Exonerations and Innocence in the Criminal Justice System

Deadly Justice, Ch 9 Exonerations, innocence Feb 17, 2025 Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 1

Exonerations DPIC exoneration list https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/data/innocence 200 individuals as of Feb 9, 2025 See also: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/policy/innocence National Registry of Exonerations https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx 3,658 exonerations since 1989, growing at about 3 per week. Includes non-death cases as well as death cases. Vast majority are non-DNA. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 2

Some language and vocabulary about Innocence Pardon: You are guilty but the Governor [or, for federal crimes, the President] pardons you, alleviating any punishment at all. This is never done for murder, for obvious reasons. It s more often used in low-level cases. This is what happened to the Jan 6 people recently. They are still technically guilty, but there is no punishment. Pardon of innocence: In some states, including NC, the Governor can issue a pardon of innocence, formally recognizing that not only are you not guilty but in fact you are innocent. Sometimes necessary to get compensation, as in NC. Governors often will not do this if the individual has another conviction, even an unrelated one. Commutation: Governor changes death sentence to life in prison. Clemency: The act of awarding commutation. Same thing, basically. Exoneration: your conviction as well as your death sentence are overturned, and you are cleared of all charges. Innocent. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 3

Innocent v. charges dropped The legal system has no mechanism to declare a person innocent. (NC s Pardon of Innocence is as close as it comes.) Sentence / conviction overturned DA may try you again; this is not double-jeopardy, since your trial was simply declared to be faulty. You CAN be tried again. Double-jeopardy is when you are acquitted at trial. If the trial conviction is overturned and the DA thinks he can t get a conviction, it does not mean he thinks you are innocent. For example, Kristine Bunch: The DA told her he would seek charges against her again if he could. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 4

Lets go through that again Many exonerated individuals remain under threat of being re- arrested. Many do not of course. If the DA recognizes that another person was guilty of the crime, and a mistake was made, they may even potentially, sometimes, apologize. Those things are rare, but they happen. Other times, misconduct is revealed, or a lying witness recants, or for whatever reason a conviction is overthrown. The DA may decline to re-charge because they feel they cannot win the case, not because they believe the person is actually innocent. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 5

Even with DNA showing another person did it: Look up the Norfolk Five A series of false confessions / torture cases, and every time when DNA showed that this person did not do it, the DA simply said that it was a larger and larger group of people participating in the crime, and that just because the DNA came from Person X, does not mean that Person Y was not also there, participating, but more careful not to leave any DNA. It s very hard to prove innocence. Occasionally, judges will declare that they are releasing someone on the bases of actual innocence , and in NC the Governor has this power, but it s surprisingly rare to be declared innocent. Rather, charges are dropped. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 6

How do these mistakes occur? From the National Registry of Exonerations: Official Misconduct (withholding evidence ) Perjury of false accusation Mistaken eyewitness ID Errors with forensic evidence False confessions https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/Exonerations ContribFactorsByCrime.aspx Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 7

Another tragedy to keep in mind WRT exonerations Many times, the people caught up in wrongful convictions may be somehow associated with the crime or perpetrator Family member Neighbor Friend or school-mate Many times, the crimes occur in communities of poverty and marginalization. Many people may have prior criminal records: drug possession in particular. The DA may not be wild about awarding compensation or recognizing an error with this group of individuals. Same with the legislature. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 8

Compare to Duke Lacrosse What happens when the DA goes up against people with lots of resources: Social status, money, connections Not one night in jail $50,000,000 compensation More typically, these miscarriages involve people like Kristine Bunch, Chris Ochoa, or Chris Turner, and there is not even an apology. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 9

A strange narrative Some people don t have sympathy for those who are exonerated. Why did they get mixed up with the police? They must have done something to attract attention Maybe they got arrested for the wrong crime, but most likely they were guilty of something else, so it s ok. Basic lack of sympathy for marginalized people by people who have little contact with the police, and who trust the police never to make errors. Concern that the guilty are getting away with something. This narrative overlooks two things: Fairness to the accused. Crimes of wrongful liberty. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 10

Willie Grimes is the object of the book, Ghost of an Innocent Man. While he was incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, the true perpetrator, Albert Turner, was up to no good: 9/26/1988 Simple Assault 12/20/1988 Assault on a Female 3/26/1990 Simple Assault 1/5/1994 Simple Assault 12/20/1998 Communicating Threats 12/20/1998 Communicating Threats 3/28/1989 Simple Assault 5/13/1995 Assault on a Female 6/13/1995 Assault with a Deadly Weapon 2/2/1997 Assault on a Female 1/10/1999 Assault on a Female 4/9/2006 Assault on a Female 4/9/2006 Assault with a Deadly Weapon 4/4/2008 Assault on a Female 9/6/2008 Assault on a Female Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 11

Crimes of wrongful liberty: No crime in the first place About of all cases of wrongful conviction involve no crime. Arson is charged, but really the fire was just an accident. Kristine Bunch, Todd Willingham (TX, executed). Someone dies, but it was suicide, not murder Look up Beverly Monroe. Her daughter Katie is the Exec Dir. of Healing Justice and spent 11 years after law school getting her mom out of prison for murder. An infant tragically dies from an accident or an undiagnosed medical condition, but the mom is arrested Look up the case of Sabrina Butler, an 18 year-old black woman from Mississippi. Look up Maria Lucio, who faced executed. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 12

Crimes of wrongful liberty: cont. Some crimes are personal, and the offender will not repeat. But some share of the crimes are done by serial criminals who are able to pin the blame on someone else. Picking Cotton case (my wife Jennifer Thompson): Ronald Cotton found guilty, serves 11 years Bobby Poole is left on the street, assaults a large number of additional victims before he is finally caught. The only winner in this situation was the evil one who escaped punishment. Circles of harm: Jennifer (crime survivor), Ronald, subsequent victims, families and loved ones, criminal justice system actors who inadvertently contribute to a terrible mistake and leave others at risk. How much harm can one person do!!! Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 13

Wrong perpetrator in jail, wrongful liberty for the true criminal https://www.injusticewatch.org/commentary/2018/an-american- epidemic-crimes-of-wrongful-liberty/ Our effort to shift the framing and the debate to get people to understand that arresting the wrong person leaves the true perpetrator on the street to commit more crimes. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 14

Original victims and survivors Community members Wrongfully convicted Judges, attorneys, police, etc. Subsequent victims and survivors Perpetrator Other witnesses Families and loved ones Jurors Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 15

True perpetrators Exonerated five (Central Park case): Matias Reyes 8th and H case (Chris Turner): James McMillan Picking Cotton case (Jennifer Thompson): Bobby Poole These are the people to whom we should direct our anger. Generally, we do not even know their names. There have been cases when people have been so scared they will be caught that they give police names of others, cousins, even their own son or brother. So many circles of harm. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 16

More information on this Baumgartner, Frank R., Amanda Grigg, Rachelle Ram rez, and J. Sawyer Lucy. 2018. The Mayhem of Wrongful Liberty: Documenting the Crimes of True Perpetrators in Cases of Wrongful Incarceration. Albany Law Review 81, 4: 1263-1288. Basic idea: a small number of these perpetrators are really terrible and do a lot of harm. We d be safer if the police could just arrest the right person the first time. Note the pressure, however, to close the case and arrest someone who can be convicted. See the Central Park Five movie for more examples Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 17

Death row exonerations Numbers of exonerations per year How long they wrongly served in prison Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 18

Fantastic book on this topic, from 2008. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 19

Exonerees: From Human Interest to an Established Theme 300 Rolando Cruz 250 Anthony Porter 200 Earl Washington Alejandro Hernandez 150 Aaron Patterson 100 Wilbert Lee Freddie Pitts 50 Delbert Tibbs 0 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 20

Attention to Innocence transformed the debate Media Coverage of innocence Pro- v. anti-Death Penalty Stories 40 120 20 100 Pro- Stories Minus Anti- Stories 0 80 -20 -40 60 -60 40 -80 20 -100 0 1960 -120 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 21

In turn, media attention changed public opinion. In turn, public opinion led to fewer death sentences. Almost perfect correlation between public opinion and annual death sentences. Baumgartner, POLI 203, Spring 2025 22