of murder than innocent white people, and black people who are convicted of murder are about 50% more likely to be innocent than non-black people convicted of murder.
Official Indifference
A major factor in wrongful convictions is official indifference to innocence and error. Police, prosecutors, and judges are not held accountable for misconduct that leads to wrongful convictions, such as fabricating evidence, presenting false testimony, or refusing to consider proof of innocence. Immunity laws protect them from liability even in cases of gross misconduct. Prosecutors can’t be held liable for falsifying evidence, coercing witnesses, presenting false testimony, withholding evidence, or introducing illegally-seized evidence at trial. Some prosecutors have set up Conviction Integrity Units, a section of the prosecutor’s office that seeks to prevent, identify, and remedy false convictions. Only 45 out of more than 2,300 prosecutor’s offices nationwide have a CIU. And while CIUs helped secure 40% of exonerations reported in 2018, their impact varies dramatically. Just four CIUs account for 85% of all CIU exonerations, and nine have been in operation for at least three years without producing a single exoneration.