The Criminology of Wrongful Conviction

Abstract

This article reflects on the author's 2005 article, "Rethinking the Study of Miscarriages of Justice," which sought to describe what scholars empirically knew at that time about the phenomenon, causes, and consequences of wrongful convictions in America. The 2005 article argued that the study of wrongful convictions constituted a coherent academic field of study and set forth a vision for a more sophisticated, insightful, and generalizable criminology of wrongful conviction. In this current article, the author revisits the ideas first developed in "Rethinking the Study of Miscarriages of Justice" to evaluate what scholars have learned about wrongful convictions in the last decade, and what challenges lie ahead for developing a more robust criminology of wrongful conviction. The article concludes that there have been significant theoretical, methodological, and substantive advances in the last decade, but that a root cause analysis of wrongful convictions has yet to come to fruition and urges empirical scholars to begin to study other sources of error and inaccuracy in the criminal justice system. Scholars should develop a criminology of erroneous outcomes, not just of erroneous conviction. By studying both sets of outcomes, scholars can improve accuracy and reduce errors across the board.

Identifying and Charging True Perpetrators in Cases of Wrongful Convictions

“…The time it takes to complete this lengthy process is partially due to the fact that the requirements to reverse a conviction can be quite burdensome. 4 Although they are often held to be synonymous, one's factual innocence does not necessarily lead to an exoneration (Leo, 2017). Instead, significant evidence and proof must be gathered and submitted to the court via a specific process to secure a wrongfully convicted individual's release.…”

Taking Stock of Innocence

“…Despite decades of effort and the accomplished work of many, we do not and probably cannot know how often innocent people are convicted of crimes. The insights provided by recent studies and more general advances in theory and research methodologies suggest that we are making progress in estimating the incidence of wrongful convictions, understanding what contributes to them, and helping to guard against them (Gould & Leo, 2016;Leo, 2017). Nevertheless, few would dispute that a great deal remains to be learned, and much work remains to be done if the Innocence Movement is to keep advancing (S. R. Gross, 2013; S. R. Gross & O'Brien, 2008).…”

Wrongful Convictions and the Innocence Movement

“…Richard A. Leo (2017) completes the survey of the innocence movement with his tour d’horizon of leading edge innocence research by social science, criminal justice, and legal scholars. He reviews the framework for understanding wrongful conviction scholarship that he constructed in 2005, and with an unparalleled sweep of the most significant innocence research, presents a deeply insightful picture of where wrongful conviction scholarship is today and where it needs to go.…”

“…He reviews the framework for understanding wrongful conviction scholarship that he constructed in 2005, and with an unparalleled sweep of the most significant innocence research, presents a deeply insightful picture of where wrongful conviction scholarship is today and where it needs to go. Although criminologists and criminal justice scholars have begun to explore important miscarriage of justice issues, Leo (2017) concludes that in the last decade, criminal justice scholars and criminologists have still not engaged in wrongful conviction research to an appropriate degree. This special issue, in addition to the important new knowledge it imparts about the innocence movement, is an invitation to crime scholars to join in exploring one of the most significant issues of justice of our time.…”