Christopher Dunn has been in prison for over 30 years for a murder in St. Louis that he and others say he didn’t commit. Even though new evidence has emerged in favor of Dunn, the state of Missouri says he must stay in prison — because he wasn’t sentenced to death. He continued, “This Court does […]
innocence
Posted inNonfiction
How to Save True Crime: A Reading List of Wrongful Conviction Stories
Stories about wrongful convictions open our eyes to systemic injustices in the U.S. court system. Maurice Chammah, a staff writer at The Marshall Project, compiles his recommended longreads within the genre.
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘It’s the Most Outrageous Thing I’ve Ever Seen. It Makes No Sense.’
“DNA evidence proved Lydell Grant’s innocence. So why won’t the state’s highest criminal court exonerate him?”
Posted inBooks, Essays & Criticism, Fiction, Story
Time To Kill the Rabbit?
In two new novels, the bunnies are anything but cute. (Unless … you use magic to turn one of them into a pre-TB Keats, or a talky Tim Riggins.)
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
The Rising Tide of Wrongful Convictions
Wrongful convictions are not isolated events. They happen in every state. They happen multiple times a week. Here’s a breakdown of how and why the innocent are locked up in America.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Talking to My Daughter About Charlottesville
Black UVA alum Taylor Harris writes about explaining the racist violence on the Charlottesville campus to her 6-year-old daughter, who hadn’t yet personally encountered racism or ever learned about racist violence. Only a day before the “Unite the Right” protest that led to white supremacists beating Dre Harris and killing Heather Heyer, her daughter and […]
Posted inCrime, Featured, Nonfiction, Quotes
Schrödinger’s Convict: Actually Innocent, Actually a Felon
An “Alford plea” gets an innocent man out of jail, but keeps him on the books as a convicted felon.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Fire on Harvard Avenue
How a flawed investigation and junk arson science convicted Angela Garcia of killing her two daughters.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Why Women Are Less Likely to Be Exonerated Using DNA Evidence
In a recent piece for Mother Jones, Molly Redden looked at why it can be particularly hard for wrongfully convicted women to be exonerated (Women make up about 11 percent of the people convicted of violent crimes, but just 6 percent of those exonerated of violent crimes). Despite their good intentions, most innocence projects fail to bring […]
Posted inUncategorized
The first in a two-part series deconstructing the case against Michael Morton, who was convicted in 1987 of killing his wife but has maintained his innocence: Michael was breathing hard. ‘Is my son okay?’ he asked. ‘He’s fine,’ Boutwell said. ‘He’s at the neighbors’.’ ‘How about my wife?’ The sheriff was matter-of-fact. ‘She’s dead,’ he […]