2000 exonerations of serious criminal convictions in 23 years.

[Anti Federalist]

There are lots and lots more.

This is just a start.


Study: 2,000 convicted then exonerated in 23 years

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57438010/study-2000-convicted-then-exonerated-in-23-years/

(AP) WASHINGTON - More than 2,000 people who were falsely convicted of serious crimes have been exonerated in the United States in the past 23 years, according to a new archive compiled at two universities.

There is no official record-keeping system for exonerations of convicted criminals in the country, so academics set one up. The new national registry, or database, painstakingly assembled by the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, is the most complete list of exonerations ever compiled.

The database compiled and analyzed by the researchers contains information on 873 exonerations for which they have the most detailed evidence. The researchers are aware of nearly 1,200 other exonerations, for which they have less data.

They found that those 873 exonerated defendants spent a combined total of more than 10,000 years in prison, an average of more than 11 years each. Nine out of 10 of them are men and half are African-American.

Nearly half of the 873 exonerations were homicide cases, including 101 death sentences. Over one-third of the cases were sexual assaults.

DNA evidence led to exoneration in nearly one-third of the 416 homicides and in nearly two-thirds of the 305 sexual assaults.

Researchers estimate the total number of felony convictions in the United States is nearly a million a year.

The overall registry/list begins at the start of 1989. It gives an unprecedented view of the scope of the problem of wrongful convictions in the United States and the figure of more than 2,000 exonerations "is a good start," said Rob Warden, executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions.

"We know there are many more that we haven't found," added University of Michigan law professor Samuel Gross, the editor of the newly opened National Registry of Exonerations.

Counties such as San Bernardino in California and Bexar County in Texas are heavily populated, yet seemingly have no exonerations, a circumstance that the academics say cannot possibly be correct.

The registry excludes at least 1,170 additional defendants. Their convictions were thrown out starting in 1995 amid the periodic exposures of 13 major police scandals around the country. In all the cases, police officers fabricated crimes, usually by planting drugs or guns on innocent defendants.

Regarding the 1,170 additional defendants who were left out of the registry, "we have only sketchy information about most of these cases," the report said. "Some of these group exonerations are well known; most are comparatively obscure. We began to notice them by accident, as a byproduct of searches for individual cases."

In half of the 873 exonerations studied in detail, the most common factor leading to false convictions was perjured testimony or false accusations. Forty-three percent of the cases involved mistaken eyewitness identification, and 24 percent of the cases involved false or misleading forensic evidence.

In two out of three homicides, perjury or false accusation was the most common factor leading to false conviction. In four out of five sexual assaults, mistaken eyewitness identification was the leading cause of false conviction.

Seven percent of the exonerations were drug, white-collar and other nonviolent crimes, 5 percent were robberies and 5 percent were other types of violent crimes.

"It used to be that almost all the exonerations we knew about were murder and rape cases. We're finally beginning to see beyond that. This is a sea change," said Gross.

Exonerations often take place with no public fanfare and the 106-page report that coincides with the opening of the registry explains why.

On TV, an exoneration looks like a singular victory for a criminal defense attorney, "but there's usually someone to blame for the underlying tragedy, often more than one person, and the common culprits include defense lawyers as well as police officers, prosecutors and judges. In many cases, everybody involved has egg on their face," according to the report.

Despite a claim of wrongful conviction that was widely publicized last week, a Texas convict executed two decades ago is not in the database because he has not been officially exonerated. Carlos deLuna was executed for the fatal stabbing of a Corpus Christi convenience store clerk. A team headed by a Columbia University law professor just published a 400-page report that contends DeLuna didn't kill the clerk, Wanda Jean Lopez.

[tod evans]

Egg on their face?

WTF..........These "people" must be held accountable!

Sucking on the taxpayer tit should never be responsibility free, those who seek the power to lord over another man's freedom must be held to the same standards.

[pcosmar]

I knew this..Though not by any provable statistics.

And these are only those lucky enough to be exonerated. There are a great many more innocent people in prison that can not prove their innocents.

[Pericles]

Prosecutors have too much power - giving some "criminals" a pass in order to get others invites every type of abuse.

Stop the "confidential informant" crap and false statements made on warrants being prosecuted would stop much abuse, but that requires accountability, which prosecutors and judges do not face.

[fisharmor]

There is no official record-keeping system for exonerations of convicted criminals in the country
I'm having trouble figuring out how to relate to you all my utter lack of surprise.


The new national registry, or database, painstakingly assembled by the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, is the most complete list of exonerations ever compiled.

Hm..... University of MI is a public school.
I wonder if some accreditation renewals are going to be blocked.....
Hm.........

[asurfaholic]

The article mentioned that half of the exonerated are white. What percentage of our prison population is white?

Doesn't this suggest that whites are more likely to be exonerated? Or does it suggest that blacks or more likely to actually be guilty? Im thinking the former..

[tod evans]

The article mentioned that half of the exonerated are white. What percentage of our prison population is white?

Doesn't this suggest that whites are more likely to be exonerated? Or does it suggest that blacks or more likely to actually be guilty? Im thinking the former..

I'm thinking that even acknowledging "race" is playing into preconceived parameters.

The relevant issue to me is that here is more proof of a failed "just-us" system.

[pcosmar]

The article mentioned that half of the exonerated are white. What percentage of our prison population is white?

Doesn't this suggest that whites are more likely to be exonerated? Or does it suggest that blacks or more likely to actually be guilty? Im thinking the former..

From my experience,, and memory. It was a while ago,
It seemed just over half were black,,maybe 60%,, but I would say that they usually had the worst lawyers. and worse "bargains".

Subjective,,but I think there were probably less innocent whites.
That is all irrelevant

There are a LOT of innocent and wrongfully convicted men in prison.

[fisharmor]

That is all irrelevant

It's not irrelevant if that's the way that it's going to get attention.
For some reason the public doesn't care when a sleeping 7-year-old black girl gets murdered by the cops, but they go ape shit when a gang banger gets the chair.
The TV viewing public has some screwed up priorities and their moral compasses are defective, so who knows what will make them pay attention.
If race is the catalyst that makes people give a shit, then I'm all for it.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

This is just a start.

Sadly,

the true number of those murdered, wrongfully imprisoned, and abused by the state will never be known.

[Uncle Emanuel Watkins]

There are lots and lots more.

This is just a start.


Study: 2,000 convicted then exonerated in 23 years

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57438010/study-2000-convicted-then-exonerated-in-23-years/

(AP) WASHINGTON - More than 2,000 people who were falsely convicted of serious crimes have been exonerated in the United States in the past 23 years, according to a new archive compiled at two universities.

There is no official record-keeping system for exonerations of convicted criminals in the country, so academics set one up. The new national registry, or database, painstakingly assembled by the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, is the most complete list of exonerations ever compiled.

The database compiled and analyzed by the researchers contains information on 873 exonerations for which they have the most detailed evidence. The researchers are aware of nearly 1,200 other exonerations, for which they have less data.

They found that those 873 exonerated defendants spent a combined total of more than 10,000 years in prison, an average of more than 11 years each. Nine out of 10 of them are men and half are African-American.

Nearly half of the 873 exonerations were homicide cases, including 101 death sentences. Over one-third of the cases were sexual assaults.

DNA evidence led to exoneration in nearly one-third of the 416 homicides and in nearly two-thirds of the 305 sexual assaults.

Researchers estimate the total number of felony convictions in the United States is nearly a million a year.

The overall registry/list begins at the start of 1989. It gives an unprecedented view of the scope of the problem of wrongful convictions in the United States and the figure of more than 2,000 exonerations "is a good start," said Rob Warden, executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions.

"We know there are many more that we haven't found," added University of Michigan law professor Samuel Gross, the editor of the newly opened National Registry of Exonerations.

Counties such as San Bernardino in California and Bexar County in Texas are heavily populated, yet seemingly have no exonerations, a circumstance that the academics say cannot possibly be correct.

The registry excludes at least 1,170 additional defendants. Their convictions were thrown out starting in 1995 amid the periodic exposures of 13 major police scandals around the country. In all the cases, police officers fabricated crimes, usually by planting drugs or guns on innocent defendants.

Regarding the 1,170 additional defendants who were left out of the registry, "we have only sketchy information about most of these cases," the report said. "Some of these group exonerations are well known; most are comparatively obscure. We began to notice them by accident, as a byproduct of searches for individual cases."

In half of the 873 exonerations studied in detail, the most common factor leading to false convictions was perjured testimony or false accusations. Forty-three percent of the cases involved mistaken eyewitness identification, and 24 percent of the cases involved false or misleading forensic evidence.

In two out of three homicides, perjury or false accusation was the most common factor leading to false conviction. In four out of five sexual assaults, mistaken eyewitness identification was the leading cause of false conviction.

Seven percent of the exonerations were drug, white-collar and other nonviolent crimes, 5 percent were robberies and 5 percent were other types of violent crimes.

"It used to be that almost all the exonerations we knew about were murder and rape cases. We're finally beginning to see beyond that. This is a sea change," said Gross.

Exonerations often take place with no public fanfare and the 106-page report that coincides with the opening of the registry explains why.

On TV, an exoneration looks like a singular victory for a criminal defense attorney, "but there's usually someone to blame for the underlying tragedy, often more than one person, and the common culprits include defense lawyers as well as police officers, prosecutors and judges. In many cases, everybody involved has egg on their face," according to the report.

Despite a claim of wrongful conviction that was widely publicized last week, a Texas convict executed two decades ago is not in the database because he has not been officially exonerated. Carlos deLuna was executed for the fatal stabbing of a Corpus Christi convenience store clerk. A team headed by a Columbia University law professor just published a 400-page report that contends DeLuna didn't kill the clerk, Wanda Jean Lopez.

The system isn't perfect. There is no such thing as doing away with capital punishment when families will then take care of business, as they do in the tyranny of Mexico, or the police at the scene will just go ahead and kill the suspect outright, as they also do in Mexico.

[Anti Federalist]

It's not irrelevant if that's the way that it's going to get attention.
For some reason the public doesn't care when a sleeping 7-year-old black girl gets murdered by the cops, but they go ape shit when a gang banger gets the chair.
The TV viewing public has some screwed up priorities and their moral compasses are defective, so who knows what will make them pay attention.
If race is the catalyst that makes people give a shit, then I'm all for it.

Wow - that, exactly and +rep.

I hate that the "race angle" has to play into these stories as well, but if that is the only thing that will make Boobus sit up and take notice, so be it. Maybe the cops will have start shooting gays and lesbians or something to get people to pay attention, since that's the new "hot and hip" minority.

But that is exactly why I post the "cop kills family dog" stories.

We had a new member on here the other day, looking to drum up signatures for a petition to hold the cops accountable to a more "open" investigation regarding the Patricia Cook killing in Virginia.

He was lamenting the fact that a dog can get shot by DC cops and 30,000 signatures show up, but he could barely get 1000 for Patricia Cook, a middle aged, unarmed, white, Sunday School teacher who had, by all accounts, done nothing wrong except display "contempt of cop".

How did that line go in the movie "Shooter"? "Your moral compass is so fucked up I'm surprised you could find your way out of the building".

[Anti Federalist]

The system isn't perfect. There is no such thing as doing away with capital punishment when families will then take care of business, as they do in the tyranny of Mexico, or the police at the scene will just go ahead and kill the suspect outright, as they also do in Mexico.

Uh huh.

Here's a shocking idea: lets stop turning into a third world tyranny, like Mexico.

[phill4paul]

In half of the 873 exonerations studied in detail, the most common factor leading to false convictions was perjured testimony or false accusations. Forty-three percent of the cases involved mistaken eyewitness identification, and 24 percent of the cases involved false or misleading forensic evidence.

Timely post is timely. Local news today: Hickory man to be freed from prison after 24 years

RALEIGH NC -- A Hickory man serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit is supposed to be released from prison today, according to Record media partner WSOC TV.

The station reported Sunday that Willie Grimes, 65, convicted of a 1987 rape of a 69-year-old woman would be released today based on an Innocence Inquiry Commission review in April.

The state commission decided unanimously that enough credible evidence of innocence existed to refer the case of Willie Grimes to a three-judge panel that made the ultimate decision about whether his conviction in a 1987 rape case should be overturned.

There were several factors that brought Grimes’ case in front of the panel. A state police investigator testified that fingerprints on evidence matched another man with a lengthy criminal record.

Another issue in the case is the victim’s identification of Grimes. She initially identified him in a photo lineup, but later in court was indecisive. The woman has since died.

Grimes told the panel that he had no idea why police arrested him in 1987 for the rape.

“I know I wasn’t into no crime that night. You know, it bugged me for years. It almost drove me crazy when I first went to prison. Eventually, I got over it and saw that I wasn’t going to get no help,” Grimes said.

Grimes was 41 when he was arrested. He had gone to the Hickory Police Department when he leaned he was wanted for questioning after police got a tip through Crimestoppers that Grimes resembled the description of the attacker.

At the trial, the victim pointed to Grimes’ attorney when asked to identify the rapist, according to published reports. In addition, several people testified that Grimes was at a small gathering the night of the crime. Grimes, who did not have a car, would have had to walk a considerable distance to the victim’s home and return to the gathering unnoticed to have committed the crime, his attorney argued.

Some evidence was thrown out. Bananas found at the victim’s residence were never introduced as evidence in the case. But fingerprints from the bananas match a different man, who had a lengthy criminal record, according to The Associated Press. Those fingerprints were presented to the innocence commission.

Some reports state that Grimes’ former girlfriend is the sister of the person who made the tip to Crimestoppers. The former girlfriend vouched for his innocence and said she doubted the tip. “Everybody knows he didn’t do it,” she is reported as saying.

At Grimes’ trial, the key piece of physical evidence was a single hair that could have been a match.

Grimes said he never stopped saying he was innocent of the rape charge that sent him to prison for life, but he’s never been able to get anyone to believe him.

The innocence commission, which is unique in the United States, makes recommendations that cases be reviewed only if they meet rigorous criteria. If the commission makes a recommendation, the cases are taken up by a three-judge panel that can reverse a conviction only if the decision is unanimous.

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2012/may/21/3/hickory-man-be-freed-prison-after-24-years-ar-2297016/

[Anti Federalist]

From my experience,, and memory. It was a while ago,
It seemed just over half were black,,maybe 60%,, but I would say that they usually had the worst lawyers. and worse "bargains".

Subjective,,but I think there were probably less innocent whites.
That is all irrelevant

There are a LOT of innocent and wrongfully convicted men in prison.

If I had to fathom a guess, based on my own experiences quite a while ago as well, and research now, I'd say that 30 percent of the total prison population is innocent.