The movement to free the 'factually innocent' has accidentally made it way harder for people with unfair life sentences to get another day in court.
SSRN · March 17, 2026 · 6410598
The Takeaway
By narrowing the definition of a 'wrongful conviction' to only those who can prove they weren't at the scene of the crime (often via DNA), reformers have created a trap for people convicted as accomplices. These individuals are technically 'at the scene' but are serving life sentences that the community finds disproportionate, yet they are now ignored because they don't fit the 'innocence' narrative.
From the abstract
<p>What makes a conviction wrongful? Developments in DNA science have led to a wave of exonerations over the past thirty years, revealing sources of error in the criminal legal process. Innocence organizations proliferated to represent people whose convictions could be overturned by newly discovered evidence. This is vital work for the individuals who are released and for the purpose of systemic change. At the same time, a focus on exonerations constructs a relatively narrow conception of wrongf