Exonerated

The fascinating story behind the innocence movement's quest for justice.Documentaries like Making a Murderer, the first season of Serial, and the cause célèbre that was the West Memphis Three captured the attention of millions and focused the national discussion on wrongful convictions. This interest is warranted: more than 1,800 people have been set free in recent decades after being convicted of crimes they did not commit. In response to these exonerations, federal and state governments have passed laws to prevent such injustices; lawyers and police have changed their practices; and advocacy organizations have multiplied across the country. Together, these activities are often referred to as the “innocence movement.” Exonerated provides the first in-depth look at the history of this movement through interviews with key leaders such as Barry Scheck and Rob Warden as well as archival and field research into the major cases that brought awareness to wrongful convictions in the United States. Robert Norris also examines how and why the innocence movement took hold. He argues that while the innocence movement did not begin as an organized campaign, scientific, legal, and cultural developments led to a widespread understanding that new technology and renewed investigative diligence could both catch the guilty and free the innocent. Exonerated reveals the rich background story to this complex movement.

[An] informative overview of the development of the innocence movement...A useful contribution to an important national conversation about crime and punishment., Exoneratedis the first complete and authentic history of the innocence movement. Robert J. Norris shows us how it came into being and how it evolved over the decades. He also shines light on the issues involved and the challenges the movement faces. With his unmatched academic credential, Norris has written a book that will benefit both students and experts of innocence movement., Exonerated delineates the origin story of the “innocence movement,” a highly publicized pivot in legal circles in the late twentieth century toward the wrongful conviction of innocent persons. Robert J. Norris focuses mostly on the key players involved in the early days of using forensic DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) to exonerate innocents … Exonerated draws on social movements theory to explain in terms of political opportunities for legal reform, local actions of individuals and organizations, and the ways key players framed innocence to bolster its legitimacy., It (is) a valuable window into the effect of many factors that drive the criminal justice system (race, class, and gender) but not necessarily a means of addressing them. This careful attention to grounding his history makes the book a valuable reference for social scientists, graduate students, and anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of change in the legal system., This work is readily accessible to most adult audiences, and is especially recommended for all college, university, and seminary libraries.

Robert J. Norris is Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. He is the author of Exonerated: A History of the Innocence Movement and When Justice Fails: Causes and Consequences of Wrongful Convictions.