Wrongful Convictions and the DNA Revolution

Daniel S. Medwed's research revolves around the topic of wrongful convictions. His book, Prosecution Complex: America's Race to Convict and its Impact on the Innocent (2012), explores how even well-meaning prosecutors may contribute to wrongful convictions because of cognitive biases and an overly-deferential regime of legal and ethical rules. In 2013, he received the Robert D. Klein University Lectureship, which is awarded to a member of the faculty across Northeastern University, Massachusetts, who has obtained distinction in his or her field of study. He is also a Legal Analyst for WGBH News, Boston's local NPR and PBS affiliate.

Foreword Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld; Introduction. Talking about a revolution: a quarter century of DNA exonerations Daniel S. Medwed; Innocence before DNA Michael Meltsner; Part I. A Look Back - What Have We Learned from 25 Years of DNA Exonerations?; Section 1. The Big Picture: 1. Convicting the innocent redux Brandon L. Garrett; 2. Has the innocence movement become an exoneration movement? The risks and rewards of redefining innocence Richard A. Leo; Section 2. A Closer Look at Specific Lessons: 3. Negotiating accuracy - DNA in the age of plea bargaining Alexandra Natapoff; 4. Reacting to recantations Rob Warden; 5. A tale of two innocence clinics - client representation and legislative advocacy Jacqueline McMurtrie; Section 3. The DNA Era and Changing Views of the Death Penalty: 6. How DNA has changed contemporary death penalty debates Michael L. Radelet; 7. What does innocence have to do with cruel and unusual punishment? Robert J. Smith, G. Ben Cohen and Zoe Robinson; Part II. A Glance Ahead - What Can Be Done to Avoid Wrongful Convictions in the Future?; Section 4. Substantive Reforms: 8. Flawed science and the new wave of innocents Keith A. Findley; 9. Prosecutors - the thin last line protecting the innocent George C. Thomas, III; 10. Ineffective assistance of counsel and the innocence revolution - a standards-based approach Adele Bernhard; Section 5. Procedural Changes: 11. Post-conviction procedure - the next frontier in innocence reform Stephanie Roberts Hartung; 12. Can we protect the innocent without freeing the guilty? Thoughts on innocence reforms that avoid harmful tradeoffs Paul G. Cassell; 13. Retrospective justice in the age of innocence - the hard case of rape executions Margaret Burnham; 14. Outbreaks of injustice - responding to systemic irregularities in the criminal justice system Sandra Guerra Thompson and Robert Wicoff; 15. Exonerating the innocent - habeas for nonhuman animals Justin F. Marceau and Steven Wise; Section 6. The International Arena: 16. The global innocence movement Mark Godsey; 17. Innocence at war Erik Luna.