Why is Mississippi the Best State in Which to be Exonerated? An Empirical Evaluation of State Statutory and Civil Compensation for the Wrongfully Convicted

Abstract

Wrongful conviction has for decades been a subject of academic study, litigation, and policy reform, but its more recent reach into popular culture is reflected in an array of books, documentaries, podcasts, movies, and TV shows. In both non-fiction and fiction, the theme of wrongful conviction marries a traditionally American revulsion of profound injustice with the captivation of the police procedural, dirty cops, forensic evidence, and the relentless fortitude of incarcerated innocents and their heroic lawyers.

The innocence movement lies at this intersection between law and popular imagination. As the attendance at the 2018 Innocence Network Conference attests, the energy of the innocence movement over the last twenty-five years has not flagged. It continues to secure exonerations and to publicize them, to advocate for the appropriate use of scientifically sound forensic science, to press for improved police and investigative procedures, and to support the creation of conviction integrity units to revisit potential wrongful convictions.