Unfortunately, this type of miscarriage of justice isn’t an isolated one-off case.According to researcher estimates, about 4.1% of death penalty convictions are erroneous. In other words, for every 100 people on death row, at least four people shouldn’t be there. And that’s not even looking at those wrongly convicted of smaller crimes with lesser penalties.Sadly, the people it usually happens to are those who can’t afford the most highly qualified defense attorneys and who can’t keep paying legal fees to appeal. And they’re mostly people of color. The National Exonerations Registry shows that as of 2015, 60% of exonerations after a wrongful conviction were for non-white defendants.
Source: 30 years on death row but you’re innocent. When you’re freed, the prosecutor comes to apologize.