Gender Differences in Exonerations
Wrongful convictions are a gross miscarriage of justice and leave innocent people in prison for countless years. Wrongful convictions undermine the integrity and legitimacy of the legal system. Wrongful convictions can be traced as far back as the Salem Witch trials and there is a great deal of scholarship on the issue. However, as much as we currently know about wrongful convictions little is known about the gender disparities that exist between the wrongful convictions of men and women. Since 1989, there have been 2,471 individuals exonerated and only 217 of those are women. There is a lack of literature about women who have been falsely convicted. In my project, I attempt to fill the gap in women’s wrongful convictions and statistics surrounding these cases. My research will provide information regarding existing scholarship and statistics that are specific to female exonerees. Within my project, I examine information about every exoneree in the United States since 1989 through the University of California Irvine and the University of Michigan’s collaborated National Registry of Exonerations. I also looked at scholarly articles about wrongful convictions, the causes of wrongful convictions, and women’s incarceration rates. By addressing the widespread misunderstanding of wrongful convictions and their prominence in the U.S. criminal justice system, I hope to bring further attention to the subject. And additionally, by focusing on the gender divide in wrongful convictions it creates a valuable avenue of much-needed research on the topic.