The “New Civil Rights”? Examining Innocence as a Social Movement

• In Event: Miscarriages of Justice: New Perspectives on Innocence Issues

Abstract

The recent push to exonerate innocent prisoners, increase awareness about wrongful convictions, and reform practices to prevent their occurrence has prompted some to declare that a full-blown innocence “movement” or “revolution” is occurring. Most dramatically, innocence has been referred to as a “new civil rights movement,” yet scholars have not fully examined its history. Drawing on frameworks from social movement research and sociolegal studies, this paper explores whether innocence is truly a social movement, as well as its emergence and development as a key reform issue in the United States.

Author

• Robert Norris, University at Albany, SUNY