Customer Reviews

Actual Innocence

The authors belong to the "Innocence Project", an organized attempt to determine the innocence or guilt through recently available DNA evidence of those convicted of murder/violent crimes. In over 80 cases the were able to _prove_ the innocence of the wrongly convicted, many on death row.
This book results from that project and outlines in each chapter some of the failures of the justice system in these cases including the unreliability of eyewitnesses, incompentant defense lawyers, poor laws and more. The book is straightforwardly written and very easy reading. It is also a strong indictment against our current justice system. Unlike many 'critical' books, the authors also offer suggestions for changes that would help improve our justice system and lower the number of the wrongly convicted.
This book has gotten me to think so much about our system of justice and the ramifications, that we have decided to us it as a book in our family book club and I view some experiences now through the prism of this book (recent experience with hearing two very different stories from two people of the same exact event). That a book has affected the way I percieve things is a mark of a good book.
The one criticism I have of the book is that there is not enough supporting evidence. Though I know the focus of the book is what they had learned from the Innocence Project and not a research survey, I would like to have seen more collaborative statistics and references in each chapter (perhaps an appendix with a few studies and further reading would have been welcome).
Still, it is an important and interesting book and well worth reading.

The book details the history of ten cases of men who served years in prison for crimes committed by others, and touches briefly on perhaps a hundred other cases. As human interest, it is compelling. As an insight into the "system" it is chilling.
Police lie. Laboratories fudge or falsify forensic tests. Prosecutors withhold exculpatory evidence from the defense, and use testimony they know to be untrustworthy without checking it out. (They haven't done anything wrong unless they *know* it to be false. One prosecutor used the "jailhouse confession" testimony of a witness, even though a man put on death row by similar testimony from that same witness had been exonerated and released.) Governors drag their feet in granting pardons to men whom DNA tests have conclusively proven to be innocent. (A prisoner in Oklahoma remained incarcerated for 6 years after the lab results had exonerated him.)
Defense lawyers -- often working for very low pay -- don't bother to challenge prosecution witnesses, or introduce solid alibi witnesses. They sometimes become so miffed at their clients' refusal to accept a plea bargain, they refuse to prepare them for the witness stand, or even talk with them.
Only a small sampling of criminal cases involve biological evidence, but it is a fair random sample. DNA exonerations are a window into a system afflicted with very deep rot. The book contains many common sense suggestions for improvement. At the heart of many of them is accountability. Police and prosecutors run essentially no chance of getting caught for fabricating evidence or falsifying testimony. Once convicted and in prison, the defendants are buried there. The system is presumed to have worked properly, and the possibility that the wrongdoing will ever come to light is practically nil.
The advent of DNA took the system by surprise, and shined an unexpected light on the rot. Officials were surprised and perhaps embarrassed, despite their pronouncements to the contrary. But prosecutors don't prosecute each other or charge witnesses who have testified for the state. And the law gives broad civil immunity to police and prosecutors. When a building collapses, or a hospital patient undergoes the wrong operation, or an airplane crashes, there is an investigation. People are disciplined and procedures are changed to prevent a recurrence. In the analogous disaster for the criminal justice system -- the wrongful conviction of an innocent person -- the system confidently affirms that it did everything right.
We are in the golden age of DNA exonerations. The window is open to public scrutiny and the possibility of reform. But we are approaching the day when we will have exonerated all of the wrongfully imprisoned who can be exonerated by DNA -- everyone whose case evidence has not been degraded, lost, or destroyed. The word is out in the law enforcement community to be on good behavior if a new case is among that small minority where there is biological evidence. As to all others, the old rules still apply. The public is more acutely aware than it has ever been of just how many innocent people are sent to prison, and of just how impervious the system is to self-correction. Once the exonerations cease, that awareness will fade. The window will close and the opportunity will be gone.

DNA has uncovered a number of truths. Not since finger print identification became main streamed has science had such a tumultuous impact on criminal investigation. The truth of DNA, according to the authors, is that an alarming number of innocent people have been sentenced to death. While the book serves as a sounding board to discuss the benefits of DNA its merit rests more in its overall discussion of the criminal justice system.
This book is a non stop series of accounts of justice gone wrong. While Shceck and his cronies are heavy with their opinions, the problem is that even if you dont like them, you cant argue with the science. Through their accounts they relay stories of men wrongly convicted by mistaken identity, misled witnesses, shabby defense attourneys, police bumblings, and even law enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct. All of these grievous errors were realized due to DNA testing.
More alarming than the number of innocents convicted and possibly executed is the trend for prosecutors and judges to disallow DNA testing after convictions. The facts according to the authors are that there are thousands more that could be freed with DNA testing.
Although science is not the stop gap for flaws in any criminal justice system, the authors convincingly argue that it would be a beneficial start. The opinions and accounts in this book are both informative and entertaining.
The book reads well and holds interest throughout. It loses a star due to the more often than not preachy tone of the authors. There point is better taken with the facts and not the lecturing. However it is a book well worth reading and must have for true crime and sociology fans.

As a reader of at least ten books on wrongful conviction and an advocate for the wrongfully convicted, this book is definitely the best mass-produced resource on wrongful convictions.
This book is the most comprehensive look at the causes of wrongful convictions and the benefits of DNA testing. It is also a compelling book that uses real stories and makes you question whatever you think you knew about the criminal justice system and its "infallibility."
Other reviews on Amazon.com for this book say that it is boring and slow moving. I really don't think these reviewers read the same book that I did. I guess maybe these readers were expecting an intiguing story with a cliffhanger at the end. I think that the book does provide that and more, it just happens that real life is scarier than fiction.

Is there anything more frightening then the conviction of an innocent person? It can happen to anyone and this book shows the ineptitude of our legal system and the frequency with which false convictions occur.
This book, comprised of a myriad of criminal cases, is one of the most compelling and fast-paced books you will ever read. If it you don't find yourself with a renewed sense of conviction regarding justice and truth in the legal system, then you might consider checking for a pulse.
Given the recent advances in pathology, forensics and DNA, "Actual Innocence" should be required reading. Clear and concise, this book will appeal to everyone from housewife to lawyer alike. Truly one of the most important works written in recent years.

This book is a must read for attorneys and non-attorneys alike. It is a terrifying glimpse at the criminal justice system. However, it is not without hope. The authors have several suggestions about improving the sad state of affairs, and if the book is read by enough people involved in the criminal justice system, it may work!

If you are at all involved in the criminal justice system or simply like watching Law & Order, this book is a MUST read. The authors are the founders of the Innocence Project, which strives to exonerate the wrongly convicted. Each chapter examines aspects of "what went wrong" in the convictions of people who are completely innocent. The authors also give detailed accounts of people they have helped to exonerate. As a soon-to-be law school graduate, this book is truly an eye-opener, and will certainly guide me in my future career. It's shocking at how easily the innocent can be (and have been) convicted of heinous crimes, and at how difficult it is for them to gain even a chance to prove their innocence.

Again, this book is a must read. It's a quick read, but will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression.

What does a person do when he/she has actual innocence, but he/she is convicted of a crime? Let's explain actual innocence. We are talking about the cases when a person has nothing to do with a crime and is not connected to the crime in any way, not about a technicality, but about a person just like the reader of this book who has absolutely nothing to do with a crime. This is, you must admit, a terrifying situation. However, it happens again and again. Read the book "Bloodsworth" as a good true story on how this kind of thing happens.

How does this happen? Unfortunately, it happens too easily. One reason is because eyewitness testimony is incredibly unreliable and almost never reaches the quality of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But this is not properly explained to juries by the judges or prosecutors because too many cases rely on eyewitness testimony and if the truth be known then prosecutors would not be able to get enough convictions to satisfy the publics thrist for revenge when a crime has occurred.

One way out of this mess is DNA, but only when DNA is available and only when the lead is pursued. In the case of Bloodsworth, mentioned above, who was 100% actually innocent, he finally got out of the mess after almost ten years of living hell and only because a good lawyer found a small amount of DNA.

How many innocent people are in prison because of ridiculous eyewitness testimony and where there is no way out without a good lawyer and some DNA?

Most citizens trust the justice system to do the right thing in enforcing the law. Actual Innocence provides an inside look at a criminal justice system that does whatever it takes to convict those who appear guilty, regardless of the truth. Overbearing prosecutors hide evidence of innocence; police ignore exculpatory evidence and alternative avenues of investigation to focus on someone they "like" for the crime; forensic scientists are incompetent or downright fraudlent; defense lawyers sleep through death penalty trials. Each chapter focuses on a part of the system that is vulnerable to wrongfully convicting capital defendants and uses actual cases to illustrate associated issues.

In the end, the authors take on the question of how the system can be improved and provide a laundry list of suggestions for reforms that would minimize chances of wrongful conviction. Every state and federal legislator should at least read this section. However, after reading the book, it is worth asking how many cases of wrongful conviction cannot be righted because of the lack of DNA evidence. This has serious implications for use of the death penalty.

This is an engaging and accessible book written in a compelling style. In the years I have assigned it for a college level course, countless students have reported that it changed their ideas about the criminal justice system.

Every person should read Actual Innocence to see how 1 in 4 cases are prosecuted against innocent people. This edition omits a graphic which says 50% of these cases involve police and 50% involve prosecutor MISCONDUCT. The other paperback includes this significant information.

It's too bad a more current edition hasn't been written. The book inspired several law schools across the nation to set up Innocence Projects to retry cases for free. Important new information was shared by one of the authors on CNN who stated 20% of DNA tests also have erroneous results. This includes lab error.

God led me to Harvard Business Review, Jun 01 which has an article citing a study where it was shown that decisions made with 90% confidence were made incorrectly 20%-30% of the time, the exact figure cited by the Innocence experts. I emailed that author to ask if the research covers court cases and he indicated positively. So people's lives and reputations can hang on natural human errors, as well as intentional errors described in Actual Innocence. I wasn't able to locate an email address for Actual Innocence authors to forward this information to them.

One of the most striking revelations DNA testing has provided is 25% of rape cases are dismissed indicating it's likely the same figure holds for all cases in which DNA isn't a factor. That means every public record of tickets and crimes you see is likely to list 1 out of 4 who are actually innocent. And everyone pays for it.

This also means the old cliche' that everyone in prison says they are innocent is not something that should be ignored as 1 out of 4 statistically are innocent. I've personally seen a case where the perpetrator was guilty for part of the charges but was also given points and jail time for charges that he wasn't guilty of. So I'd also love to ask the authors if their figures include that kind of error.