1. Wrongful Convictions: New Solution to an Old Problem
Jessie Russell
Journalism
Advisor: Professor Rachel Somerstein
Fall 2018

2. Wrongful Convictions What are they? Examples? Who are exonerees?
What are the data?

3. 2018
1989
Exonerations by year and type of crime. Retrieved from:

4. 2,310 exonerations in the United States since 1989
20, total years lost
8.8 years lost on average per case
Exonerations in the United States. (n.d.) Retrieved from

5. Exonerations per state
Amount of Exonerations Across the United States
271​
238
202
353
Exonerations per state
Exonerations By State. (n.d.) Retrieved from

6. Crime Type for the country
894 murder cases
321 sexual assault cases
263 child sex abuse cases
265 drug cases
119 robbery cases
448 other cases
Exonerations in United States. (n.d.) Retrieved from

7. United States​ 2316 total exonerations​ ​ Perjury: 58% or 1,333 cases​
Official Misconduct: 52% or 1201 cases​
False or Misleading Forensic Evidence: 24% or 550 cases​
False Confession: 12% or 286 cases​
Mistaken Witness ID: 29% or 669 cases​
Percent of Exonerations by Contributing Factor. (n.d.) Retrieved from:

8. 2,099 cases male 211 cases female
Exonerations By State. (n.d.) Retrieved from

9. 271 exonerations in New York since 1989 2,592 years lost
9.6 years lost average/case
Exonerations By State. (n.d.) Retrieved from

10. Central Park Five

11. Central Park Five April 19, 1989
Five young teenagers convicted for the rape and assault of Trisha Meili.
Salaam claimed the interrogators deprived him and the other teens of food, drink and sleep for over 24 hours.
Inconsistencies within the confessions and no physical evidence tying them to the crime scene.

12. Antron McCray
12.3 years lost
8/15/1990
12/19/2002

13. Raymond Santana Jr.
12.3 years lost
8/15/1990
12/19/2002

14. Kevin Richardson
12 years lost
12/11/1990
12/19/2002

15. Yusef Salaam
12.3 years lost
8/15/1990
12/19/2002

16. Korey Wise
12 years lost
12/11/1990
12/19/2002

17. Murder 119 cases Sexual Assault 35 cases Child Sex Abuse 19 cases
Drugs
11 cases
Robbery
21 cases
Other
66 cases
Exonerations By State.. (n.d.) Retrieved from

18. 255 cases male 16 cases female
Exonerations in United States. (n.d.) Retrieved from

19. Percent of Crime Pertaining to Sexual Assault in country
Of the 321 sexual assault cases across the country:
67% cases
42% cases
38% cases
30% 96 cases
8% 26 cases
Percent of Exonerations by Contributing Factor. (n.d.) Retrieved from:

20. Race and wrongful conviction

21. Race in New York Black 141 cases 52% White 72 cases 27% Hispanic
19%
Other
6 cases 2%
Exonerations in United States. (n.d.) Retrieved from

22. Race in Country White 897 cases 39% Black 1,078 cases 47% Hispanic
12%
Other
55 cases 2%
Percent of Exonerations by Contributing Factor. (n.d.) Retrieved from:

23. What is being done to prevent wrongful convictions?
Commission on prosecutorial misconduct
Knowledge
Racial bias

25. So what? What are the stakes?
Is this commission going to prevent wrongful convictions?
What is to be learned?

26. Sources
Shoutout to Katherine Judson, Scott McNamara, James Acker, the Central Park Five and especially Professor Somerstein!
Armstrong, K., & Possley, M. (2009, August 18). Part 1: The verdict: Dishonor. Retrieved from
Flynn, M. (2018, November 30). Mystery writers group rescinds award from sex crimes prosecutor over her role in Central Park Five rape case. Retrieved from prosecutor-over-her-role-central-park-five-rape-case/?utm_term=.7e75c3af1964
Joy, P. A. (2006). The Relationship Between Prosecutorial Misconduct and Wrongful Convictions: Shaping Remedies for a Broken System. SSRN Electronic Journal, 06(11), 05th ser.
Mueller, B., Weiser, B., & Greenberg, Z. (2018, July 20). City Releases Trove of Documents in Central Park Jogger Case. Retrieved from
National Registry of Exonerations Data. (n.d.). Retrieved from