Category: Statistics

More Prisoners Were Found Wrongfully Convicted in 2014 Than Ever Before

9/16/2015

From 1989 to 2014, the NRE recorded 1,535 exonerations, with a clear upward trend over time (...)
Aggressive law-enforcement and prosecutorial tactics appear to play a role: 47 of the 125 exonerees had pled guilty to the crimes they were accused of, while about 46% had been sentenced for crimes that had never been committed in the first place.
"The big story for the year is that more prosecutors are working hard to identify and investigate claims of innocence," author and Michigan law professor Samuel Gross said in a statement. "And many more innocent defendants were exonerated after pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit." Read more

Less Support for Death Penalty, Supporters, Opponents See Risk of Executing the Innocent

4/16/2015

The share supporting the death penalty has declined six percentage points, from 62%, since 2011. Throughout much of the 1980s and 90s, support for the death penalty often surpassed 70%. In a 1996 survey, 78% favored the death penalty, while just 18% were opposed.
71% of Americans now say there is some risk that an innocent person will be put to death. Only about a quarter (26%) say there are adequate safeguards in place to make sure that does not happen.

Read Article: Less Support for Death Penalty, Especially Among Democrats Supporters, Opponents See Risk of Executing the Innocent

EXONERATIONS OF THE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED HIT RECORD HIGH IN THE US IN 2014

1/30/2015

The number of U.S. criminals exonerated in 2014 climbed to a record high of 125, in part because of efforts by prosecutors willing to admit their offices made mistakes, according to a report just released.

Of the total known exonerations in 2014, more than half were obtained at the initiative or with the cooperation of law enforcement - the highest number in a single year, the report found.

Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim, whose office covers the northern suburbs of Chicago, started an independent panel made up of retired judges, defense and civil rights attorneys to review cases. He said prosecutors should be leading the charge against wrongful convictions.

"We're all on the same side - no prosecutor wants to wrongfully convict somebody," said Nerheim. "We all want the truth."

Read full Huffington Post Article

More Prisoners Were Found Wrongfully Convicted in 2014 Than Ever Before

Less Support for Death Penalty, Supporters, Opponents See Risk of Executing the Innocent

EXONERATIONS OF THE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED HIT RECORD HIGH IN THE US IN 2014

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