Higginbotham and Anderson

Question 1

As of January 1, 2010, there have been approximately _______ exonerations in the US.

Answer 1

250

Question 2

Over _____ are men, and approximately _______ are of minority groups. _______ of exonerees are African American

Answer 2

90%, 75%, 705

Question 3

It is hard to estimate, but some experts suggest that as much as _______ of our incarcerated population is actually innocent. If that statistic is accurate, as many as _______ may be factually innocent.

Answer 3

6%, 140,000

Question 4

African Americans comprise of _______ of the incarcerated population.

Answer 4

40-50%

Question 5

African Americans are _______ times more likely to be exonerated for raping a _______ woman compared to the number of times they actually commit this crime.

Answer 5

4, white

Question 6

Why do wrongful convictions happen?

Answer 6

1) fallibility of eyewitness testimony - eyewitness accounts are faulty even in low-stress scenarios, cross-race identifications
2) misuse of forensic evidence - police department fails to collect + preserve evidence, mistakes at laboratories, mistakes in interpreting the data, advising clients not to get DNA testing done because of these possible flaws
3) lack of access to DNA analysis for most of the incarcerated individuals
4) false confessions - either from people of “diminished capacity” or from people who were convinced by legal interrogation tactics that it was in their best interest to confess
5) snitches - snitches being paid to testified (or bribed with being released from prison)
6) racial history of the US - “boundary between White and Black sexuality” - Us has history of lynching and African American man based on accusation of rape of a White woman - myth of the “black rapist and lynching of 10,000 African American men”