Wrongful Conviction Resources
Organizations, research, and reporting on wrongful convictions.
Crime Labs Are Not Like TV Crime Shows
Crime labs are not run like television crime dramas. Unfortunately, “forensic science” is shown to be a lot less science than what prosecutors and TV shows lead us to believe.…
Is Legal Reform Possible?
Reforming the legal system has brought together a coalition of people normally at odds with each other. Recently on Capitol Hill, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Koch Industries general counsel…
Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
There are approximately 210,000 people incarcerated in federal prisons, a huge increase from 1980, when there were 24,000 people serving time. This increase is attributed to the War on Drugs…
Wisconsin Changes Investigations In Officer Involved Shootings
The state of Wisconsin has decided the police cannot investigate one of their own in an officer involved shooting. To quote Gina Barton, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s law enforcement reporter, “So…
Children In Solitary Confinement
Most psychologists agree that the use of solitary confinement constitutes torture. Unfortunately, there are still many states that don’t even have a maximum amount of time a child can be…
Flashbang Policing
ProPublica shows how terrifying it is to experience the militarization of policing first hand. Without many details of crimes being committed, the police are launching grenades and storming private re
Political Expediency Equals Unfairness
There are many things wrong with the American legal system, but the law giving a one year statute of limitations deadline to file habeas corpus appeals in the federal courts…
Lost DNA Evidence
The Innocence Project has come across an issue of missing DNA evidence when trying to help those that are wrongfully incarcerated. In 30-40% of cases that initially had DNA evidence,…
Electing Judges At the State Level
Federal judges are appointed by the president and approved by congress, but states pick their judges in different ways. Some states chose their judges with partisan elections, some have nonpartisan el
California Voters Approve Prop 47
Tuesday, November 4, 2014 voters in California approved Proposition 47. This means that nonviolent offenses will now be deemed misdemeanors instead of felonies. About 10,000 people currently incarcera
Prison Reform in California
Prison reform has begun in California: The California Fair Sentencing Act makes certain that people who are convicted of certain offenses involving crack cocaine will no longer receive harsher punishm
Corporations Divesting From Prison Industry
The civil rights non-profit group, Color of Change, has been asking over 150 companies to divest from Corrections Corporation of America and GEO Group, two of the largest for- profit prison…