Wrongful Conviction Quotes

It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished. But if innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the citizen will say, "whether I do good or whether I do evil is immaterial, for innocence itself is no protection," and if such an idea as that were to take hold in the mind of the citizen that would be the end of security whatsoever.

One would much rather that twenty guilty persons should escape the punishment of death, than that one innocent person should be condemned and suffer capitally.

I think most defense attorneys honestly believe the principle that says, 'Better 10 guilty go free than even one possibly innocent person be convicted.'

It is better to destroy 100 innocent people than to let one guilty one escape.

The innocent are frequently punished instead of the guilty

It is better to risk sparing a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one.

The judge is condemned when the guilty is absolved.

If someone is trying to frame you, don't you want to know who, what, when, where and why?

I've never been under the illusion that everybody on death row is innocent - far from it. My own guess is upwards of 90 percent are guilty. But a ten percent error rate if that's what it is, or even five percent, is really way too high.

When I signed on to letting the death penalty back in, I thought the procedural protections against executing an innocent person were stronger than they turned out to be.

I’m not necessarily against the death penalty. But I am damn sure against the wrong man getting executed.

When you're poor and black in America, you stand a greater chance of going to prison for something you didn't do.

It is better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that one Innocent Person should be condemned.

We have a situation where a young man is basically convicted of his own murder.

As long as you have capital punishment there is no guarantee that innocent people won't be put to death.

I think any time you're able to humanize the plight of the wrongfully incarcerated, then you're doing your job.

Technology is neutral: It convicts and finds innocents. We must make it a regularized part of the system, giving defendants access to DNA testing and evidence whenever it might be relevant.

In Nigeria they convict by law, not by the truth

We cannot allow the spectacle of constant executions to be swept under the rug. We know that already over 100 individuals who were put on death row have been released. And we should shudder to think how many people have been sent to their deaths that were innocent.

People have been to jail when they're innocent. I knew I would never miss a single ball on a snooker table on purpose and, until then, I was sure the evidence would support me.

Death row is a nightmare to serial killers and ax murderers. For an innocent man, it's a life of mental torture that the human spirit is not equipped to survive.

The cops picked me up for attempted murder. I can still see the detectives, licking their chops. Thought they had me. Two weeks later, the cat came out of a coma and told the truth. I was innocent.

Every time when there is an exoneration, and there have been hundreds of them, and somebody walks out of jail after years, people ask, “how could this happen?” …. State sanctioned killing is just wrong.

The execution of a person who can show that he is innocent comes perilously close to simple murder.

It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.