Wrongly Accused: Is Race a Factor in Convicting the Innocent?

I made an unusual choice in deciding to write this informal essay about race and innocence. The choice is unusual because my primary purpose in doing so is to flaunt my ignorance on the subject—to reach out to readers for help in clarifying my confusion. I am not, however, overly embarrassed by my ignorance because the subject is one on which no one yet knows very much. The main point of my essay indeed is simply to encourage more work in this area because much more is needed. My goal, after quickly summarizing in this Introduction just how little we know, is to make a plausible, albeit speculative, case for the proposition that race likely is a serious risk factor for the innocent suffering conviction—a plausible enough case to merit extended empirical and theoretical work in this area. So let’s take stock of what little we do know. First, Barry Scheck’s Innocence Project, for those who don’t know, has crafted an on-line set of materials to be used in seminars and larger classes on innocence. I have used these materials as part of an innocence seminar and can testify that they are thorough and up-to-date. If you click on the topic, “Race and