Years lost: Factors contributing to how long the wrongfully convicted are incarcerated before being exonerated.

• In Event: Prison Legacies from the Past & Present

Abstract

The National Registry of Exonerations states that since 1989, 3,487 people have been exonerated for crimes they did not commit. The growing number of exonerations each year necessitates a change in criminal procedure and research in law and science. The Registry makes the claim that 31,700 years have been lost in the lives of people being wrongfully convicted, with the longest prison time of an exoneree being 48 years. The main reasons for wrongful convictions have received significant attention from the research community in recent years. The case studies in the National Registry of Exonerations show that interrelated themes often influence the wrongful conviction. However, the question remains of why there is such a drastic variation between the length of time wrongfully convicted persons will be incarcerated before being exonerated. This paper investigates the different factors that contributes to the length of incarceration of the innocent. It utilizes the information from the National Registry of Exonerations, examining similarities between the wrongful conviction process and the length of time served. Further policy implications will be discussed.

Author

• Belinda Latsky-Campbell, Texas A&M International University