NCJ Number
225379
Date Published
2008
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses the contemporary American experience in wrongful convictions and the need for cross-national, comparative research and policy discussions.
Abstract
Although the great majority of those who are wrongfully convicted in the United States do not face the death penalty or life in prison, such errors often result in many years of unwarranted punishment and serious damage to the lives of the wrongfully convicted, while the actual offenders in those cases are free. The United States experience with the problem of wrongful conviction extends throughout the Nation’s history. Research has consistently found that the principal factors contributing to wrongful conviction include eyewitness error; overzealous law enforcement officers and prosecutors who engage in misconduct; false or coerced confessions and suggestive interrogations; perjury; misleading lineups; the inappropriate use of informants or “snitches”; the ineffective assistance of counsel; community pressure for a conviction; forensic science errors, incompetence, and fraud; and the “ratification of error.” This chapter provides an overview and analysis of the United States experience with wrongful conviction, including the leading causes of error; the consequences of wrongful conviction for the convicted and innocent and for public safety; the increasing role of forensic science, including DNA in exonerations; and some recent developments and public policy recommendations intended to address this problem. References