Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Status
Accepted
Abstract
Wrongful conviction has for decades been a subject of academic study, litigation, and policy reform, but its more recent reach into popular culture is reflected in an array of books, documentaries, podcasts, movies, and TV shows. In both non-fiction and fiction, the theme of wrongful conviction marries a traditionally American revulsion of profound injustice with the captivation of the police procedural, dirty cops, forensic evidence, and the relentless fortitude of incarcerated innocents and their heroic lawyers.
The innocence movement lies at this intersection between law and popular imagination. As the attendance at the 2018 Innocence Network Conference attests, the energy of the innocence movement over the last twenty-five years has not flagged. It continues to secure exonerations and to publicize them, to advocate for the appropriate use of scientifically sound forensic science, to press for improved police and investigative procedures, and to support the creation of conviction integrity units to revisit potential wrongful convictions.
GW Paper Series
GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2019-38; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2019-38
SSRN Link
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3422474
Recommended Citation
Wrongful conviction has for decades been a subject of academic study, litigation, and policy reform, but its more recent reach into popular culture is reflected in an array of books, documentaries, podcasts, movies, and TV shows. In both non-fiction and fiction, the theme of wrongful conviction marries a traditionally American revulsion of profound injustice with the captivation of the police procedural, dirty cops, forensic evidence, and the relentless fortitude of incarcerated innocents and their heroic lawyers. The innocence movement lies at this intersection between law and popular imagination. As the attendance at the 2018 Innocence Network Conference attests, the energy of the innocence movement over the last twenty-five years has not flagged. It continues to secure exonerations and to publicize them, to advocate for the appropriate use of scientifically sound forensic science, to press for improved police and investigative procedures, and to support the creation of conviction integrity units to revisit potential wrongful convictions.