When an innocent person is imprisoned, everyone in our society loses. Wrongful convictions are incredibly destructive, obviously, first and foremost, to the person unjustly imprisoned and their family and friends, but also to society as a whole—because the public loses confidence in the law.
That’s why I am committed to continuing and developing a reform-minded prosecutorial culture that understands the importance of getting every case right.
- Careful Prosecutors. The DA’s Office must continue to hire lawyers with good instincts, who reflect the community and are sensitive to cultural differences.
- Learn from Experience. We must continue high quality training and supervision. When a case goes wrong, everyone should understand why. Re-training and proportionate disciplinary action should be taken to make sure it does not happen again.
- Conviction Integrity Panel. I will establish a panel whose membership will be selected from the Office’s best appellate and trial lawyers. It will apply fresh sets of eyes to high-risk, red-flagged cases. Working with external organizations and individuals, it will examine allegations of wrongful convictions and review the Office’s procedures and practices to ensure they line up with national best practices.
- Reliable Evidence. False confessions, mistaken identifications, and defects in scientific and forensic evidence all contribute to wrongful convictions. The Office will work closely with the NYPD to develop protocols regarding the videotaping of interrogations in appropriate cases; review identification methods to ensure reliability; and recommend improvements in the management of scientific and forensic evidence.
