This Month in Government Information

Wrongful Convictions: The Literature, the Issues, and the Unheard Voices

The strength of our criminal justice system depends on its accuracy — its ability to convict those who have committed crimes and to clear those who are innocent. We have been refining our justice system for more than 200 years, and we continue to have dedicated public servants who help keep us safe, bring justice and a sense of closure to victims, and defend the rights of individualsaccused of crimes. But we know that innocent people are sometimes wrongfully convicted. Although the exact number of wrongful convictions is unknown, research commonly places the prevalence of wrongful conviction at under 5% of all convictions. The latest rigorous NIJ-funded estimate supports this rate; however, variations in the rate of error by crime type and other factors may exist.1 Research on the topic acknowledges that known wrongful convictions are likely only a fraction of the true number of erroneous convictions that have occurred. Every wrongful conviction is a miscarriage of justice that affects all levels of our society. Their outcomes have life-long impacts on the people who have been wrongfully convicted, the original victims of crime, and the families of both parties. Wrongful convictions undermine the confidence our nation has in the criminal justice system, often leading to questions about its fairness. In addition, wrongful convictions result in “wrongful liberty,” where the individuals who truly committed the crimes are free to victimize others.

SUDOC number: J 28.15/2:W 94

Located: ONLINE ONLY

ONLINE version: Wrongful Convictions: The Literature, the Issues, and the Unheard Voices