Robert Justice
I'm writing the first series of crime novels based upon the greatest injustice in our justice system-—wrongful convictions.
Unfortunately, wrongful convictions are all too real in our justice system. As I write, almost 3,000 men and women have been exonerated totaling more than 35,000 years of collective loss. Conservative estimates are that only 1-2% of all convictions are of innocent people. That’s an impressive success rate, and it can be comforting to think that our criminal justice system incarcerates the correct person 98-99% of the time. However, this is not good news if you are among the 1-2%. Think about what that means in actual numbers. There are approximately 2.5 million people incarcerated in the US. Conservatively, then, there are thousands of innocent people doing time for crimes they did not commit.
Have we executed an innocent person in America? I am not aware of a verifiable case of a wrongful execution. However, with the history of vigilante justice and lynchings in the United States and the sheer numbers of wrongful convictions in the modern era, it’s reasonable to suspect it has happened.
Our criminal justice system in America is broken. Reform—transformation—is needed to address mass incarceration and the fact that the largest mental health facilities in America can be found in our jails and prisons.
Together we can do something beautiful!
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Together we can do something beautiful!
If you sign up for my email list I'll be sure to send you updates.
