​​​​​External Research

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Organizations

The Death Penalty Information Center is a national non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment.

The Innocence Project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing. They keep a detailed list of all DNA exonerations that meet their standards (which are slightly different than ours), and provide information about causes of wrongful convictions.

The Innocence Network is an affiliation of organizations dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted. They have a brief bank available online for attorneys and pro bono defendants. They also hold an annual conference that focuses on innocence issues.

The Innocence Network's Research Review Committee​ vets any research requests for projects targeting Innocence Network exonerees, clients, or people working for member organizations. ​​​

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is an organization dedicated to promoting rational and humane criminal justice policy for America. Their website links to numerous publications about a variety of criminal justice issues many of which are related to wrongful convictions.​

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, non-profit society of distinguished scholars established by Congress and charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. While criminal justice is not thier primary focus, the NAS has issued several reports related to forensic sciences.

Publications

Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification- National Academy of Sciences report on the state reseach regarding the accuracy and reliability of eyewitness identification with suggestions for reform (2014).

Material Indifference: How Courts are Impeding Fair Disclosure in Criminal Cases- a study by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Veritas Initiative finding that judges are failing to enforce Brady (2014).

Anatomy of a Wrongful Arson Conviction: Sentinel Event Analysis in Fire Investigation- the first comprehensive review of arson exonerations in the United States.  The study’s focus is on wrongful arson convictions which were based on unreliable methodologies employed in the examination and analysis of fire scene evidence (2014).

Compendium: Electronic Recording of Custodial Interrogations- A comprehensive list (and online database) published by The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of laws in each state regarding the recording of custodial interrogations (2014).

Rate of False Conviction of Criminal Defendants who are Sentenced to Death- an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finding that at least 4.1 percent of defendants sentenced to death in the United States are innocent (2014).

 

Convicting the Innocent: Data and Materials provides detailed information on the first 250 DNA exonerations in the United States, including data on false confessions, eyewitness misidentifications and forensics. This research was compiled by Brandon Garrett, author of Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong (2011).

 

Preventable Error: A Report on Prosecutorial Misconduct in California 1997–2009- a Veritas Initiative report by the Northern California Innocence Project on prosecutorial misconduct in California (2010).

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward- National Academy of Science report on the state of forensic science in the United States (2009).

 

Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science: Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After Trial- a study initiated by the National Institute of Justice study to identify and reviewing 28 cases in which persons who were convicted by juries by were released from prison as a result of posttrial DNA testing of evidence (1996).

National Registries Around the World​

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​The Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions​

China Wrongful Convictions Case Archive, US-Asia Law Institute, New York University 

European Registry of Exonerations​,​ Leids Universiteits Fonds / Gramata Stichting (LUF) and Universiteitsfonds Limburg (SWOL)​

Miscarriages of Justice Registry​, United Kingdom, University of Exeter Law School ​

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