*A new study examining wrongful convictions across the country is highlighting the staggering amount of time innocent people have spent behind bars, with Illinois recording more documented exonerations than any other state.
Research from Davidoff Law Personal Injury Lawyers analyzed cases recorded by the National Registry of Exonerations since 1989. The study compared exonerations based on population size and examined how many years people collectively lost before their convictions were overturned.
Illinois tops the list with 582 documented exonerations and more than 5,047 years of wrongful incarceration. That works out to an average of 8.7 years lost per case. Homicide accounted for 45.4% of the cases, while drug-related convictions represented 37.6%. Black residents made up 75.8% of those exonerated.
The District of Columbia had the second-highest rate at 3.42 exonerations per 100,000 residents, despite having just 24 documented cases. The average person exonerated there spent 17 years behind bars, while more than 83% of exonerees were Black and every documented exoneree was male.
Scroll to continue reading
Michigan ranked third with 196 exonerations and an average of 11 years lost per person. Louisiana followed with 89 cases, but its exonerees experienced one of the nation’s longest average periods of wrongful imprisonment at 17.4 years.
New York rounded out the top five with 376 exonerations and 4,322 combined years lost. The average person wrongfully convicted there spent 11.5 years in prison before being cleared.
Texas ranked sixth with 510 documented exonerations, representing 1.59 cases per 100,000 residents. Those cases accounted for 2,744 years of wrongful incarceration, with an average of 5.4 years lost per person.
Massachusetts followed with 103 exonerations and an average of 14.2 years lost per case, while Montana recorded 16 exonerations and an average of nine years.
Alaska and Wisconsin each recorded an exoneration rate of 1.22 per 100,000 residents, with Alaska documenting nine cases and an average of 8.5 years lost, compared with Wisconsin’s 73 cases and 7.5 years per exoneration.
Ruben Davidoff, managing partner at Davidoff Law Personal Injury Lawyers, pointed to recurring problems in homicide and drug cases.
“The concentration of wrongful convictions in homicide and drug cases isn’t a coincidence. These are the two areas where eyewitness misidentification and prosecutorial overreach tend to show up most often.”
He added that pressure surrounding homicide investigations and unreliable informant testimony in drug cases can contribute to convictions that later unravel.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: ‘Five Heartbeats’ Star Michael Wright, the Unforgettable Eddie King Jr., Dies at 70
We Publish Breaking News 24/7. Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE.
