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Report Shows Official Misconduct Responsible for More than Half of Exonerations
by Dale Chappell
A 2020 annual report on exonerations, released by the National Registry of Exonerations (NRE) on March 30, 2021, shows the disturbing fact that in more than half of the cases where those convicted of crimes were exonerated, misconduct by police and other government personnel accounted …
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More from this issue:
- 25 Years of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, by John Boston
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Investigation Finds “Deadly Delays” in Cancer Diagnosis at Washington State Prisons, by David Reutter
- Whistleblowers: Software Bug Keeping Hundreds of Arizona Prisoners Beyond Release Dates, by Jimmy Jenkins
- How Sheriffs Are Extracting Wealth from People in Jail, by Katie Jane Fernelius
- Illinois First State to Abolish Cash Bail, by Daniel A. Rosen
- CFPB and Three States Sue Over Predatory Immigrant Bail and GPS Scam, by David Reutter
- Smart Communications Contract Reveals Plans for Expanding Privatized Prison Mail, by Kevin Bliss
- Scores of Ecuadoran Prisoners Die in Coordinated Melees
- Florida Supreme Court Disbars Attorney For Making Sex Films in Jail Visiting Room, by Matthew Clarke
- Justice Delayed in California Jails: Lengthy Pretrial Imprisonment Common, by Daniel A. Rosen
- New York State Law Ends Long-Term Solitary Confinement in Prisons and Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- $1,000 Award to Ohio Prisoner for Violation of Public Records Act
- Resisting a Prison Without End, by Jayson Hawkins, Panagioti Tsolkas
- Seventh Circuit Says Racial Disparity Argument ‘Too Weak to Require Discussion’ in COVID-Related Motion for Compassionate Release, by David Reutter
- Ohio Enacts Criminal Justice Reform in 2020, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois DOC Prisoner’s Suit Against Wexford Psychiatrist, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.65 Million Settlement for Family of Prisoner Killed at Rikers Island
- Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Kentucky Jail Prisoner’s Suicide, by Matthew Clarke
- Rebellion at GEO-Run Prison in New Mexico
- Louisiana Law School Counts Deaths Behind Bars Because State Won’t, by Daniel A. Rosen
- NYC Department of Corrections Continued Noncompliance to Consent Decree and Spending Nearly Half A Million Dollars Per Prisoner in 2020, by Kevin Bliss
- $11,000 Recovery for Asthmatic Indiana Prisoner in Denial of Treatment After Cell Block Fire
- Second Circuit Holds Control Unit Placement for Former Death Row Prisoners Unconstitutional Bill of Attainder, by David Reutter
- Minnesota Mothers to Receive More Bonding Time with Their Newborn Children, by Kevin Bliss
- South Carolina to Use Firing Squads to Execute Prisoners, by Keith Sanders
- Medical Update: COVID is Not Over, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- America’s Biggest Jails Are Frontline Environmental Justice Communities, by Adam Mahoney
- Planned Massive Shortfall in Funding to Maintain Minnesota Prisons, by Anthony Accurso
- Federal Judge Rejects BOP’s Attempts to Keep Videos of Force-Feeding Prisoners at ADX Secret, by Dale Chappell
- Florida Prisons Face Ongoing Staff Shortages Due to Low Pay And Long Hours, by David Reutter
- HRDC Settles Censorship Lawsuit with Johnson County, Kansas Jail for $50,000 and Policy Changes, by Derek Gilna
- U.S. Department of Justice Publishes Statistics on Prisoners’ Deaths, by Matthew Clarke
- Virginia Federal Court Sentences Former Superintendent of Rockbridge County Jail to 51 Months in Prison for Brutality and Corruption
- No Qualified Immunity for Oregon Prison Officials’ COVID-19 Response; Class Certified, by Mark Wilson
- Illinois Prisoner Gets Mixed Results in Appeal of Suit Against Wexford and Doctors, by David Reutter
- Report Shows Official Misconduct Responsible for More than Half of Exonerations, by Dale Chappell
- Seven Guards Fired After Prisoner Dies in TX Jail, by Keith Sanders
- Virginia Prison Guards Attack Prisoners with Dogs, by Keith Sanders
- Connecticut Makes All Prison Communications Free, Makes History, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Orange County California Jail Guard Investigated for Burning Mentally Ill Prisoner, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Potential Radioactive Exposure to Manatee County Jail Prisoners in Florida, by Kevin Bliss
- Change in Good Time Makes Tens of Thousands of California Prisoners Eligible for Release, by Matthew Clarke
- Anti-Parole Whistleblower Prompts Investigation of Virginia Parole Board, by Casey Bastian
- No Mutual Assent Where Detainee Forced to Accept Release Card in HRDC Case, by David Reutter
- California Juvenile Court Erred in Removing Child from Imprisoned Father’s Care
- $550,000 in Damages Ordered to Woman Prisoner Raped by New York Guard
- News in Brief
More from Dale Chappell:
- Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
- How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
- Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
- Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
- Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
- The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
- Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- The GEO Group Pays California $104,510 to Settle Workplace Safety Charges at ICE Detention Facility—Where Local Cops Won’t Investigate Crimes, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- $11 Million Paid by Boston to Exonerated Prisoner for 37-Year Wrongful Incarceration, Sept. 1, 2026. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Monell Liability, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Eyewitness Identification, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, Aug. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Certificate of Innocence, False Imprisonment, Confessions - Coerced.
- Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Framework Governing Factual Innocence Claims in First Application of La. C.Cr.P. Art. 926.2, Holding Second-Step Review Encompasses All Relevant Evidence, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Eyewitness Identification, Brady Rule violations.
- Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Wrongful Conviction, DNA Evidence, Evidence - Admissibility, Claim of Innocence.
- Jury Awards Over $24.4 Million to Kentucky Prisoner Exonerated After 22 Years, Bringing Total Payout for Him and Co-Defendant to Almost $45 Million, June 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Monell Liability, Fabrication of Evidence, Failure to Disclose.
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $10 Million Wrongful Conviction Verdict for Exonerated Michigan Prisoner, June 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Damages - Compensatory, Failure to Disclose.
- Murder Convictions Tossed for Three Pennsylvania Prisoners After 28 Years, June 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, witness misidentification, Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Expert and Opinion Testimony.

