What can we do?

It's the final week of the open online course I've been taking for the past two months or so, and they've centered this week around how we can change the current climate that fosters wrongful conviction, and also how we can right the wrongs already caused by our criminal justice system. I think these are important considerations and I'd like to share them with you all! After all, we've thus far talked a lot about how horrific wrongful conviction can be for its victims and what factors can lead to wrongful conviction, but an important question still remains: How can we begin to solve the epidemic of wrongful conviction? 

Education

The media should take a critical role in examining and bringing attention to wrongful conviction causes and proceedings. 

Individuals should promote awareness because too commonly the public likes to believe that wrongful conviction could not and does not happen. In order for us to seriously combat wrongful conviction, awareness is crucial. Throughout the process of spreading awareness, sharing the stories of exonerees is also critical. 

The public can play an important role in helping fund Innocence Projects. 

Clemency

There are some cases where a client is innocent, but legal pathways have been exhausted. For example, some individuals have been found innocent but remain in prison on technicalities (ie., they didn't file paperwork on time). In such cases, clemency is often the final option. Clemency is when a Governor officially pardons a prisoner. Oftentimes in order for clemency to be granted, lots of media and public attention and support is needed so that Governors are pressured to act. Public support is especially crucial for gathering signatures on petitions urging clemency.  

Death Penalty and the Innocence Movement 

In the context of the large number of exonerations of inmates serving time on death row, capital punishment is being reexamined in the context of its capacity for error.  Is it worth the risk having the death penalty as a standard policy if there is a very real possibility that the individual sentenced to death is actually innocent? 

Radley Balko writes for the Huffington Post in 2013: "In a report released last month, the Death Penalty Information Center found that 2 percent of counties, as well as being responsible for a majority of executions, can also claim credit for 56 percent of the current death row population. What's more, just 15 percent of U.S. counties account for all of the executions since 1976, according to the DPIC." To date, the Death Penalty Information Center lists 150 individuals who have been freed from death row since 1973. DNA was a substantial factor in 20 of these cases. See the full list here. 

Policy and Legal Implications 

The following list summarizes some policy changes that could help combat wrongful conviction:

1. Giving judges more discretion in the context of mandatory minimum sentencing (ex: Smarter Sentencing Act) 

2. Double-blind photo or suspect line-ups

a. We also must ensure that witnesses are told that the suspect may not be in a line-up when they are asked to identify using a line-up 

3. Video recording of witness interviews and suspect interrogations   

4. Mandatory and enforceable standards for evidence preservation

5. Bringing more attention to unique issues of race, ethnicity, class and how they impact criminal justice proceedings 

6. More efficient, easier systems of being released and compensated after the case has been overturned. 

7. Scrutiny of forensic science: only scientifically accepted and sound science should be admissible in criminal cases. Some examples of scientific methods that would not meet these standards include bite mark analysis, comparative hair analysis, shoe print analysis, etc. 

8. Ensuring that inmates have access to DNA testing when they claim innocence. 

9. Ensuring that rebuttal experts are more accessible to public defenders and defendants with limited resources.  

10. Ensuring adequate resources for public defenders' offices (especially resources for investigation).

11. Implementing government programs tasked with reviewing convictions (ex: Conviction Integrity Units). 

The list above is certainly not inclusive of all the things that can and should be to fight wrongful conviction in the U.S., and I would like to post an expanded list later. 

The Innocence Movement is an integral part of maintaining the "justice" part of the criminal justice system. If you want to get involved, there is a multitude of ways you can do so. From donating money, to holding a fundraiser, to contacting government officials, to volunteering technical expertise, to signing clemency petitions, to spreading awareness about wrongful conviction, to helping exonerees, to writing letters to the editor, grassroots initiatives are what keep the movement going and what can truly create lasting change. If you want to be involved but don't know how, let me know.