The Issues
Wrongful conviction occurs when a factually innocent person is convicted of a crime they did not commit. It is a symptom of a broken criminal legal system that must be fixed.
Understanding Wrongful Convictions
64%
of Innocence Project clients who have been freed or exonerated are Black and/or Latinx
63%
of our cases have involved eyewitness misidentification (including cross-racial misidentification)
53%
of our cases have involved the misapplication of forensic science
The Context
Race and
Wrongful Conviction
An overwhelming majority of wrongfully convicted people are Black and Latinx. These communities experience systemic discrimination, including disparate treatment by police, prosecutors, and other criminal legal system actors.
Innocence and the Death Penalty
The death penalty is a racially and socio-economically biased, fiscally irresponsible institution that neither increases public safety nor restores harms done, and it must end. Nearly 200 people have been exonerated from death row, reflecting the very serious risk of executing innocent people.
Related News
Scott Minton Is Exonerated in Tennessee After Three Decades of Wrongful Conviction
From Policy Wins to Proclamations: How the Innocence Project Made an Impact in 2024
After 45 Years of Incarceration, Marvin Grimm, Jr. Celebrates Christmas Without the Shadow of Wrongful Conviction
Wrongful Convictions Revealed the Dangers of Trusting Unvalidated Science. Are We About to Repeat the Same Mistakes With AI?
Remembering Jonathan Barr of the Dixmoor Five
Stand up for the wrongfully convicted.
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