"Raising Awareness about Wrongful Convictions and Exposing Injustices"
While you're reading this, somewhere in America, an innocent person will be convicted of a crime they had nothing to do with.
This isn't hyperbole or sensationalism—it's math. Every year, our courts hand down 195,000 new convictions. With a conservative wrongful conviction rate of 5%, that's 9,750 innocent people losing their freedom annually. Breaking it down further: 26 wrongful convictions every day OR one innocent life destroyed every single hour, of every single day.
Even with our best efforts in our best year for exonerations—2022, with an amazing 238 people freed—over 9,500 wrongfully convicted people remained behind bars, representing just a two-and-a-half percent chance of being exonerated. That's 9,500 lives shattered, with little to no hope for justice.
Wrongful Convictions News—established in 2019 and already a leading voice in exposing systemic injustices—is proud to announce the development of The Wrongful Convictions News Foundation. This transformation from a news platform to an action-oriented foundation represents our commitment to creating lasting change in the justice system.
Join us in building the infrastructure that will:
• Investigate overlooked cases
• Expose injustices
• Propel these injustices into the public eye; and keep them there until justice is served
Your support will help us develop the tools, technology, and team necessary to shine a light on the darkest corners of our justice system.
We have the vision. We have the commitment. Now, all we need is you.
Support our mission today.
Because when it comes to wrongful convictions, justice doesn't just happen; it must be demanded. One case. One story. One life at a time.
October 2, 2024, marks the eleventh annual International Wrongful Conviction Day. This day serves as a powerful reminder to raise awareness about the devastating causes of wrongful convictions and to acknowledge the profound personal, social, and emotional toll on innocent individuals and their loved ones worldwide. Wrongful convictions shatter lives. They steal years of freedom, shatter lives, and leave deep scars. The exoneration of even one innocent person is a testament to the urgent need for criminal justice reform. On this day, we stand in solidarity with those wrongfully convicted, and we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to preventing these injustices. Through education and advocacy, we can combat the systemic failures and biases that lead to wrongful convictions. By supporting exonerees and their families, we can help heal the wounds of these grave mistakes. It's a daunting challenge, but the pursuit of justice demands nothing less. Let us mark this International Wrongful Conviction Day by recommitting ourselves to the fight for truth, equality, and freedom. Together, we can create a justice system that protects the innocent and ensures that true accountability is served.
We'd also like to welcome our new Facebook Group members
And invite you to join us if you're not already a member.
Ever wonder where everyone is from?
I am often asked, "What can I do to help stop wrongful convictions or help those already wrongfully convicted?" To answer this we invite you to join us for our Project Free the Innocent: Journey to Justice. As part of this project, we will be dedicated to offering as many modalities as possible for you to contribute to raising awareness about wrongful convictions, exposing injustice, or furthering your own case or one for which you advocate.—Liz Franklin, Founding Director, Wrongful Convictions News™
To that end, this year we are compiling a treasure trove of resources to help you with various topics specific to the wrongfully convicted community, plus tons of how-tos, all cataloged here in one place: C.O.R.e. Catalog of Resources electronic. To submit a resource, click here.
For more articles from the staff, click here.
Due process of law means that a citizen is treated fairly when they are subject to prosecution and are provided their rights.
More on your right to remain silent, click here.
What are our responsibilities as a society to rectify a wrongful convictions when everything points to innocence? Click here to share your thoughts with us.
Due Process should not be a commodity that is only affordable to the wealthy, given that it's a right guaranteed equally to all citizens. What are your personal experiences with our courts? Have you found that due process is applied equally to all citizens? Click here to share your opinion with us.
Wrongful Convictions News Facebook QR Code
Wrongful
Convictions News™ examining the causes of wrongful convictions, how to rectify them, and how to prevent them.
The Wrongful Convictions Revolution™ is making great strides toward a legal system that is transparent and accountable to those who have already been wrongfully convicted and to keep it from happening to innocent people in the future. To that end, it is our goal to stay current with the progress being made by those willing to wage war against the status quo of wrongful convictions. For instance, there have been significant advancements made over the last few years in... READ MORE
Please take a moment to watch, "Our Fight For Freedom." We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it. Please, don't forget to "like" and "share!"
Puzzle #2
Click here for all monthly puzzles and clues
If you get stuck, all of the answers can be found on our website...somewhere!
To play online with fillable entries, click here.
"Most people find solace in being innocent; but those who have been wrongfully accused know that innocence is not a comforting companion in our legal system. Unfortunately, most law-abiding citizens think it can't possibly happen to them; that it only happens to those living on the fringes of society. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. It can, and has, happened to people from all walks of life. And make no mistake...it can happen to you." -Liz Franklin, M.S., Founding Director of Wrongful Convictions News™
"La mayoría de la gente encuentra consuelo al ser inocente; pero aquellos que han sido acusados injustamente saben que la idea de ser inocente no es un alivio en nuestro sistema legal. Desafortunadamente, la mayoría de los ciudadanos respetuosos de la ley piensan nunca les podría suceder; que solo les pasa a los que viven en zonas marginadas de la sociedad. Sin embargo, eso no podría estar más lejos de la realidad. Puede ser, y ha sucedido a personas de todos los ámbitos de la vida. Y te puede pasar a ti ... ¡no eres inmune!" -Liz Franklin
"It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong."
-Thomas Sowell
Follow us and learn more about the causes of wrongful convictions and what is being done to resolve and eliminate them.
Wrongful Convictions
For more details on the causes of wrongful convictions click here
"It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished."
-John Adams
Utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill, expanded when delivering an inaugural address in 1867 at the University of St. Andrews and stated:
"Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject."
Every October 2nd marks International Wrongful Conviction Day; a day to raise awareness of the causes of wrongful convictions and acknowledge the tremendous personal, social, economic, and emotional costs of wrongful convictions for innocent people and their families worldwide.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST
"We the Jury"
We the Jury, a podcast by Wrongful Convictions News, ranked in the top 25% most shared globally on Spotify
The verdict is in. But what if the system got it wrong? What if this is one of the "one in twenty" convictions that are actually wrong? What if the crime didn't unfold at all the way the prosecution presented it? This is "We the Jury," the true-crime podcast, and I'm Liz Franklin, founding director of Wrongful Convictions News™. I invite you to join us as we delve into cases where justice may have been derailed by a wrongful conviction. We'll examine the evidence used to secure guilty verdicts, then you decide, should the defendant have been found not guilty? As we unpack each case, we'll look for causes of wrongful convictions that could have been at play: prosecutorial misconduct, eyewitness misidentification, witnesses misled or with agendas of their own, and investigators tunnel-visioned by bias, among others. These aren't just stories of legal missteps, these are the lives of real people, victims of a system that promised justice but delivered anything but. Join us as we re-examine cases whose guilty verdicts are questionable at best and deserve a second look at the very least. If you think you've heard it all, think again. The Murder Express has left the station, with flawed investigations and prosecutorial misconduct waving goodbye to due process, fair trial, and 'innocent until proven guilty who weren't even allowed to board. It's a runaway train and the real victims could be the defendants themselves, railroaded by a system that was supposed to protect them. Prepare to be surprised, shocked, and even outraged at what you're about to hear. This is "We the Jury", the true-crime podcast.