New Illinois study seeks to price the costs of wrongful convictions

As detailed in this New York Times article, headlined “Costs Are High for Convictions of Wrong People,” a new study released today by Better Government Association and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern seeks to detail the high costs of wrongful convictions. Here is a summary of the report’s findings via the Times: 

The [Better Government Association], a nonprofit watchdog and advocacy group, said the study was the first to document the economic and social costs of the 85 convictions in the state that were overturned between 1989 — the advent of modern DNA testing — and 2010.  In all, the study said, those wrongful convictions have cost Illinois taxpayers $214 million, and the amount will probably increase to $300 million once 16 pending lawsuits are settled….

The perpetrators of crimes for which others were convicted went on to commit at least 94 more felonies, including 14 murders and 11 sexual assaults, according to the study.  It said 83 men and 2 women spent a total of 926 years behind bars for crimes they did not commit….

In 81 of the 85 cases, the study found what it said was either misconduct or error by state officials — in 66 cases by the police, in 44 by prosecutors and in 29 by forensic specialists.

The full study with lots of data and charts and graphs are available at this link.