Research on False Convictions

Over the past 15 years, the development of DNA identification technology has led to more than 150 exonerations on rape and murder cases. With support from the Open Society Institute, Professor Samuel Gross of the University of Michigan Law School compiled a database of all known exonerations since 1989. The collected data reveal a number of disturbing patterns. For example, 90 percent of the exonerated defendants who were teenagers when convicted were black or Hispanic. While this strongly suggests extreme bias in the criminal justice system, very little is known in any detail about how false convictions occur, and what steps might be adopted to prevent them.

To begin to fill this gap, Professor Gross has received funding from the Russell Sage Foundation to convene a working group of researchers on the criminal justice system at Carnegie Mellon University on June 21-22, 2004 to discuss the nature of erroneous convictions. The group will discuss the following topics: 1) gaps in the legal system that appear to allow false convictions; 2) studies of perceived risk factors that might be applied to false convictions – such as high publicity, public pressure, limited resources available to the defense, official corruption, and racism; 3) the role of undiagnosed mental illness, which may lead to false confessions; and 4) a consideration of possible scenarios under which false convictions might occur. The meeting participants will develop an agenda for future studies and produce a report from the results of their discussion.