Learning from Our Mistakes: A Criminal Justice Commission to Study Wrongful Convictions

Abstract

Perhaps the most lasting significance of the DNA exoneration cases is the lessons they can teach about flaws in the criminal justice system. In the United States, however, little systematic inquiry is made into what went wrong following a wrongful conviction. This article examines several models for structuring the inquiry into the flaws in the criminal justice system exposed by the DNA exonerations.

Keywords: Exonerations, wrongful convictions, innocence, innocence commissions, DNA categories: Criminal Law & Procedure

JEL Classification: K42