by Jim Dwyer, Peter Neufeld, Barry Scheck
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Product Description
This "heartbreaking and in-furiating"* compendium of lives ruined by miscarriages of justice has generated a storm of media attention, public outrage, and a nationwide debate on the criminal justice system.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Essential reading, 2008-07-08
Most citizens trust the justice system to do the right thing in enforcing the law. Actual Innocence provides an inside look at a criminal justice system that does whatever it takes to convict those who appear guilty, regardless of the truth. Overbearing prosecutors hide evidence of innocence; police ignore exculpatory evidence and alternative avenues of investigation to focus on someone they "like" for the crime; forensic scientists are incompetent or downright fraudlent; defense lawyers sleep through death penalty trials. Each chapter focuses on a part of the system that is vulnerable to wrongfully convicting capital defendants and uses actual cases to illustrate associated issues.
In the end, the authors take on the question of how the system can be improved and provide a laundry list of suggestions for reforms that would minimize chances of wrongful conviction. Every state and federal legislator should at least read this section. However, after reading the book, it is worth asking how many cases of wrongful conviction cannot be righted because of the lack of DNA evidence. This has serious implications for use of the death penalty.
This is an engaging and accessible book written in a compelling style. In the years I have assigned it for a college level course, countless students have reported that it changed their ideas about the criminal justice system.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Justice?, 2008-06-13
This is a compelling study and points out how easy it is to circumvent the law. The cases cited and other cases won probably represent the tip of the iceberg of the real number of wrongful convictions, most of which will not have the possibility of exonerating DNA evidence. America has become a country with the "rule of man" rather than the "rule of law", a sad reflection on the justice system.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Depressing but true, 2008-02-26
Easy read, if you don't know how the criminal justice system "really" works, this is an excellent introduction. I'm in law school so already pretty familiar with the injustice that happens in our system. The book clearly demonstrates some of the many things that can go wrong through actual stories.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Barry Scheck you have redemed yourself., 2008-02-01
I was not sure about this book after I watched the trial of OJ but really Barry and the others are doing a great job proving that innocent people do go to prison and I really didin't realize how bad it was as my husband worked in the judicial system in California for over 30 years. I think it is a must for anyone that may ever be called upon to serve on a jury. I have a new outlook on positive identificiations. I have always been for the death penalty but now I am not so sure. I sure don't like to think about how many innocent people have died due to mistakes and cold hearted lawyers.
Well done Barry but I still believe OJ did it but there was not enough proof especially after all of the games people played, but then this book was not about OJ or people that may have been guilty it is about people that have been proven innocent without a doubt. I would rather have an OJ acquited than to see an innocent man or woman on death row.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A Must Read, 2007-02-07
If you are at all involved in the criminal justice system or simply like watching Law & Order, this book is a MUST read. The authors are the founders of the Innocence Project, which strives to exonerate the wrongly convicted. Each chapter examines aspects of "what went wrong" in the convictions of people who are completely innocent. The authors also give detailed accounts of people they have helped to exonerate. As a soon-to-be law school graduate, this book is truly an eye-opener, and will certainly guide me in my future career. It's shocking at how easily the innocent can be (and have been) convicted of heinous crimes, and at how difficult it is for them to gain even a chance to prove their innocence.
Again, this book is a must read. It's a quick read, but will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression.
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