According to a new report from the National Registry of Exonerations, more people in the United States were released from prison after wrongful convictions than any year in recorded history. While it is indeed great news that wrongfully convicted people are being released at a record pace, it's simultaneously discouraging because it's also proof of a broken system that is confidently sending innocent people to prison. We can only reasonably assume that every wrongfully convicted person isn't released and that our nation's prisons are populated with people who should've been sent there in the first place.
According to Mother Jones:
In 2014, 125 people across the United States who had been convicted of crimes were exonerated—the highest number ever recorded, according to a new report from the National Registry of Exonerations at the University of Michigan Law School. The 2014 number included 48 who had been convicted of homicide, 6 of whom were on death row awaiting execution. Ricky Jackson of Ohio spent 39 years behind bars, the longest known prison term for an exoneree, according to the NRE. Jackson was sentenced to death in 1975 after false testimony implicated him in a robbery-murder he did not commit. Texas led the nation with 39 exonerations; it is followed by New York (17), Illinois (7), and Michigan (7). The federal government exonerated eight people.
Sam Brodey of
Mother Jones goes on to detail why the numbers are up. ...
So, why was 2014 such a record year? There were 91 exonerations each in 2013 and 2012, previously the highest totals. The NRE points to the increasing number and competence of so-called conviction integrity units (CIUs), groups established by local prosecutors that "work to prevent, to identify and to remedy false convictions." The first CIU was established in California's Santa Clara County in 2002; now, there are 15 in operation, working in high-population areas such as Houston, Dallas, and Brooklyn. As CIUs have grown, so has their effectiveness in obtaining exonerations: In 2013, CIUs' work led to 7 exonerations; in 2014, they were responsible for 49.
For the full report, head below the fold.
Exonerations in 2014 Report