- There have been 297 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.
- The first DNA exoneration took place in 1989. Exonerations have been won in 36 states
- Mistaken eyewitness identifications contributed to approximately 75% of the 297 wrongful convictions in the United States overturned by post-conviction DNA evidence.
- The average length of time served by exonerees is 13 years. The total number of years served is approximately 3,944.
- Over 25 percent of the more than 290 wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence in the U.S. have involved some form of a false confession.
- Researchers who study this phenomenon have determined that the following factors contribute to or cause false confessions:
- Real or perceived intimidation of the suspect by law enforcement
- Use of force by law enforcement during the interrogation, or perceived threat of force
- Compromised reasoning ability of the suspect, due to exhaustion, stress, hunger, substance use, and, in some cases, mental limitations, or limited education
- Devious interrogation techniques, such as untrue statements about the presence of incriminating evidence
- Fear, on the part of the suspect, that failure to confess will yield a harsher punishment
Statistics compiled from The Innocence Project: www.innocenceproject.org.