Shocking, But Not Surprising

Byron Halsey has escaped the death sentence because the Innocence Project looked into his case, got the DNA evidence examined, and convinced the right people that Mr. Halsey was innocent. He, along with 200 others, was lucky, not only because the Innocence Project was around at the right time, but also because he was charged with a crime in which DNA evidence was a crucial element.

The UK's Times Online took a look at the statistics involving the 201 wrongfully convicted men that the Innocence Project helped and came up with some pretty shocking findings:

Of the 201 now exonerated, 120 were black and 15 had spent time on death row. Together, they had served 2,496 years. ...

One of the most striking statistics from the cases, which demonstrates a distinct bias against African-American men, involves sexual assaults.

Nationally, only 12 per cent of sexual assaults are between a victim of one race and an attacker of another – yet 64 per cent of those exonerated were black men convicted of raping white women.

In the cases, 28 per cent were convicted of murder. Overall, three quarters were the result of inaccurate identifications at police lineups.

The statistics were based only on the 201 men exonerated with the assistance of the Innocence Project. There's no telling how many other black and brown men are sitting on death row, or rotting away in cells under long sentences who don't belong there, or who have been wrongfully executed because of miscarriages of justice.

This is unacceptable.