Professional exonerators contributed to more than 60% of last year s exonerations
Ricky Davis holds up a shirt with the logo of the Northern California Innocence Project after his release from custody at the El Dorado County Jail in Placerville, California, on Feb. 13, 2020. Davis spent about 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of second degree murder. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Conviction integrity units and innocence organizations are contributing to an increasing number of exonerations over time, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
The two kinds of groups “professional exonerators” that re-examine questionable convictions played important roles in 61% of the 129 exonerations that occurred in 2020, according to the National Registry’s annual report.
Criminal Justice
Leaving prison? Dial down the aspirations, don t try to be lawyers or doctors, survey respondents say
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Should former prisoners pursue prestigious careers and home ownership? A survey suggests that people think the American dream should be more limited for this group of people.
The online survey of 637 people divided the respondents into nine groups, with each one getting a different profile of a fictional person. Some of the fictional people had spent time in prison, and some had not.
The February 2020 survey, posted Monday at SSRN, then asked about what type of aspirations the different fictional people should have.
Comedian s podcast remarks during jury duty spur appeal by convicted defendant
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A convicted former currency trader has filed an appeal that is partly based on podcasts by an unhappy juror during the federal trial in New York City.
Akshay Aiyer has contended that juror Jake Letizia’s podcasts were “a flagrant violation of the judge’s instructions” to refrain from discussing the case with others or on any blog or website, the New York Times reports. Aiyer also said Letizia’s podcast remarks revealed his “contempt for the jury’s responsibilities.”
Aiyer was convicted in November 2019 of conspiring to manipulate prices in the global foreign currency exchange markets.
A Michigan man convicted of second-degree murder has sued car rental company Hertz for failing to produce a receipt that would have backed up his alibi.