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It is difficult to express the pattern of wrongful prosecution and measure the problem's rise or contraction. This is attributed to the inevitable assumption that if the defendant was eventually exonerated by the very system that was responsible for the original mistake, a false conviction can only be unambiguously known to have taken place. Indeed a "not guilty" appeal decision does not necessarily equate into innocence (Huff, 2002). Before Professor Edward Borchard of Yale University published his book Convicting the Innocent in 1932, which recorded 65 such cases, discussed the legal roots of abortion, and gave recommendations for improvement, research into false convictions was basically nonexistent. Numerous scholars conducted case studies and reported results in subsequent decades that indicated that false prosecution was a systemic issue within the American judicial process.

Wrongful conviction- is a person who is, in fact, innocent, but who has been wrongly convicted by a jury, judge, or other court of law.

A conviction may be classified as wrongful for two reasons:

1. The person convicted is factually innocent of the charges.

2. There were procedural errors that violated the convicted person's rights.

According to the Innocence Project the six contributing factors for wrongful convictions are

1.Eyewitness misidentification.

2.False confessions or admissions.

3.Government misconduct.

4.inadequate defense.

5. Informants (ex: snitches)

6. Unvalidated or improper forensic science.

DNA can be used to exonerate individuals, it can often be used to prove that the person accused could not have committed the crime. The first DNA exoneration occurred August 14,1989 in Chicago relating to the case involving Gary Dotson.

According to the Innocence project there have only been 375 exonerations conducted.

A DNA exoneration occurs when a person who has been convicted of a crime is officially cleared based on post-conviction DNA testing (Innocence,2020)

180 of the DNA exonerees (50%) had the real perpetrator(s) identified in their cases [as of August 22, 2018]

Before DNA exoneration, there were ways of finding wrongful convictions, but this is the most effective way. Just imagine the lives that are being put on hold for a crime they didn’t commit. DNA testing has helped to determine the guilt or innocence of perpetrators in capital cases. “DNA exonerations do not solve the problem—they provide scientific proof of its existence, and they illuminate the need for reform.” The Innocence Project website says.

Case 1: Timothy Bridges

Timothy Bridges

In 1991 Timothy Bridges was wrongfully convicted of rape and burglary, and sentenced to life in in prison due to an inaccurate testimony by an FBI trained agent.This conviction occurred after Modine Wise was found by her daughter-in-law, beaten in her home in North Charlotte. Modine denied that she was raped, and there was a bloody fingerprint that was found not to have belonged to Bridges at the crime scene. After a numerous amount of wrong testimony cases involving microscopic hair analysis, about 96% of cases were inaccurate. The Innocence Project then decided to look into Timothy Bridges' case in 2015. After reviewing his case, and the discovery of evidence that was illegally brought into the case, Bridges was exonerated on February 16, 2016 after serving 25 years in prison.

Case 2: William Barnhouse

In December 1992, Barnhouse was convicted of rape on April 21,1992 that happened behind a vacant building in Muncie, Indiana. At trial, the prosecution relied on the victim identification of the perpetrator. Although Barnhouse maintained that he was mistakenly identified, he was convicted and sentenced to 80 years in prison. After DNA testing the sperm that was identified on the vagina swabs, and jeans did not belong to Barnhouse. A Delaware County Judge reversed Barnhouse's convictions on March 8, 2017, and the court released him immediately to a supportive housing program where he was accepted and where he could receive the mental health services that he needs.

Without this testing many would still be sitting in jail for crimes they did not commit.

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Gerard Richardson was released in October 2014 after serving 19 years in prison for murder before DNA evidence proved his innocence. He was conivcted in New Jeresey of the 1994 murder of 19-year-old Monica Reyes based on the testimony of a forensic dentist who testified that Richardson’s teeth matched a bite mark found on the victim’s body. But new DNA testing of a swab taken from the bite mark excluded Richardson as the source which pointed the finger to another male suspect.

Daniel Taylor, who was exonerated and released from prison in June of 2014, filed a lawsuit in February against the city of Chicago and eight detectives and patrol officers for their role in arresting and convicting him of a double murder in 1992. He was accused of murdering Jeffrey Lassiter and Sharon Haugabook, even though police records showed he was in custody at the time of the killings. Prosecutors worked hard to keep the conviction leveled as his attorneys and Chicago Tribune reporters continued to uncover evidence supporting his alibi. Which goes to show you the systemic racism that still occurs till this day. Even though there was evidence that there was no possible way for him to commit the crime the system still failed him because he was black.

After a fight broke out between black and white boys on a train traveling through Scottsboro, Alabama in  1931, police gathered up all the black boys riding on the train and ultimately arrested nine of them, ranging in age from 12 to 19. Two white girls then came forward alleging that they were gang raped on the train. All nine defendants proclaimed their innocence. But after four separate one-day trials with all-white juries, eight of the nine were convicted and sentenced to death. Their appeals lasted more than 20 years. On retrial, one of the alleged victims testified that the rape had been fabricated, but still the jury gave guilty verdicts. In the end, after facing multiple retrials, all of the boys had their convictions dropped or were sentenced to lesser charges. The Alabama Legislature recently introduced a bill in 2014 to exonerate the nine Scottsboro Boys. Which demonstrates the prejudice that was upheld, because even after one of the “rape victims” attested that the rape was fabricted they were still sentetced to death.

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Wrongful convictions still exist. In 1980, Malcom Alexander was arrested for rape as a result of an uncertain identification from the victim. Even though he was facing life without parole, Malcolm’s paid defense attorney failed to present an effective defense which neglected  to make an opening statement or cross-examine witnesses. Malcolm was just 21 years old and the father of a two-year-old when he was convicted at a trial.Malcolm has always maintained his innocence, but in 2018 the Innocence Project’s investigation indicated that most of the crime scene evidence was destroyed shortly after trial. Years later, evidence was discovered and DNA testing conducted that Malcom didn’t commit the crime.

Brendon Bernard was executed on Thursday, December 10th 2020 for the murder of an Iowa couple. Although he commited the crime, because of his skin color he didn’t have a chance to survive. Likewise to the majority of wrongful convictions, they are black men and women. The struggle they had to go through to get their conviction overturned was hard. Donald Trump could have pardoned him, but he didn’t. But if it was a white man, roles would have been reversed.
Programs such as the Innocence project have helped many people get their lives back with the help of DNA testing. Correcting and preventing wrongful convictions will help us change our corrupt justice system and help Americans learn to embrace once again the concept of “innocent until proven guilty”.

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Wrongful Conviction: Jimmy Dennis Was Sentenced to Death | NowThis

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“DNA as an Exoneration Tool.” Findlaw, 20 Feb. 2019, criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/dna-as-an-exoneration-tool.html.

“DNA's Revolutionary Role in Freeing the Innocent in the U.S.” Innocence Project, 1 May 2019, innocenceproject.org/dna-revolutionary-role-freedom/.

“First DNA Exoneration.” Northwestern Pritzker Law, www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/il/gary-dotson.html.

History.com Editors. “Scottsboro Boys.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 Feb. 2018, www.history.com/topics/great-depression/scottsboro-boys.

Project, Innocence. “All Cases.” Innocence Project, 3 Apr. 2019, innocenceproject.org/all-cases/.

“Wrongful Convictions.” National Institute of Justice, nij.ojp.gov/topics/justice-system-reform/wrongful-convictions.

Huff, C. R. (2002). Wrongful conviction and public policy: The American Society of Criminology 2001 Presidential address. Criminology, 40(1), 1-18.