The first american on death row exonerated by dna evidence, kirk bloodsworth serves an inspiration to many of those who feel they have been wrongly convicted. The wrongfully convicted in this book were exonerated through the use of dna evidence. Five days to execution and other dispatches from the wrongly convicted, by barry scheck. Dna evidence exonerates new york city man for 1985 sex assault. As we enter an era in which dna evidence is routinely used in criminal investigations, errors that led to wrongful convictionsincluding mistakes later corrected with dna testsmay seem to be fading into history. At the heart of this book are several chilling stories of men wrongfully convicted and, after many years and much resistance from prosecutors and judges, exonerated by dna testing. Innocence projects wrongful conviction reading guide. These are mustread books, articles and media to expand your. The numbers provided to juries often overstate the evidence, and can result in a wrongful conviction. A total of 166 wrongly convicted people whose convictions date as far back as 1964 were declared innocent in 2016, according to a report from the national registry of exonerations released tuesday. We are dedicated to exposing the contamination of dna evidence that sent an innocent man to prison. There were many more great books on the issue in the 2000s than we. How texas is becoming the gold standard against wrongful. A discussion robert siegel leads a roundtable discussion of the legal issues surrounding exoneration, compensation and the use of dna evidence.
In one case mentioned in this book the dna evidence in the end cleared the initial suspect. Rivera was wrongfully convicted three times for the murder of staker, who was babysitting at a neighbors house when she was raped and murdered by an intruder. When the three men first imprisoned for her murder were found to have been wrongfully convicted, it seemed that her killer would go unpunished. Judge kozinski on wrongful convictions and excessively. How some see texas as the gold standard against wrongful convictions. Close to of them were exonerated by dna evidence, and the numbers of dna exonerees is growing as more states provide for postconviction dna testing. The case of charles chatman, the fifteenth man in dallas county, tx to be freed by dna evidence, serves as a prime example of wrongfully convicted exonerees and. Since the late 1980s, dna testing has exonerated more than 250 wrongly convicted people, who. The true story of the first death row inmate exonerated by dna.
Wrongfully convicted man wins pro boxing debut match a prosecutors job is. How forensic dna evidence can lead to wrongful convictions. Here are 25 wrongly convicted felons exonerated by dna evidence. The compensation laws for those who have been wrongfully imprisoned vary greatly from state to state. Jane mixers death and gary s life never had anything to do with each other. Only in recent years have eyewitness identification and testimony been forced to meet the test of dna. This book, written by tim junkin is great book of how an innocent man was held in prison for nine years, supposedly guilty of the rape and murder of dawn venice hamilton, a little girl. Its terrible to think that a person is wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for a good part. Dna evidence exonerates new york city man for 1985 sex. We will continue the appellate process to set him free. One of the most common causes of wrongful convictions is faulty. Dna exonerations in the united states innocence project. Exonerated tells the story of the innocence movement.
Top 10 books about miscarriages of justice books the guardian. Bloodworth was convicted of the brutal rape and murder of a nineyear old girl. I hope you will be adding my non fiction book to your list. Bloodsworths story speaks for 159 others who were wrongly convicted and have since been released, and for the thousands still in prison waiting for dna testing. The book is more accessible than contributor hugo adam bedaus the death penalty in america lj 31597, the standard work in the field, and more pragmatic than austin sarats when the state kills lj 4101, which attacks the death penalty from a philosophical and moral perspective.
Abundance of dna evidence not enough to prevent wrongful. These are firstperson case histories of wrongfully convicted innocents who were sent to prison because of faulty eyewitness testimony, incompetent counsel, and tunnelvision law enforcement attitudes. Abundance of dna evidence not enough to prevent wrongful convictions. Morton was convicted in 1987 for the 1986 beating murder of his wife. However, new technology invented in 2002 was used to analyze dna found at the scene of the murder. Swabs were taken of a semen sample, but dna testing was not performed at the time. The association in defence of the wrongly convicted learned of the confession and took up the case.
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