The sheer number of wrongful convictions in the United States come from the many varied reasons these sentences are passed in the first place. There are a variety of causes of wrongful convictions, and this post will serve as an overview for the prominent ones that impact many cases and people. There will be separate posts made to explore each of these in greater detail, as there are many nuances involved in these causes.
One of the largest factors stems from race. In an article written by CBS, author Erin Moriarity writes: “Nationwide, 3,600 people have been exonerated since 1989; 68 percent are people of color.” Specifically, many of these people are black men. The racial bias that existed decades ago continues to permeate this country, down to its legal system. Judges and prosecutors are more inclined to offer longer sentences and convict people of color. This bias allows many people of color to be wrongfully accused.
In a similar vein, socioeconomic background is another factor that affects wrongful convictions. Many from a lower-class background do not have the resources to hire private defenders. Instead, they rely on public defenders given to them by the state. Though competent, these public defenders often have many cases on their plate, which forces them to split their time and attention up across cases. People from lower-class backgrounds are then left without proper legal attention, allowing small facts to slip through and ultimately a wrongful conviction. This pattern allows those from a lower-class background to consistently be wrongfully convicted.
There are also intentional reasons people are wrongfully convicted. Commonly in these cases, there is outside tampering. This includes, but is not limited to, tampering with evidence and creating false testimony. Especially for prosecutors, this allows the case to be heard smoothly – for it to be open and shut without much pushback. With the seemingly overwhelming evidence, judges do not look too closely, or perhaps they do not want to.
Even when new facts and evidence is discovered, our country’s legal system makes it difficult for cases to be reheard. For example, in the case of the Savannah 3, “Even after James White admitted he lied about the identification at trial, the men remained in prison, until December 20, 2017.” Just like public defenders, courts are often overflowing with new cases and do not have time to review old cases. Some courts even have quotas on how many they can review. This difficult process makes it incredibly difficult for wrongfully convicted persons to get the freedom they deserve, and oftentimes results in them giving up.
Youth For Innocence aims to address some of these problems. By reviewing testimonies and other documents, fact-checking every piece of information, and interviewing witnesses, the organization hopes to find gaps in logic, mistakes looked over while the case was being heard. With this evidence, cases can be reheard and the wrongfully convicted can be freed. If you are interested in helping with this cause, check out the organization’s ‘Get Involved’ page.
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