Innocence Network Organizations Secured 29 Exonerations in 2010

Duke Law School’s Center for Criminal Justice and Professional Responsibility belongs to a Network of innocence organizations responsible for 29 exonerations this past year, including two at the Duke Center:  Shawn Massey, who was released after serving 12 years, and Scott Pierpoint, who served nearly 18 years of a life sentence.  The Network recently issued a report, entitled “Innocence Network Exonerations 2010,” which provides details of the 29 exonerations and highlights the common causes of the wrongful convictions, including mistaken eyewitness identification, faulty forensic science, and police and prosecutorial misconduct.  Duke Center’s co-director Theresa Newman, who serves on the Innocence Network board, said, “Individual stories of wrongful convictions tell us much about the failings of the criminal justice system, but, collectively, these 29 exonerations illustrate the compelling need for reform in a number of areas.”  The 29 people profiled in the year’s report served more than 426 years in prison.   Download a PDF of the Network report here.

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