[Intro paragraph]
1-2%
Conservative estimates are that 1-2 percent of all convictions in America each year are of innocent people.
It's comforting to think that our criminal justice system incarcerates the correct person 98-99% of the time.
However, this is not good news if you are among the 1-2 percent nor should we take solace in the low percentage, for in actuality it points to a grim truth: there are thousands of innocent people doing time for crimes they did not commit.
3651
Since 1989, over 3500 people have been exonerated, mostly from death row.
In 2023 alone, there were an average of 3 exonerations every week.
35,000+
We have passed a grim milestone in America—time lost to false convictions has now exceeded thirty-five thousand years!
Compensation is Rare
Less than half of all exonerees ever receive compensation (39%), most receive nothing, leaving them to rebuild their lives from scratch.