11 Facts About Wrongful Imprisonment

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1. “DNA exoneration” is the process of a person being proved innocent post-conviction through DNA testing and evidence.^[The Free Dictionary. “Exoneration.” Farlex, 2007. Web Accessed November 7, 2014.]
2. In the US, there have been 1467 exonerations, 321 of them involving DNA.^[Innocence Project. “DNA Exoneree Case Profiles.” 2014. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]
3. The first DNA exoneration case involved Gary Dotson and took place in 1989 in Chicago.^[Bluhm Legal Clinic: Center on Wrongful Conviction. “First DNA Exoneration: Gary Dotson.” Northwestern Law, 2014. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]
4. The average length of sentence time served by DNA exonerees is 13.6 years. The total number of years served by all DNA exonerees is 4,156 years.^[CNN. “Exonerated: Cases by the numbers.” December 4, 2013. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]
5. James Bain of Florida was exonerated with DNA testing after serving the longest false imprisonment sentence -- 35 years.^[Sterbenz, Christina. “Innocent Man Freed After 35 Years Has An Incredible Outlook On life.” Business Insider, October 18, 2013. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]
6. 70% of prisoners exonerated by DNA testing are people of color.^[Sterbenz, Christina. “Innocent Man Freed After 35 Years Has An Incredible Outlook On life.” Business Insider, October 18, 2013. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]
7. 2013 had the highest number of total exonerations with 91, 18 involving DNA exoneration and 73 non-DNA exonerations.^[The National Registry of Exonerations. “Exonerations by Year: DNA and Non-DNA.” November 7, 2014. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]
8. Texas holds the highest number of DNA exonerations at 49.^[The Innocence Project of Texas. “At A Glance: Texas Exoneration Statistics.” 2013. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]
9. 75% of DNA exonerations stem from misidentification from an eyewitness.^[Innocence Project. “Eyewitness Misidentification.” 2014. Web Accessed April 15, 2015. .]
10. 27 states provide compensation for each year the exonerees were wrongfully imprisoned once they’ve been released.^[Rokus, Brian. “Time doesn’t pay, wrongfully imprisoned find.” CNN, March 29, 2012. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]
11. If given enough time, at least 1 in 25 people would be exonerated from death row in the US.^[Reardon, Sara. “Death-penalty analysis reveals extent of wrongful convictions.” Nature, April 28, 2014. Web Accessed November 7, 2014. .]