The Long Road to Freedom: Disparities in Exoneration in the United States, 1989-2015

• In Event: Explorations of Political Economy

Abstract

Scholarly interest on exoneration has expanded dramatically in the last decade. Little is known, however, about the timing of exoneration. While the majority of exoneration research has focused on the factors causing wrongful incarceration and its consequences, this study analyzes the factors leading to an exoneree’s release. Our work builds on research examining patterns in wrongful incarceration and seeks to determine if these same legal and social dynamics remain present in the post-conviction process. Our analysis uses 1,737 individuals who were exonerated in the United States between 1989 and 2015, collected by The National Registry of Exonerations. We estimate a mixed-effects cox proportional hazards model, showing significant state-level variability in the timing of exoneration. The results also demonstrate that whites are exonerated significantly more rapidly than minorities, while men are exonerated more slowly than women. DNA evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, perjury, and having an inadequate legal defense all lengthened the time to exoneration, suggesting that even the presence of objective evidence of innocence is insufficient to accelerate the process of release.

Authors

• Patrick Rafail, Tulane University

• Margaret Mahoney, Tulane University