Innocence Project DNA Exonerations Reveal Racial Disparity in Wrongful Convictions

Between 2000 and 2009 the Innocence Project secured over 100 DNA exonerations; approximately 70% of those exonerated were Black men. High-profile cases included Earl Washington Jr. (Virginia, exonerated 2001 after 17 years on death row), and Larry Mayes (Indiana, exonerated 2001 after 21 years). The pattern documented systemic failure: false confessions, eyewitness misidentification, and inadequate counsel falling disproportionately on Black defendants.