The Innocence Project has launched a new multimedia resource illustrating the main causes of wrongful convictions and the reforms necessary to prevent such mistakes. This interactive tool, “Getting it Right,” features videos, case studies and research on such topics as false confessions, eyewitness identification, informant testimony, and failures by the defense and prosecution. Three death penalty cases are highlighted: Ron Williamson, Earl Washington, Jr., and Ray Krone, who collectively spent 44 years in prison or on death row before the discovery of their innocence and eventual exoneration. Washington’s lawyer had never handled a death penalty case before. He was convicted after a five-hour trial and came within nine days of execution. Williamson was convicted based on questionable forensic evidence that seemed to tie him to the scene of the crime. At one point, Williamson came within five days of execution. Krone was convicted on the basis of faulty bite-mark evidence that even the FBI indicated was not a match to Krone. All three were later exonerated based on DNA evidence.
The Innocence Project is a non-profit organization that assists prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing. This new resrource was produced in partnership with University of Virginia Law School Professor Brandon Garrett, author of, “Convicting the Innocent.”
(The Innocence Project, “Getting it Right,” August 18, 2011). See Innocence. Find other Multimedia resources on the death penalty.
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