Wrongful Convictions in Washington

Since 2008, four people who were convicted of major crimes and incarcerated in Washington state prisons have been exonerated and released, thanks to the efforts of the Innocence Project Northwest.

Next month, UW Tacoma will present a forum to discuss these cases and the factors that contribute to wrongful convictions. One of the speakers was convicted in 1993 of a rape he did not commit. Last year, after serving 17 years, he was released because DNA evidence proved he was innocent.

The forum panelists will discuss general factors leading to wrongful conviction and what can be done to minimize its occurrence. For example, Ross said, better procedures for line-ups and identifying perpetrators may be put into place, at almost no cost to the taxpayer, that will cut down on cases of mistaken identification.

Nationally, 281 people have been exonerated through the efforts of the Innocence Project since its founding in 1992. The single, greatest cause of wrongful convictions is mistakes made by eyewitnesses in identifying suspects.

Most of the exonerated prisoners were proved innocent by DNA evidence. But DNA evidence applies only to a small portion of cases, namely rape, and sometimes murder. Wrongful convictions based on other evidence are harder to correct. The Innocence Project website lists seven of the most common causes of wrongful convictions:

• eyewitness misidentification
• unvalidated or improper forensic science
• false confessions/admissions
• government misconduct
• informants/snitches
• bad lawyering

National estimates of wrongfully convicted people among the total prison population range from .027 percent to 25 percent.

UW Tacoma’s Stephen Ross, assistant professor of psychology and the forum’s organizer, said there are different perspectives on the issue. If you accept the most conservative estimate, that .027 percent of convictions are in error, that means the justice system works 99.973 percent of the time. That’s a pretty good average in some people’s eyes. But if you, a member of your family or one of your friends happen to be in that .027 percent of innocent people, roughly estimated at 300, who are found guilty, that’s a terrible tragedy. Even worse, Ross says, is that when the wrong person is sent to prison, the guilty one is free to hurt more people and commit more crimes.

Because there are multiple perspectives on the issue, the forum panelists represent varying connections within the criminal justice system, including:

• Paula Wissel, law and justice reporter for KPLU-FM, moderator
• Alan Northrop, exonerated of a rape conviction in 2010
• Jacqueline McMurtie, associate professor of law at UW School of Law and director of the Innocence Project Northwest
• Stephen Ross, assistant professor of psychology at UW Tacoma and director of the Center for Applied Social Cognition Research
• Mark Lindquist (or another representative), from the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office
• Lara Zarowsky, policy staff attorney for the Innocence Project Northwest

The Wrongful Conviction in Washington State forum is scheduled for January 11, 6-7:30 p.m., in Philip Hall. This event is free, but registration is required.