Smoke but No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes that Never Happened First Edition

by Jessica S. Henry (Author)

54 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0520300644

ISBN-10: 0520300645

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2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Winner, Silver (Political and Social Sciences)
Winner of the Montaigne Medal, awarded to "the most thought-provoking books"

The first book to explore a shocking yet all-too-common type of wrongful conviction—one that locks away innocent people for crimes that never actually happened.

Rodricus Crawford was convicted and sentenced to die for the murder by suffocation of his beautiful baby boy. After years on death row, evidence confirmed what Crawford had claimed all along: he was innocent, and his son had died from an undiagnosed illness. Crawford is not alone. A full one-third of all known exonerations stem from no-crime wrongful convictions.

The first book to explore this common but previously undocumented type of wrongful conviction, Smoke but No Fire tells the heartbreaking stories of innocent people convicted of crimes that simply never happened. A suicide is mislabeled a homicide. An accidental fire is mislabeled an arson. Corrupt police plant drugs on an innocent suspect. A false allegation of assault is invented to resolve a custody dispute. With this book, former New York City public defender Jessica S. Henry sheds essential light on a deeply flawed criminal justice system that allows—even encourages—these convictions to regularly occur. Smoke but No Fire promises to be eye-opening reading for legal professionals, students, activists, and the general public alike as it grapples with the chilling reality that far too many innocent people spend real years behind bars for fictional crimes.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The author's accumulation of evidence is revelatory. An eye-opening book that suggests how commonplace are miscarriages of justice in the U.S." ― Kirkus Reviews

“Jessica Henry provides a concise and even-handed account of no-crime convictions and the numerous, interdependent ways in which they are allowed to continue. Her ability to weave personal stories with the matter of (legal) fact writing beautifully illustrates a perfectly ugly scenario. . . . The book is an informative and interesting read that also provides a great starting point for anyone who may want to further investigate this miscarriage of criminal justice.” ― Crime, Law and Social Change

"Smoke but No Fire is an engaging read that offers a damning indictment of the American criminal justice system and its pervasive indifference to the possibility of innocence." ― Wrongful Conviction Law Review

"Smoke but No Fire is groundbreaking and frightening. . . . This book lays bare the deepest and darkest dysfunction within the criminal legal system and helps us understand what we can do about it." ― The Champion

"The book allows the reader a bit of hope, which is both cautiously optimistic and deliberately realistic. Henry provides a number of recommendations for reform that do not push the bounds of reality but instead focus on incremental and achievable success."

― Crime, Law, and Social Change

From the Back Cover

"Smoke but No Fire shines a bright light on a criminal justice system that lacks fidelity to the protections at the heart of our democracy. And the consequences are dire, as Jessica Henry vividly illustrates through gripping stories of innocent people who spent years in prison for crimes that never happened at all. This book urges criminal justice actors to recommit to a vision that sees wrongful convictions as an intolerable evil and it is an important wake-up call to professionals complicit in the status quo."––Jonathan Rapping, founder of Gideon's Promise, Inc. and author of Gideon's Promise: A Public Defender Movement to Transform Criminal Justice

"In this thoroughly researched and clearly written book, Jessica Henry meticulously explains the seemingly inexplicable: how innocent people can be convicted of crimes that did not occur. Smoke but No Fire will stand as the definitive account of this enigmatic type of miscarriage of justice."––Simon A. Cole, Director, National Registry of Exonerations, University of California, Irvine

"Henry's riveting book introduces readers to the world of no-crime exonerations. It is truly shocking to learn how crimes can be entirely fabricated through both misconduct and negligence."––Brandon L. Garrett, author of Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong

"Chilling and indispensable, Smoke, But No Fire should be required reading for everyone who cares about the integrity of our criminal justice system. With precision and great clarity, Jessica S. Henry documents the chaos and devastation that wrongful convictions inflict on society, while offering meaningful and workable solutions."––Gilbert King, author of Devil in the Grove and Beneath a Ruthless Sun

"Henry unpacks a phenomenon few are aware of—the shocking problem of innocent people convicted of crimes that never actually happened at all. Written in powerful and accessible prose, this is a must read for lawyers, true crime fans, and anyone who cares about justice."––Mark Godsey, author of Blind Injustice: A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First edition (August 4, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520300645
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520300644
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,033,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #301 in Criminal Evidence
- #537 in Criminal Law (Books)
- #589 in Forensic Science Law

Customer Reviews:
54 ratings

About the author

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Jessica S. Henry

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Jessica S. Henry is an author, professor, legal commentator, blogger, and criminal justice expert, with a particular focus on wrongful convictions. She is passionate about criminal law and procedure, criminal justice policy and criminal justice reform, and issues relating to harsh sentences including the death penalty and life without parole.

Jessica is the author of the forthcoming book, "Smoke but No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes that Never Happened" (U.C. Press 2020), which looks at the shocking cases of innocent people who were wrongly convicted of crimes that never happened in the first place. In addition to her book, Jessica has researched and written articles for academic and mainstream publications. She is an active writer and blogger, with posts appearing on her own blog: http://jessicahenryjustice.com/blog/, as well as in the Conversation, Medium, the Huffington Post and the Wrongful Convictions Blog.

Jessica's passion is criminal justice, and she loves to talk about ways to reform our justice system. She has appeared on national television, been a radio commentator on NPR and Pacifica Radio, and has been featured on other national and local radio shows. She also has been interviewed by the AP, and been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and the Nation.

If you want to learn more about what Jessica is working on, visit her website at http://jessicahenryjustice.com/ and be sure to subscribe to receive updates about her work. She'd love to connect with you about all things related to criminal justice.

When she is not working, Jessica can be found spending time with family, reading, traveling or playing mah jong.

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Jennifer G.

A timely and eye-opening book on no-crime, wrongful convictions. Compelling and well-written.

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2020

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The book was incredibly eye-opening -- I couldn't believe how many innocent people are wrongly convicted of crimes that literally never happened. I loved reading the case studies (and there are SO many fascinating stories of real people who were wrongly convicted in cases where no crime happened). The cases added a real human dimension to the author's extensive research about no-crime wrongful convictions.

This book could not be more timely given the national conversation about criminal justice reform. The author compellingly demonstrates that no-crime wrongful convictions are the result of related failures the span the entire criminal justice system. The last chapter is full of suggestions for ways to reduce these tragic convictions. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in wrongful convictions or in improving our broken justice system.

4 people found this helpful

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John Parlapiano

A painful review of shortcomings of the US legal system

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2022

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Ms. Henry has written a horrifying account of some of the worst failings of the US legal system. And she’s used the backdrop of non-existent crimes to make her points. She highlights representative cases where individuals were convicted of crimes and subsequently punished – yet there were no crimes.
And, if one is convicted of a non-existent crime, there will never be “new evidence” uncovered or a “death bed” confession to shift the blame – precisely because there is no blame to shift.
She outlines the most common sources of these atrocities – from sloppy and biased forensics and policing, to prosecutors who are motivated to get convictions and generally pay no penalties for violating the law and therefore often withhold or manipulate evidence or witnesses.
The combination of public defenders with ludicrous caseloads and almost no resources and a legal system that exploits plea bargaining, virtually ensures that defendants are often forced to choose from one of two evils – whether they committed the crime or not – or even if there was a crime.
This book should serve as a wake-up call for fixing some of the glaring problems in the legal system, but it won’t – because the “system” has inertia on its side. Efficiency over accuracy.
Read this book. Get angry.

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Lauren

So interesting. Left me shocked!

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2020

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Such an interesting read! I know there are many stories of wrongful conviction, but I can't believe how many people are convicted of crimes that have never happened. The way that these cases start -- forensic error, false accusations, planted evidence -- is in itself shocking. But the way the system fails to respond is an outrage. This is an important book for those interested in criminal justice reform -- so timely and relevant. I highly recommend it.

3 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Well written and engaging book on a timely (but often overlooked) topic.

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2020

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This book hooked me on page one. It’s a fascinating and heartbreaking dive into “no-crime” wrongful convictions. It does a remarkable job detailing the ways in which a no-crime wrongful conviction process starts and seemingly snowballs, from the moment law enforcement are called, all the way to a guilty verdict. The author's knowledge as a former NYC public defender lends tremendous weight to how each party in the process is explored: the police, prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and policies which create environments encouraging misdemeanor arrests for non-crimes.

It also reminds us that those who suffer under these types of convictions are often poor and people of color. While it can seem overwhelming to contemplate how our justice system has become so upside down, it is heartening to see proposed solutions in the conclusion, and I truly hope progress can be made in both no-crime and other wrongful convictions. Thank you for working so hard on these issues.

One person found this helpful

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Sra. H

Crimes that Never Happened?

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2020

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5 stars for this book which captures both the seemingly impossible injustices that can (still) happen in our justice system AND the biases, filters, lenses through which the players see and are seen. This book is really nicely structured and studded with illustrative real life stories from the author's career. You'll find yourself talking about it with friends before you're half way through. Reminded me of Michael Lewis's 'Fifth Risk' in that way. In digesting the facts you realize that what you thought was possible (and not good) was more prevalent (and really bad). In the case of both books you feel better knowing.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

You won’t believe it can happen, but it does! A must read !

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2020

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This book tells the real truth of what actually does happen to people when convicted for a crime that never existed. I once believed like many people do, that it is not possible for a person to be found guilty for a crime that they did not commit or did not really happen. I found out the truth of how the judicial system can and does convict people for crimes they did not commit or never occurred. It happened to me and it could happen to anyone. Every citizen should read this book. I am so glad this book was written.

One person found this helpful

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BIA

Amazing read on a really tough topic

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2022

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We read this for our book club- it's not a topic I knew anything about before this, but now that I know, I feel like I can't stop thinking about all the people in the United States who are victims of a system rigged against them- For a weighty topic this book reads like a narrative, inserting real examples to illustrate the concepts presented. So glad to have been given this new perspective.

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Carrie Simon

Easy to digest, full of important information

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2022

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Jessica Henry has succeed in writing an academic book that's easily digestible to the lay person. She shares the stories of people who received no crime wrongful convictions - and each story is horrific. And I finished the book with a much greater understanding of where things go wrong in the criminal justice system and ideas for reform that could help right them. A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about criminal justice reform.

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Top reviews from other countries

S C O ♿

A must read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2022

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This book is a real eye opener. A must read for lawyers and anyone really who is interested in the justice system. It's also a frightening read when you read all about the ppl who convicted of crimes that never even happened, and then to think. I'd hate to think of how many ppl are in prison today because of crimes that never even happened!

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Smoke but No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes that Never Happened First Edition

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