There were no blood samples taken from the police report and analysed for the perpetrator’s blood type. We found that everything that could go wrong did go wrong.” The expert himself, Liebman, commented in his book The Wrong Carlos: Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution that “It was a house of cards.

There have already been 375 cases of exoneration in the US as a result of new DNA testing, including 21 people serving on death row.įour years after DeLuna’s execution, Professor of Law at Columbia University, James Liebman along with 12 students successfully revealed that he was innocent. And its advancement is among many reforms that will help ensure that innocent people are not sentenced to death. The latest development of technology and increasing use of DNA testing has in fact impacted the work of the Innocence Project by confirming the innocence or guilt in capital cases. Staff go through emails chronologically and carefully examine each case request that comes in. Since its founding in 1992, the Innocence Project has accumulated over 65,600 emails from incarcerated people requesting assistance in defending their innocence. Neufeld and is now an autonomous nonprofit. The group was founded in 1992 at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Organisations such as the Innocence Project work to liberate the innocent, avoid wrongful sentences, and establish systems of justice that are fair, humane, and impartial for all. Nationally, at least one person is exonerated for every ten executed - and around 2,500 prisoners faced execution in 2022 alone. Since 1973, 156 people have been released from death row in 26 states because they were innocent. Innocent people are too often sentenced to death. Why does the state have the power of taking one’s life if it is impossible to fully determine if the suspect at hand is guilty? The criminal justice system is flawed in many ways. The system is simply a discriminatory manner against the people, with flaws and holes in many aspects such as the skill of one’s attorney, and the race of the victim as well as the accused. Law is largely used as a tool for social justice – there is no such thing as ‘just’ in the incorporation of a system based solely on an eye for an eye, focused on seeking vengeance instead of restitution to the victim and rehabilitation. The state must not possess the right to murder its citizens, in the name of the law or the name of its people, and in an arbitrary and discriminating manner. If I end up getting executed for this, I don’t think it’s right.”Ĭapital punishment in the US violates the constitutional federal ban on barbaric and inhumane treatment of individuals, as well as the rights of fair trials and equal protection afforded by the law. “Maybe one day the truth will come out,” he said from behind reinforced glass.

Bryan stevenson innocence project