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路人變被告：「走鐘」的刑事司法程序/Convicting the Innocent-Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong
On January 20, 1984, Earl Washington--defended for all of forty minutes by a lawyer who had never tried a death penalty case--was found guilty of rape and murder in the state of Virginia and sentenced to death. After nine years on death row, DNA testing cast doubt on his conviction and saved his life. However, he spent another eight years in prison before more sophisticated DNA technology proved his innocence and convicted the guilty man.
DNA exonerations have shattered confidence in the criminal justice system by exposing how often we have convicted the innocent and let the guilty walk free. In this unsettling in-depth analysis, Brandon Garrett examines what went wrong in the cases of the first 250 wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated by DNA testing.
Based on trial transcripts, Garrett's investigation into the causes of wrongful convictions reveals larger patterns of incompetence, abuse, and error. Evidence corrupted by suggestive eyewitness procedures, coercive interrogations, unsound and unreliable forensics, shoddy investigative practices, cognitive bias, and poor lawyering illustrates the weaknesses built into our current criminal justice system. Garrett proposes practical reforms that rely more on documented, recorded, and audited evidence, and less on fallible human memory.
Very few crimes committed in the United States involve biological evidence that can be tested using DNA. How many unjust convictions are there that we will never discover? "Convicting the Innocent" makes a powerful case for systemic reforms to improve the accuracy of all criminal cases.
DNA exonerations have shattered confidence in the criminal justice system by exposing how often we have convicted the innocent and let the guilty walk free. In this unsettling in-depth analysis, Brandon Garrett examines what went wrong in the cases of the first 250 wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated by DNA testing.
Based on trial transcripts, Garrett's investigation into the causes of wrongful convictions reveals larger patterns of incompetence, abuse, and error. Evidence corrupted by suggestive eyewitness procedures, coercive interrogations, unsound and unreliable forensics, shoddy investigative practices, cognitive bias, and poor lawyering illustrates the weaknesses built into our current criminal justice system. Garrett proposes practical reforms that rely more on documented, recorded, and audited evidence, and less on fallible human memory.
Very few crimes committed in the United States involve biological evidence that can be tested using DNA. How many unjust convictions are there that we will never discover? "Convicting the Innocent" makes a powerful case for systemic reforms to improve the accuracy of all criminal cases.
680 pages
First published April 4, 2011
43 people are currently reading
1031 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 11, 2011
This is an amazing book written by a UVA law professor who reviewed the first 250 cases in which people were exonerated after DNA testing confirmed they were not guilty. It is extremely well written, easy to read, organized, and compelling. Garrett points out problems with our criminal justice system that are systemic, and not limited to a small number of cases where convictions have been overturned. Like a police officer knowing who the suspect is in a lineup. Like not recording interrogations and confessions. Like allowing "expert" testimony by forensic experts in areas with virtually no scientific support (like identifying hair and bite marks). Regardless of your political persuasion or which side you're on if you do criminal law, this book is a must read. It is sobering and makes you want to make things better. Highly recommended.
December 31, 2012
Altered my world view
This book has shaken me and radically altered my world view. At fifty, it's rare to undergo such a paradigm shift, but this book has opened my eyes. Though I've nothing to do with our justice system (I'm an average Jane), I CANNOT recommend this book HIGHLY ENOUGH, I hope EVERYONE reads it.
I've gone through my life blissfully unaware of the inherent weaknesses of our justice system. I've trusted that our American courts are fair, that we are innocent until proven guilty, and that (virtually) all incarcerated convicts are guilty.
No longer. Brandon Garrett has laid out, step by step and case after case after case, how easily we can go wrong. I was struck especially by the fact that these horrific errors are often committed by upright and moral detectives, prosecutors and judges, who truly mean well and fully believe they're simply getting the perpetrator, and yet they are so wrong. Yet another example of, "The heart is deceitful above all else": We're (innocently) so sure we're right, and yet we MUST follow all the checks and balances regardless, because our strong "gut feelings" significantly influence us and yet could be SO WRONG and we'd not even know it... and the consequences are just too high.
I truly appreciate the author's work and hope we'll see change coming.
This book has shaken me and radically altered my world view. At fifty, it's rare to undergo such a paradigm shift, but this book has opened my eyes. Though I've nothing to do with our justice system (I'm an average Jane), I CANNOT recommend this book HIGHLY ENOUGH, I hope EVERYONE reads it.
I've gone through my life blissfully unaware of the inherent weaknesses of our justice system. I've trusted that our American courts are fair, that we are innocent until proven guilty, and that (virtually) all incarcerated convicts are guilty.
No longer. Brandon Garrett has laid out, step by step and case after case after case, how easily we can go wrong. I was struck especially by the fact that these horrific errors are often committed by upright and moral detectives, prosecutors and judges, who truly mean well and fully believe they're simply getting the perpetrator, and yet they are so wrong. Yet another example of, "The heart is deceitful above all else": We're (innocently) so sure we're right, and yet we MUST follow all the checks and balances regardless, because our strong "gut feelings" significantly influence us and yet could be SO WRONG and we'd not even know it... and the consequences are just too high.
I truly appreciate the author's work and hope we'll see change coming.
February 28, 2020
You know I didn't really like the book but I did learn a few things. Like that some juries are racist and that people have been convicted when they are innocent. I don't get it why so many people are just so wrong I mean seriously what is with these people this book really opened my eyes to what really happens in the court rooms.
I liked how much detail the author put in the book. You know it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
But it also had some problems because every good book has problems. For example in some parts it has a lot of information to take in. another problem is that it was a little bit scary in some parts. Another one of the problems was that it wasn't a direct story line so it was kind of for me to follow. I don't know about some other people. but some of the things of the things I like about it was every chapter there was a different story.
But also I like how the author took the time to do all that stuff but he did.
I liked how much detail the author put in the book. You know it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
But it also had some problems because every good book has problems. For example in some parts it has a lot of information to take in. another problem is that it was a little bit scary in some parts. Another one of the problems was that it wasn't a direct story line so it was kind of for me to follow. I don't know about some other people. but some of the things of the things I like about it was every chapter there was a different story.
But also I like how the author took the time to do all that stuff but he did.
March 20, 2013
Garrett's analysis of how innocent people end up on Death Row ought to be required reading for detectives, prosecutors and judges throughout the U.S. Particularly compelling is the fact that a significant percentage of these injustices result from false confessions, usually by young or mentally vulnerable suspects.
The catalogue of flawed investigations and dishonest police/prosecutor conduct found in these pages is sickening. In a nation where millions can invest themselves emotionally in the fate of someone like Casey Anthony, the widespread silence about an epidemic of wrongful convictions is deafening.
The catalogue of flawed investigations and dishonest police/prosecutor conduct found in these pages is sickening. In a nation where millions can invest themselves emotionally in the fate of someone like Casey Anthony, the widespread silence about an epidemic of wrongful convictions is deafening.
November 1, 2011
Highly informative and containing information every American should know, but reads like an academic paper. A dry academic paper. Definitely look up the stats, encourage better line up and interrogation procedures in your local law enforcement (double-blind sequential line-ups and videotaped interrogations to be more specific), lobby for tighter regulation/audits of forensic labs, and work to get more funding for public defenders.
February 28, 2020
The way I came upon the book was we were doing reading groups and the teacher gave us a couple books to pick what we want to read and the book Convicting the Innocent is the one with the most votes in our group so we read it.
The book Convicting the Innocent is about a lot of different but interesting crimes. All they talk about is how the crimes start and ends doesn’t really give us a timeline of the stuff. But also the book is about how messed up the justice system is and how many people get convicted for crimes they didn't do.
My reading experience if i'm being honest wasn’t that good the story was pretty good itself but it was too long and I never got any sleep because i stayed up all night reading it. The pages are too long. It took me a whole study hall to read 10 pages.
Well there wasn’t much for characters except for when It talked about people being arrested and taken to court. But the plot was just about all the crimes so the plot was pretty good because they were all kind of detailed and the writing style was good because it talked like a lawyer would.
The book's flaws are how it never talks about one thing it will be one topic then the next second it talks about something else. Also how it’s all about statistics and brings up stuff like percentages of crimes and DNA exoneration's which are confusing because there are so many.
My favorite part was the Gary Dotson case because it was most talked about. Also it was important in history because he was the first DNA exoneration.
I give the book a 3 and a half star because it’s a little confusing for my age but yet it can get interesting if you are older and understand more stuff.
February 28, 2020
I read this book for a reading group for my ELA class.
This book is about the first 250 exonerated by DNA testing, and what went wrong in the cases to cause them to be sent to jail wrongly.
It took me a while to read this book, the pages are pretty long. Sometimes the facts are a little overwhelming but some of them are really interesting.
I really find the subject of court interesting and this gives you a lot of information about the court cases. I like how the author would introduce you to a case then he comes back to that case to prove a point about what kind of flaw was made.
The only bad thing about the book is that sometimes there is a bit too much information and it can become overwhelming. But once you get past those points it becomes easier to read.
I think the most interesting fact in the book was defenitly the fact about stacked showups.
My star rating for this book would be a 4 out of 5 because again some parts in the book can be a bit overwhelming.
This book is about the first 250 exonerated by DNA testing, and what went wrong in the cases to cause them to be sent to jail wrongly.
It took me a while to read this book, the pages are pretty long. Sometimes the facts are a little overwhelming but some of them are really interesting.
I really find the subject of court interesting and this gives you a lot of information about the court cases. I like how the author would introduce you to a case then he comes back to that case to prove a point about what kind of flaw was made.
The only bad thing about the book is that sometimes there is a bit too much information and it can become overwhelming. But once you get past those points it becomes easier to read.
I think the most interesting fact in the book was defenitly the fact about stacked showups.
My star rating for this book would be a 4 out of 5 because again some parts in the book can be a bit overwhelming.
March 27, 2018
The excellent research and the discussion of past and present flaws in our criminal research system gave this the potential of a great book. I wanted to say that everyone should read this book, lawyers, judges, law students, and any one who cares about innocent people spending decades in prison or possibly executed. But the book suffered from a lack of good writing and editing, Frankly, it was tedious. Each chapter was like an undergraduate paper, first stating what it was going to show, then showing examples, and concluding by stating what it had shown. There were numerous repetitions, some of which had just been stated on the previous page. And it was very tiring to read time after time, “as I will show in Chapter 8,” etc. Five star potential and critical subject matter and research lost two stars for quality of writing and editing.
June 16, 2018
This book investigated the cases of 250 men convicted of crimes , sent to jail and later exonerated. The majority of the cases involved rape or sexual assault and the convicted were proven innocent with the use of DNA testing. The author offers a brief history of DNA and its development as a reliable investigative tool. It replaced the reliance on serology which was often unreliable.
The author then looks at what went wrong in these cases that allowed an innocent man be convicted. Several factors are discussed: confessions, witness identification, jailhouse snitches, faulty forensics, and inadequate representation at trial.
The book really causes one to question our justice system and how it operates. This is especially true for the indigent and minorities. The author does try to raise some hope that reform is on the way in the system, but slowly.
The author then looks at what went wrong in these cases that allowed an innocent man be convicted. Several factors are discussed: confessions, witness identification, jailhouse snitches, faulty forensics, and inadequate representation at trial.
The book really causes one to question our justice system and how it operates. This is especially true for the indigent and minorities. The author does try to raise some hope that reform is on the way in the system, but slowly.
November 2, 2019
A fantastic overview of the first 250 DNA exoneration cases. It can be heavy at times, lots of very specific and repetitive examples to illustrate systemic failures. However, there is also plenty of narrative to make for a very interesting read. The data are compelling, and the conclusions are troubling. Our legal and judicial systems, while having learned much from exonerations over the past 40 years, are improving (what leads to false convictions) at a snails pace. There are now 367 people that have been exonerated by DNA testing, 21 being saved from death row! There are many more systemic failures than DNA testing alone can solve. Crime labs being run by the police, false identification procedures, inadequate defense attorneys being appointed, and so on. Watch Making a Murderer or read Just Mercy for related content.
July 6, 2024
The book brings clarity of the poor analysis and judgment on the part of all elements of the judicial system (law enforcement, detective work, lawyers and judges and juries) which poorly considers all aspects of crimes, evidence, intent, and evidence. This book enunciates the poorly evaluated facts, the rush to judge, blame, and cover up - and all the damage it breeds.
The damage is felt mostly by those wrongly convicted and their spouses and children.
The book is well written and clear - some of the organization could have been better (hence 4 and not 5 star) but well worth reading.
The damage is felt mostly by those wrongly convicted and their spouses and children.
The book is well written and clear - some of the organization could have been better (hence 4 and not 5 star) but well worth reading.
November 27, 2020
Very informational- I would say this is a great reference book. There is no prose or plot but the book is divided into 9 chapters each highlighting a different failure of the criminal justice system that ends up convicting innocent persons and depriving them of their freedom. It is a great read for those who are interested in working with their local Innocence Project and those interested in criminal justice reform.
January 29, 2020
(not a review)
Presented in a style that reads like an expanded report or dissertation on a social science study. This style makes it dry and difficult to remain motivated about the material at times. However, of the cases of the individual exonerees detailed, each in its own right is a powerful story about the calibration of our justice system. Justice is not in a good place.
Presented in a style that reads like an expanded report or dissertation on a social science study. This style makes it dry and difficult to remain motivated about the material at times. However, of the cases of the individual exonerees detailed, each in its own right is a powerful story about the calibration of our justice system. Justice is not in a good place.
June 16, 2023
This is truly a fantastic non fiction book. The extent to which the author put into researching this topic is incredible. My only issue with it is that it read like and undergrad research paper - very redundant and didn’t flow super well. The information is sound, though, and definitely worth a read
April 2, 2023
Learn how broken our system is.
May 1, 2024
So important but SO infuriating and heartbreaking.
December 3, 2024
i really enjoyed all the case studies with the stories and the empirical data that was presented by garrett
February 22, 2025
MAE book #3. I thought it was fairly interesting even though it didn’t have much to do with the case I am working on
February 28, 2020
Ashley Beltran
Convicting The Innocent
BOOK REVIEW
I came to read this book from an english class. It was the one book we decided to pick out of a few others. I think it’s because it had so much appeal.
Convicting The Innocent is about different cases of crimes. But not the basic ones you see on TV, it’s all about people getting wrongfully convicted of crimes they didn’t commit to. It’s going through a wide range of crime cases, and about how there are flaws in the justice system.
I really enjoyed reading Convicting The Innocent, and I really believe it changed my views on the justice system entirely and I really hope that this book will be able to teach others about this problem too.
This book was good at explaining all the cases in the greatest amount of detail. I think it was very accurate with all the research as well.
I didn’t find any flaws in this book, I believe it grasped my attention and held onto it. It wa\as very intriguing and interesting for sure.
My favorite thing about this book was the tremendous amount of detail added to this book. Convicting The Innocent was a true masterpiece with the writing skills. I enjoyed reading it very much, and I think it’s one of the better books that I have read.
Convicting The Innocent
BOOK REVIEW
I came to read this book from an english class. It was the one book we decided to pick out of a few others. I think it’s because it had so much appeal.
Convicting The Innocent is about different cases of crimes. But not the basic ones you see on TV, it’s all about people getting wrongfully convicted of crimes they didn’t commit to. It’s going through a wide range of crime cases, and about how there are flaws in the justice system.
I really enjoyed reading Convicting The Innocent, and I really believe it changed my views on the justice system entirely and I really hope that this book will be able to teach others about this problem too.
This book was good at explaining all the cases in the greatest amount of detail. I think it was very accurate with all the research as well.
I didn’t find any flaws in this book, I believe it grasped my attention and held onto it. It wa\as very intriguing and interesting for sure.
My favorite thing about this book was the tremendous amount of detail added to this book. Convicting The Innocent was a true masterpiece with the writing skills. I enjoyed reading it very much, and I think it’s one of the better books that I have read.
April 4, 2013
You've heard of people who were shown by DNA evidence to be innocent of the crimes they were imprisoned for. How can that happen? What can we learn from it?
Prof. Brandon Garrett (with the help of a team of research assistants) found out all he could about the first 250 DNA exonerations, gathering trial transcripts (when available), news coverage, appellate records, and the records from state post-conviction proceedings and federal habeas cases. Then he mined the data: How many of the exonerated people had confessed falsely? How many had been mistakenly identified by one or more eyewitnesses? How many were prosecuted with questionable forensic evidence (hair analysis, for instance, does not prove much of anything)? How many years did it take from initial conviction to eventual exoneration?
The results are disturbing—but can also be instructive.
I think it's worth noting that the wave of DNA convictions from the 1990s to now will taper off. The wrongly convicted people had been tried when sophisticated DNA tests were not available. It was only possible to seek post-conviction DNA tests if there had been enough DNA left at the crime scene and if the police had preserved the evidence. Now if the crime is one where DNA evidence is available, it's very likely that it will be tested before trial—avoiding trials of people like the exonerees and keeping law enforcement on the investigation until the actual rapists and murderers are caught.
But cases with DNA evidence are just a minority of crimes. The exonerations were typically in rape or rape-murder cases, because those are cases where the criminal most often leaves semen or blood. But think of other, equally serious crimes: Drive-by shooting? No DNA at the scene. Murder when the body is not found for many years? Probably not enough uncorrupted DNA. Murder for hire? No DNA from the person who hired the killer and probably no DNA from the killer, assuming he or she is careful. Arson? No DNA. Robbery? Probably no DNA. Murder of a family member? If there's DNA at the scene or on the body, there's an innocent explanation.
The DNA exonerations can teach us lessons to be used in all cases. First, sometimes innocent people sometimes do confess. Garrett gives many examples. The defendants who confess falsely are often young, developmentally disabled, mentally ill, or a combination, and they have often been interrogated very intensely for a long time. Recording all interrogations would benefit everyone. Obviously, it would help suspects who are coerced or manipulated. It would also protect police and prosecutors from false claims by defendants that their interrogations had been coercive.
Second, the exonerations make clear that eyewitnesses can be mistaken when they identify suspects. There are ways to improve identifications—the say line-ups and photo arrays are conducted—and, again, improving the process would help everyone.
If you want answers to the questions I opened with—how many false confessions, how many mistaken identifications, and so on—you can read the book. You can also browse the appendix, in which Garrett summarizing his findings in a series of graphics and tables.
Prof. Brandon Garrett (with the help of a team of research assistants) found out all he could about the first 250 DNA exonerations, gathering trial transcripts (when available), news coverage, appellate records, and the records from state post-conviction proceedings and federal habeas cases. Then he mined the data: How many of the exonerated people had confessed falsely? How many had been mistakenly identified by one or more eyewitnesses? How many were prosecuted with questionable forensic evidence (hair analysis, for instance, does not prove much of anything)? How many years did it take from initial conviction to eventual exoneration?
The results are disturbing—but can also be instructive.
I think it's worth noting that the wave of DNA convictions from the 1990s to now will taper off. The wrongly convicted people had been tried when sophisticated DNA tests were not available. It was only possible to seek post-conviction DNA tests if there had been enough DNA left at the crime scene and if the police had preserved the evidence. Now if the crime is one where DNA evidence is available, it's very likely that it will be tested before trial—avoiding trials of people like the exonerees and keeping law enforcement on the investigation until the actual rapists and murderers are caught.
But cases with DNA evidence are just a minority of crimes. The exonerations were typically in rape or rape-murder cases, because those are cases where the criminal most often leaves semen or blood. But think of other, equally serious crimes: Drive-by shooting? No DNA at the scene. Murder when the body is not found for many years? Probably not enough uncorrupted DNA. Murder for hire? No DNA from the person who hired the killer and probably no DNA from the killer, assuming he or she is careful. Arson? No DNA. Robbery? Probably no DNA. Murder of a family member? If there's DNA at the scene or on the body, there's an innocent explanation.
The DNA exonerations can teach us lessons to be used in all cases. First, sometimes innocent people sometimes do confess. Garrett gives many examples. The defendants who confess falsely are often young, developmentally disabled, mentally ill, or a combination, and they have often been interrogated very intensely for a long time. Recording all interrogations would benefit everyone. Obviously, it would help suspects who are coerced or manipulated. It would also protect police and prosecutors from false claims by defendants that their interrogations had been coercive.
Second, the exonerations make clear that eyewitnesses can be mistaken when they identify suspects. There are ways to improve identifications—the say line-ups and photo arrays are conducted—and, again, improving the process would help everyone.
If you want answers to the questions I opened with—how many false confessions, how many mistaken identifications, and so on—you can read the book. You can also browse the appendix, in which Garrett summarizing his findings in a series of graphics and tables.
December 17, 2012
I read this book as a student in the Master's of Science in Fraud and Forensics program at Carlow University [http://gradstudies.carlow.edu/fraudfo...]. This book is well written and extremely interesting. The stories of the 250 exonerees and their cases are gripping and chilling. I liked Garrett's use of the case studies to better explain how problems such as forced confessions, contaminated evidence, inadequate legal representation and flawed judicial reviews lend themselves to wrongful convictions. The horrifying realization that our trusted judicial system made such egregious errors is unnerving and is a must read for all students of law enforcement. The book is very detailed and is a fitting argument for the case of reforming legal procedures and requiring the use of scientific evidence.
The only flaw with this book is that although the case studies are helpful in understanding the material presented and give the reader a true human element to the statistical data and law jargon, they begin to get confusing as they are referenced repeatedly throughout the book. However, it doesn't significantly impact the readability of the book and the case studies are more helpful than hindering. Garrett's attention to detail has made this book void of any serious flaws.
This book will be extremely helpful in my future career in fraud. It has taught me that no matter how clear the answer to any investigation appears it remains truly unproven until scientific evidence or a scientific methodology is used. Garrett presents us with the stories of people who did time for crimes they didn't commit (on average 13 years!) because someone felt that they were clearly the guilty party. However, scientific evidence proved 250 times over just how wrong assumptions such as "clear guilt" can be. I believe this can be applied to all situations in life and should be a foundation of belief for all individuals in law enforcement.
The only flaw with this book is that although the case studies are helpful in understanding the material presented and give the reader a true human element to the statistical data and law jargon, they begin to get confusing as they are referenced repeatedly throughout the book. However, it doesn't significantly impact the readability of the book and the case studies are more helpful than hindering. Garrett's attention to detail has made this book void of any serious flaws.
This book will be extremely helpful in my future career in fraud. It has taught me that no matter how clear the answer to any investigation appears it remains truly unproven until scientific evidence or a scientific methodology is used. Garrett presents us with the stories of people who did time for crimes they didn't commit (on average 13 years!) because someone felt that they were clearly the guilty party. However, scientific evidence proved 250 times over just how wrong assumptions such as "clear guilt" can be. I believe this can be applied to all situations in life and should be a foundation of belief for all individuals in law enforcement.
October 12, 2011
This book should be (and probably will be soon) mandatory reading for lawyers, especially anyone who practices criminal law. Garrett has put together a phenomenal study of 250 bona fide wrongful convictions, and he examines how each case went wrong. Garrett concludes that the major problems are in the procedures used for obtaining confessions, eyewitness identification, and forensic analysis. What's really amazing, though, is that the problems in each of these areas can be significantly ameliorated by simple, relatively inexpensive fixes. Some states are already implementing reforms, but there are a lot of places out there that haven't yet. Even so, any attorney who is involved with the criminal justice system, whether defense, prosecution, or judiciary, can benefit from learning how cases can go so disastrously wrong and result in wrongful convictions.
My only gripe with the book is that the editing could have been better. Garrett's discussions of particular points can be repetitive and he has several annoying writing tics, such as constantly explaining what he was going to try to show (e.g., "I will now discuss X," or "This section will examine Y"). There are also sections that could have used more detail, especially the chapter on judicial review. Finally, I think that he jumps between the facts of the different cases way too abruptly, which makes it hard to remember which person was convicted under which circumstances and also means that Garrett wastes a lot of space reminding the reader of what happened in a particular case.
My only gripe with the book is that the editing could have been better. Garrett's discussions of particular points can be repetitive and he has several annoying writing tics, such as constantly explaining what he was going to try to show (e.g., "I will now discuss X," or "This section will examine Y"). There are also sections that could have used more detail, especially the chapter on judicial review. Finally, I think that he jumps between the facts of the different cases way too abruptly, which makes it hard to remember which person was convicted under which circumstances and also means that Garrett wastes a lot of space reminding the reader of what happened in a particular case.
November 2, 2011
This book has a great premise, and a lot of good information, but the writing style irritated me. I think it would have benefited from another round of heavy editing to get rid of the multiple instances of annoying phrases like "I'll explain in Chapter X" or "As demonstrated in more depth in Chapter Y". Just get to the point - I don't need that much hand-holding.
I also thought that the author should have used his sample for the big picture, but gone a lot more into depth on the cases he chose to highlight. I would have liked to know more about the individuals involved and felt that it would have made a much more compelling read, if it felt less like a research paper and more like an application of his research to a few of the selected cases.
Overall, the author has some good tidbits of story line and a ton of really interesting information about wrongful convictions. This book is worth skimming for the good stuff, but I felt like "Actual Innocence" by Barry Scheck was a much more compelling and interesting read.
I also thought that the author should have used his sample for the big picture, but gone a lot more into depth on the cases he chose to highlight. I would have liked to know more about the individuals involved and felt that it would have made a much more compelling read, if it felt less like a research paper and more like an application of his research to a few of the selected cases.
Overall, the author has some good tidbits of story line and a ton of really interesting information about wrongful convictions. This book is worth skimming for the good stuff, but I felt like "Actual Innocence" by Barry Scheck was a much more compelling and interesting read.
December 22, 2016
I found this a very interesting book, although at times it was a bit like reading a textbook. A wide range of issues were highlighted through case studies. We like to think our justice system is unbiased, has a high level of integrity and can be relied on provide a just outcome. Whilst we don't suffer from rampant corruption, this book highlights that like doctors and the rest of the community, the legal profession and police are not infallible. Political pressures, economics, time constraints, quality of investigation, tunnel vision, competence of officers etc all contribute to how well our justice system really works. We would expect however that when it is patently obvious the wrong person has been incarcerated that there would be a timely process to make things right. Sadly that's not necessarily the case.
If you are interested in this aspect of our community life then this is a very good book to read. I have no doubt you will associate the issues raised with many cases you know of well beyond the scope of the rapists, murderers and thieves.
If you are interested in this aspect of our community life then this is a very good book to read. I have no doubt you will associate the issues raised with many cases you know of well beyond the scope of the rapists, murderers and thieves.
April 29, 2013
This is an excellent study of the first 250 DNA exonerations in the United States, going over the types of evidence that contributed to the wrongful convictions and what reforms would make wrongful convictions less likely. It particularly covers eyewitness misidentification, invalid forensic evidence, informant testimony, and false confessions. Studies like this are important, because a lot of what they discover is not intuitive. Judges and juries need to be aware that someone can be sincerely certain they have identified the right person and still be wrong. They need to know that people really do falsely confess to crimes they did not commit. We need to take all these things into account when we as a society are taking someone's life or liberty away.
March 29, 2015
This is a great book if you're interested in the whole area of wrongful conviction and exoneration (all you Serial podcast listeners!). It is NOT scintillating reading but rather a quite technical examination of how wrongful convictions happen (flawed forensics, bad or corrupt lawyers/judges, psychological reality of eyewitness testimony, police interviewing techniques etc.). What I liked about it was the thorough documentation and the referencing of both the law and the science. What I didn't like was the writing. As I said, it is a slough (slog?). It is also extremely sobering. Think you'd never confess to something you didn't do? Think again.
April 26, 2012
This is an outstanding book, written by University of Virginia Law professor Brandon Garrett, who is one of the most important scholars in criminal justice. He exposes most of what is wrong with the criminal justice system, such as poor police and prosecutorial procedures that lead to the convictions of innocent people. A few examples, from the book: coerced or false confessions, faulty eyewitness testimony, tainted identifications, plea bargains by innocent people made out of fear, etc. Anyone who is concerned about our justice system and working to reform it MUST read this book.
October 10, 2014
A decent read which hi lights problems in criminal prosecutions but has two main issues: First, no analytics or hard data to substantiate that the problems of false convictions are as prevalent as the author contends. Second, most of the problems seem to be the results of bad actors, as opposed to flawed systems. These call into question the need for the sweeping changes recommended as opposed to more focused reforms.
Want to read
November 29, 2011[Exonerating] "DNA evidence . . . changes the theory of how they committed the crime." (NYT Magazine. November 27, 2011. p. 6). eg. Heather Staker was raped and murdered in 1992. 19 year old Juan Rivera was convicted, in three trials. 2005 DNA evidence proves it was not his semen; prosecutors now claim that 11 year old Heather was having sex with another man, and subsequently murdered by Juan.
January 27, 2012
This book was picked by one of our book club members. I could not get into it. I felt like I was reading an encyclopedia. The information conveyed only reinforced to me how crooked our justice system is. Similar to another reader I felt the author could have given more details about the convicted - their story was so brief. I give this book a thumbs down. It was boring and flat.
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