Further, the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is on the prosecution. As someone who has organized with victims of the U.S. system of justice for over five decades — including wrongful convictions — I firmly uphold Blackstone’s formulation. The so-called justice system in this country has been perverted and corrupted to the point that if you’re poor, you’re guilty until you can prove your innocence. This has led to one of the most massive incarceration systems in the world.

Statistics bear out the prison industrial complex is tainted by racism and class bias, meaning that poor, Black people are disproportionately behind bars. Our sentences will be longer and harsher than our white counterparts. This is the guaranteed means to keep Black bodies coming into the system. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, the total expenses for public and private prisons and jails is nearly $85 billion.

This makes the issue of wrongful convictions even more egregious. Every state in the union is guilty of wrongful convictions, some more than others. Subsequently,  3,536 people have been exonerated who have spent almost 42,000 years under brutal, traumatizing conditions.

The National Registry of Exonerations keeps track of these injustices. It reported that 2022 was a record year for exonerations. That year, judges were overturning convictions for at least four people every week. In the last decade, there have been more demands for prosecutorial accountability and many cities have set up special units in the prosecutor attorney’s office to review wrongful convictions.

I know of no state other than Missouri, where victims of wrongful convictions are made to suffer needlessly because the state attorney general always, always fights the courts who free the victims. A hearing is forced, or an appeal is made to delay justice in the taxpayers’ name and at our expense. Ultimately, the court’s ruling prevails and after unwarranted delays, the sufferer is finally reunited with their loved ones and their community.

Missouri ‘s practice was widely exposed in 2003  when Joseph Amrine’s conviction was overturned by a court, and the State AG appealed the case to the State Supreme Court. When asked by a Supreme Court justice if Amrine should be executed even if he was found guilty, many decent folks recoiled at the assistant attorney’s response: “That’s correct, your honor.” This is Missouri justice.

Recently, the wrongful convictions of Sandra Hemme and Christopher Dunn begged for judicial light. Having served 43 years, Hemme has the disgraceful badge of being the longest held wrongly incarcerated woman in U.S. history. Dunn served 34 years. The current AG, Andrew Bailey, is running for re-election, and attempted to stop both Hemme and Dunn from getting their long overdue freedom. Many observers felt he was using the two cases to score political points during this election season.

Extensive work has been done to overhaul the badly broken judicial system in this country. This ranges from electing reform prosecutors to community groups raising awareness about the incompetence and racism of the courts. Credit has to also be given to groups like the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries, nonprofits established to clean up the mess of a system that finds it nearly impossible to correct its appalling wrongs. I can’t leave out the student groups and law clinics who enthusiastically take up these cases with passion and purpose. There is still much work to be done.

People in this country must stop being naïve about the system. There is overwhelming evidence that the system is corrupt and biased towards poor people and people of color. Everyone who gets a trial, whether it be a bench or jury trial, doesn’t always get justice. When courts get it wrong, the victim, the family and the community suffer. The incalculable suffering is psychological, emotional and financial. We cannot be complicit. It is our duty to fight for a fair and unbiased system that addresses crime in a restorative and humane way.