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| National Registry of Exonerations | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Registry of Exonerations |
| Formation | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Parent organization | University of Michigan Law School; Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law |
National Registry of Exonerations The National Registry of Exonerations documents exonerations in the United States and publishes detailed case summaries, statistical analyses, and reports that inform policy debates about wrongful convictions. It collaborates with academic institutions, legal advocates, and journalists to compile a publicly accessible database used by scholars, legislators, and organizations involved in criminal justice reform. The Registry's work intersects with scholarship on criminal procedure, forensic science, and prosecutorial practices.
The Registry's mission is to record and analyze every known exoneration in the United States, providing comprehensive case narratives and data to support research by institutions such as University of Michigan Law School, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Innocence Project, American Civil Liberties Union, Equal Justice Initiative, and Brennan Center for Justice. Its aims include documenting factual innocence findings, tracking wrongful-conviction causes like false confessions and mistaken eyewitness identification, and informing legislative reforms in jurisdictions such as Illinois General Assembly, California State Legislature, New York State Assembly, and United States Congress.
Founded through collaboration among scholars at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, and legal advocates associated with Innocence Project and Exoneration Initiative efforts, the Registry emerged in the early 2010s amid growing attention to wrongful convictions highlighted by cases such as Central Park Five and litigation involving prosecutors from offices like the Los Angeles County District Attorney and Cook County State's Attorney. The site's development drew on criminal-justice research traditions exemplified by scholars from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, and reports from organizations like the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
The Registry uses primary-source verification standards inspired by practices at Harvard Kennedy School, Pew Charitable Trusts, and journalistic projects like those from ProPublica, relying on judicial opinions, prosecutorial statements, pardon documents, and media reports from outlets such as The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. Case inclusion criteria reference evidentiary outcomes rooted in decisions by courts, boards of pardon such as those in Ohio Governor's Office, and investigative outcomes from offices like the FBI and state public defenders including California Public Defender's Office. Data coding protocols parallel methodologies used by researchers at Rutgers University, Columbia Law School, University of Chicago Law School, and statistical units at Pew Research Center.
Analyses from the Registry reveal patterns echoed in reports by National Academy of Sciences, American Psychological Association, and studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice: eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, and official misconduct—especially by prosecutors and law enforcement—are frequent contributors to wrongful convictions. The Registry's datasets have been cited in reform efforts in states including Texas Legislature, Florida Legislature, Pennsylvania General Assembly, and Ohio General Assembly, and in federal debates in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Comparative work references convictions reviewed in jurisdictions like Cook County, Los Angeles County, Maricopa County, Miami-Dade County, and Harris County.
The Registry's narratives encompass high-profile cases connected to advocacy and litigation involving entities such as Innocence Project, civil-rights litigation under statutes in Civil Rights Act of 1871, and media investigations by outlets including 60 Minutes, Frontline, and The Marshall Project. Case studies include wrongful-conviction stories that intersect with individuals and events linked to Central Park Five, legal interventions by figures associated with Ken Armstrong (journalist), investigations by Barry Scheck, and judicial reversals in courts such as the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Illinois Appellate Court, and state supreme courts like Supreme Court of Illinois.
Findings from the Registry have informed reforms advocated by groups such as Fair Punishment Project, Vera Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and legislators in bodies like the New York State Senate, California State Senate, and U.S. Congress. The Registry's evidence has supported measures involving eyewitness-identification procedures endorsed by commissions like the National Commission on Forensic Science and influenced policies addressing prosecutorial disclosure influenced by litigation in courts including the Supreme Court of the United States and circuit courts such as the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Scholars and practitioners from Georgetown University Law Center, University of Pennsylvania Law School, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and commentators in publications such as The Atlantic and The New Yorker have raised questions about the Registry's reliance on publicly reported outcomes, potential undercounting of exonerations without formal judicial findings, and challenges in attributing causes like misconduct versus error. Methodological debates reference standards used in empirical legal studies at Stanford University, Duke University School of Law, and statistical critiques from researchers at London School of Economics.
Category:Criminal justice