Reforming Innocence: The Politics of Wrongful Conviction Legislation

• In Event: Crime and Punishment

Abstract

Since the turn of the century, many states have adopted criminal justice reforms that aim to reduce wrongful convictions. Why are some governments seemingly more committed to reducing wrongful convictions than others? We address this question by looking across all 50 states from 1989 to 2018. We investigate the causes of wrongful conviction reforms in five critical areas: laws that allow inmates to seek post-conviction DNA testing, laws that require the preservation of DNA evidence, laws that require governments compensate wrongfully convicted persons, laws protecting the accused from false confessions, and laws reforming eyewitness procedures for police. We argue that the electoral vulnerability of state lawmakers and the presence and activity advocacy organizations, namely the Innocence Network, shape the adoption of these laws. We provide strong support for this argument using a series of growth curve and event history models. We also find evidence that states’ racial characteristics, the partisan composition of state governments and electorates, and public opinion drive wrongful conviction reforms.

Authors

• William D. Hicks, Appalachian State University

• Kevin J. Mullinix, University of Kansas