World Peace

What is the count on wrongful convictions in the United States? What is the race breakdown?

GoogleAI Mode: “The National Registry of Exonerations has recorded over 3,600 official exonerations in the United States since 1989. However, experts estimate the actual number of wrongful convictions is much higher. 

Race Breakdown

There are significant racial disparities among those who have been exonerated. Black Americans are dramatically overrepresented in the data. 

Key findings from the data highlight severe disparities:

Higher Likelihood of Conviction: Innocent Black people are about seven times more likely than white people to be falsely convicted of serious crimes.

Specific Crimes: The disparity is even higher for certain offenses:

Murder: Innocent Black people are approximately 7.5 times more likely to be falsely convicted of murder than innocent white people.

Sexual Assault: Innocent Black people are about eight times more likely to be falsely convicted of sexual assault than white people.

Drug Crimes: Innocent Black people are 19 times more likely than white people to be wrongly convicted of drug crimes. This is often tied to large-scale police misconduct scandals and racial profiling.

Official Misconduct: Wrongful convictions of Black defendants are more likely to involve official misconduct by police officers and prosecutors compared to those of white defendants.”