The wrongful conviction of Ronnie Long might appear shocking: No physical evidence, false testimony, a conflicting description of the suspect – then 44 years in prison for Long.
But experts and advocates aren’t surprised: They say U.S. prisons are filled with potentially thousands of innocent people. While Long’s case is particularly egregious, experts told USA TODAY some of the factors that led to his imprisonment are still causing wrongful convictions today.
Relatedly from the Intercept, “Crime Scene DNA didn’t match Marcellus Williams. Missouri may fast track his execution anyway.” (archived
Black people comprise 53% of the 3,200 exonerations listed in the registry, making African Americans seven times more likely than their white counterparts to be falsely convicted of serious crimes, according to the organization’s report. Potkin said that racial disparities in wrongful conviction mirror disparities seen throughout the criminal justice system including policing, jury selection and pretrial detention.
Remember things like this next time someone is telling you how systemic racism doesn’t exist.
Or a presidential candidate says we are not a racist country.
I’m not disagreeing with you, but it’s important to note that Haley said the US was never racist. What she said about the country that had race-based chattel slavery, one drop laws that made you a non-citizen if any of your ancestors were people of color, and riots when black children tried to go to school was, and I quote, “We’re not a racist country…We’ve never been a racist country.”
Later on in the campaign Vivek Ramaswamy would end his candidacy after a poor performance in Iowa. At least one voter said they voted against him because he ‘reminds me of 9/11’. Ramaswamy is American-born and of Indian descent. India had nothing to do with 9/11.
Now, do the calculation again, but by gender.
And then do it again, and this time use race AND gender.
Don’t be black in america or you’re going to have a bad time
