May 21st, 2012

Since 1989, more than 2,000 people have been victims of wrongful conviction in felony cases. Now nearly 900 of these exonerations are profiled, with searchable data and summaries of the cases on the National Registry of Exonerations, a new joint project of the University of Michigan Law School and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University. The Registry, available at exonerationregistry.org, will be updated on an ongoing basis. This is the most comprehensive database of its kind. We hope that the insights gained into the causes and patterns of wrongful conviction will provide policy and decision makers the information they need to make continuous improvements to the criminal justice system.

The National Registry of Exonerations has released an inaugural report detailing the exonerations from 1989-May 2012. You can download a pdf of it here: Exonerations in the United States, 1989 – 2012.

To view more details on specific exonerations in New England, visit the links below:
27 exonerations in Massachusetts.
3 MA federal exonerations. Includes the recent case of James Hebshie, exonerated last year for the crime of arson.
7 exonerations in Connecticut.
1 exoneration in New Hampshire.
2 exonerations in Rhode Island.