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Human Rights Research Center

The Human Rights Violation of Wrongful Convictions in the U.S.

Author: Ava Pakosta

November 14, 2024


[Image credit: Innocence Project]

Introduction


On April 19th, 1989, at around 9:00 p.m., a young White woman named Patricia, or “Trisha,” Meili was jogging through Central Park in New York City when she was brutally attacked. After hitting her over the head and dragging her 300 feet from the road, Trisha’s attacker beat her until she was unconscious and then sexually assaulted her. Around 1:30 a.m. the following day, Patricia Meili was discovered fighting for her life in a ravine after losing approximately 80% of her blood. Five Black and Hispanic teenage boys, known as the “Central Park Five,” were taken into custody for Meili’s attack and charged with a number of crimes including rape, assault, robbery, attempted murder, and rioting. Each served five to 13 years in prison until DNA evidence set them free in 2002. The “Central Park Five” is one of many cases throughout U.S. history in which a person—or in this case five—was imprisoned for a crime they did not commit. When someone is factually innocent of the crime they have been charged with, it is classified as a wrongful conviction. A conviction may also be considered wrongful if procedural errors occur that violate the convicted person’s rights. Although we do not know the exact number of wrongful convictions, research has estimated that under 5% of all convictions are wrongful.

 

Reasons Why Wrongful Convictions Occur


In recent years, most Americans have come to understand that our criminal justice system is flawed. Wrongful convictions are one of the major flaws and can have fatal consequences for not only the incarcerated individual, but also their family and friends, the victim(s) of the crime, and the criminal justice professionals involved in the case. To prevent the devastating effects of wrongful convictions, it is essential to understand the reasons why they occur. Eyewitness misidentification, forensic science limitations, and false confessions resulting from police misconduct are a few of these reasons.


  1. Eyewitness Misidentification

One of the most common causes of wrongful convictions is mistaken eyewitness identification. More than 75% of all known wrongful conviction cases are the result of eyewitness misidentification. When a crime occurs, eyewitnesses often have to rely on their memory to identify the perpetrator of the crime. However, human memory is malleable, especially when under stress. This can lead to gaps in the memory or the creation of false memories, leading the witness to believe an innocent person is guilty. The suggestiveness of the identification process may also contribute to eyewitness misidentification. When a law enforcement officer confirms a witness’s identification by praising them or thanking them for confirming suspicions, they are giving the witness a sense of confidence in their identification, even if it is incorrect. This false confidence can cause the witness to choose the incorrect individual, resulting in a wrongful conviction. Improper lineup techniques used by law enforcement officers can also mislead witnesses and lead to mistaken identifications resulting in wrongful convictions. Some examples include making the suspect stand out among the other individuals in the line-up, putting the same suspect in repeated identification procedures, or using show-ups, where only one suspect is shown to the eyewitness.


  1. Forensic Science Limitations

In criminal investigations, DNA evidence can be a powerful tool. Through biological materials such as blood, saliva, or semen, it can place the perpetrator at the scene of the crime. However, DNA evidence is just one piece of the puzzle and should not be solely relied upon for conviction. Our DNA is 99.1% identical, with the remaining 0.1% making us unique from other humans. This 0.1% can be used to create a DNA profile, which can then be compared to samples found at the crime scene. However, very few crime scenes contain sufficient biological evidence for DNA profiling and those that do often are left with damaged DNA evidence or DNA that was deposited at the crime scene either before or after the crime took place, sometimes even through secondary transfer. Therefore, DNA profiles should be examined with the likelihood ratio, which compares the likelihood of the DNA coming from the suspect vs. the likelihood of the DNA coming from another individual. According to a study from the University of California referenced in an article by JSTOR, “telling a jury it is implausible that anyone besides the suspect would have the same DNA test results is seldom, if ever, justified.” Additionally, the analysis of forensic evidence is prone to human error and deceit. Forensic scientists have made mistakes that failed to adhere to appropriate scientific procedures, and at times have even fabricated results to fit the prosecution’s theory of the case. All of these shortcomings regarding forensic evidence can lead to an innocent person being convicted of a crime that they did not commit. However, there have been significant developments within the forensic science field throughout the years and although it has led to wrongful convictions in the past, it has also led to the exoneration of hundreds of innocent defendants.

 

  1. False Confessions Resulting From Police Misconduct

Although it might be very hard to believe that an innocent person would confess to a crime they did not commit, it happens more often than we think. Along with eyewitness misidentification, false confessions are one of the most common causes of wrongful convictions. There are a number of reasons why false confessions occur, but in most cases, innocent people confess due to coercive interrogation tactics used by police. These tactics include psychological manipulation, promises of leniency, threats of harsher treatment, and more. Even if these tactics are not present, the police interrogation may still be considered psychologically coercive if the suspect perceives that he or she has no choice but to comply. Vulnerable populations, such as youth, are more susceptible to interrogation pressure and therefore are more likely to confess to a crime they did not commit. Out of the 375 DNA exonerations in the U.S. that took place from 1989 to 2020, 29% involved false confessions and 49% of the false confessors were 21 years old or younger at the time of the arrest. For example, all of the “Central Park Five” boys confessed to the rape and murder of Patricia Meili after withstanding hours and hours of interrogation by the police. Post-interrogation, they recanted their confessions, stating that they only confessed because the police promised the boys that they could go home afterward. Besides coercive police interrogations, high stress levels, mental exhaustion, and sleep deprivation can also contribute to false confessions.

 

Race and Wrongful Convictions


It is a well-known fact that our criminal justice system in the U.S. has been plagued by racial biases for decades, and the racial disproportionality in wrongful conviction cases supports this fact. Despite only accounting for 13.6% of the American population, Black people made up 53% of the 3,200 exonerations listed in the National Registry of Exonerations in 2022. Black Americans are also seven times more likely than White Americans to be falsely convicted of serious crimes. Looking specifically at homicide exonerations in the U.S., the number of Black exonerees compared to White is higher for all but a few years.


Figure 1: Number of Murder Exonerations by Year of Conviction and Race of Defendant

[Image credit: “Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States 2022”]

In June of 2024, the United Nations spoke out about systemic racism and police misconduct leading to wrongful convictions in Chicago, Illinois. Many people of color, some of whom were children at the time, were arrested without reasonable cause and coerced into signing confessions to serious crimes in the city of Chicago. U.N. experts said that “these confessions, as well as broader systemic racism and police misconduct in Chicago’s criminal justice system, have reportedly resulted in many wrongful convictions and wrongful incarcerations of individuals.” Unfortunately, Chicago is not the only city in the U.S. with this issue. Systemic racism and police misconduct resulting in wrongful convictions exist in cities throughout the country. 

 

The Connection Between Wrongful Convictions and Human Rights


Wrongful convictions are not only a threat to our criminal justice system but also a grave infringement of human rights. When someone is imprisoned for a crime that they did not commit, they are deprived of several fundamental human rights, including the right to liberty, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, and the right to freedom from arbitrary detention. Furthermore, the individual who truly committed the crime is free to victimize others. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, the average time spent in prison for exonerees is just over nine years. However, many exonerees have spent much more time behind bars. Glynn Simmons, an American man who was falsely convicted of murder and sentenced to death, spent 48 years in prison before he was released in 2023 at the age of 70. This is the longest wrongful conviction in U.S. history to date. Simmons was deprived of his right to freedom and quality of life when he was just 22 years old. He was not able to spend quality time with his loved ones other than through supervised prison visits. He was forced to let go of all the hopes and dreams that he had for his future. He could not even do an activity as simple as taking a walk out in nature. Whether it is five years or 50, no innocent person should ever have these rights taken away from them for the crime of another.


Glynn Simmons in 2024 [Image credit: The Guardian]

International organizations have acknowledged wrongful convictions and stated that they violate both human rights and the rule of law. The Human Rights Committee has touched on wrongful convictions and the death penalty, claiming that executing those who have been sentenced without proving their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life. In general comment no. 36 on article six of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Human Rights Committee said that “States parties must take all feasible measures in order to avoid wrongful convictions in death penalty cases.” To do this, they claim that States should re-examine past convictions by looking at new evidence, such as new DNA evidence, and consider looking at studies focusing on false confessions and mistaken eyewitness identification. Article nine of the ICCPR also relates to wrongful convictions, stating that “anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.” In August of 2024, the City of Edmond, Oklahoma agreed to pay Glynn Simmons $7.15 million in restitution. Glynn plans to use this compensation to help others start a new life after getting out of prison. However, no amount of money will ever make up for the time Glynn and others who have been wrongfully convicted have lost. 

 

How Can We Fix This Issue?


Exonerating those in prison who are innocent and preventing future wrongful convictions from occurring are some of the most important ways in which we can combat this issue. Despite the movement against wrongful convictions, many criminal justice agencies continue to operate in ways that could potentially result in a wrongful conviction. As Gould and Leo put it, our criminal justice system in America “too often lacks the ability to reflect on its own shortcomings and correct them.” In order for this to change, criminal justice professionals, policymakers, and politicians must be open to reviewing research findings and be willing to adopt new measures in light of this research. They must also hold those who have committed official misconduct accountable for their actions. Some prosecutor's offices have set up Conviction Integrity Units, which seek to prevent, identify, and remedy wrongful convictions. These units are a step in the right direction, but there is still much more reform needed.


The Innocence Network, an informal coalition of independent innocence organizations, is dedicated to combating and preventing wrongful convictions. The majority of the organizations involved are based in the United States, but there are some overseas members as well. These innocence organizations provide legal representation to people who have been wrongfully convicted and advocate for reforming our criminal legal system. A few of them also offer support to exonerees through reentry programs. One of these organizations, the Innocence Project, has helped exonerate over 250 innocent people from prison through their work. Many of these exonerations would not have been possible without DNA testing, which has played a crucial role in proving that those who had been wrongfully convicted were innocent of the charges against them.

 

Conclusion


In September of 2024, Marcellus Williams was put to death by the State of Missouri despite objections from the victim’s family and the prosecutor on the case, who wanted the death sentence to be changed to life in prison. Williams was convicted of killing Lisha Gayle, who was stabbed during a burglary of her home in St. Louis in 1998. There were multiple holes in the case proving Williams’s innocence, including no DNA evidence linking him to the crime scene, a racially biased jury, and unreliable witnesses. Innocent people spending years in prison, or in the case of Marcellus Williams, being executed, is a human rights violation. We cannot let this miscarriage of justice keep happening in our country. 


Fortunately, much progress has been made towards freeing those who have been wrongfully convicted. Thanks to organizations dedicated to freeing the innocent and preventing wrongful convictions, the number of exonerations in the U.S. has skyrocketed since 1998.


Figure 2: Number of Exonerations in the U.S. by Year

[Image credit: The National Registry of Exonerations]

With this type of progress, there is a glimmer of hope for those who have been wrongfully convicted. Huwe Burton, who was coerced into falsely confessing to killing his mother at age 16, was exonerated after spending 19 years in prison. His advice to other innocent people in prison is:

 

“Don’t stop. Don’t give up. Continue to fight. Don’t lay down. The moment you lay down — that’s when it’s over.” – Huwe Burton

 

Glossary


  • Arbitrary detention: the act of detaining a person without legal justification or due process.

  • Conviction integrity unit (CIU): a division of a prosecutorial office that works to prevent, identify, and remedy wrongful convictions. 

  • DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and functioning of an organism.

  • DNA profile: a unique pattern of DNA that identifies an individual.

  • DNA profiling: a forensic technique that analyzes an individual’s unique DNA patterns, allowing for identification by comparing their DNA to a sample found at a crime scene.

  • Exoneration: a legal declaration that a person who was previously convicted of a crime is innocent.

  • False memory: a recollection of an event that is either fabricated or distorted; memories that differ from how the event actually happened.

  • Jury: a body of people (typically 12) sworn to give a verdict in a legal case on the basis of evidence submitted to them in court.

  • Likelihood ratio: a statistical measure that compares the probability of observing a DNA match if a suspect is the source of the evidence, to the probability of that match occurring if the source is from someone else in the population.

  • Malleable (in regards to human memory): not fixed; can be changed by new information or perceptions.

  • Reentry programs: services that help people reintegrate into society after being incarcerated.

  • Restitution: the act of compensating someone for a loss or injury, or restoring something to its rightful owner.

  • Secondary transfer: when DNA is transferred from one person or object to another through an intermediary.


 

Sources


  1. Behrouzfard, N.R. (2006). Strengths, Limitations, and Controversies of DNA Evidence. HeinOnline. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/sonengrs1&div=8&id=&page= 

  2. Elster, N. (2017, December, 6). How Forensic DNA Evidence Can Lead to Wrongful Convictions. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/forensic-dna-evidence-can-lead-wrongful-convictions/ 

  3. General Assembly Resolution 2200A (XXI). (1966, December 16). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights 

  4. Gould, J. B., & Leo, R. A. (2010). One Hundred Years Later: Wrongful Convictions after a Century of Research. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 100(3). https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/231038604.pdf 

  5. Gross, S. R. et al. (2022, September). Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States. National Registry of Exonerations. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Race%20Report%20Preview.pdf 

  6. Harris, C. (2024, October 22). The Central Park 5: Where Are They Now? People. https://people.com/crime/the-central-park-five-where-they-are-now/ 

  7. How Eyewitness Misidentification Can Send Innocent People to Prison. (2020, April 15). The Innocence Project. https://innocenceproject.org/how-eyewitness-misidentification-can-send-innocent-people-to-prison/ 

  8. Lieb, D.A., & Salter, J. (2024, September 24). Missouri Executes a Man for the 1998 Killing of a Woman Despite Her Family’s Calls to Spare His Life. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/missouri-execution-marcellus-williams-8be20e2f252992610a30fa0cfef4185a 

  9. UCI Newkirk Center for Science and Society, Michigan State University College of Law, & University of Michigan Law School. (2024, March 18). 2023 Annual Report. The National Registry of Exonerations. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/2023%20Annual%20Report.pdf 

  10. United Nations Human Rights Committee. (2019, September 3). General Comment No. 36 on Article 6: Right to Life. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, CCPR/C/GC/36. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general-comment-no-36-article-6-right-life 

  11. United States. Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice. (2023, December). Wrongful Convictions: The Literature, the Issues, and the Unheard Voices. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/251446.pdf 

  12. United States: U.N. Experts Urge Action to Address Lives Stolen By Systemic Racist Police Violence in Chicago. (2024, June 3). OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/06/united-states-un-experts-urge-action-address-lives-stolen-systemic-racist

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