February 2005

And More...

Continued from page 2

By TR Staff

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FACTS MACHINE
The DNA Defense

» In approximately 25 percent of cases submitted to the FBI lab for DNA testing, the suspect's DNA does not match that found at a crime scene.
» DNA labs' casework increased 73 percent, and their casework backlog increased 135 percent, between 1997 and 2000.
» DNA evidence was first used to exonerate an innocent U.S. prisoner in 1989.
» From 1989 through 2003, 145 U.S. prisoners were exonerated based on DNA evidence.
» 13 of the people exonerated by DNA evidence had been sentenced to death.
» Exonerated prisoners have spent, on average, more than 10 years in prison.
» It costs an average of $22,600 to keep one person in a U.S. prison for one year.
» Until October 2004, the maximum restitution for exonerated federal prisoners allowed by law was $5,000.
» 32 states offer no restitution for exonerated prisoners aside from "gate money," which typically includes bus fare, clothing, and a nominal amount of cash.
» Approximately half of convicts who receive postconviction DNA screening in an attempt to prove their innocence are in fact confirmed guilty.