Wrongful convictions have become a prominent concern in state and federal systems of justice. As thousands of innocent prisoners have been freed in the United States in the past few decades, social science researchers and legal actors have produced a wealth of new insights about how and why mistakes occur and what can be done to help prevent further injustices.

When Justice Fails surveys the field of innocence scholarship to offer an overview of the key research, legal, and policy issues associated with wrongful convictions. Topics include the leading sources of error, the detection and correction of miscarriages of justice, the aftermath of wrongful convictions, and more. The volume includes references to historic and contemporary instances of miscarriages of justice and presents information gleaned from media sources about the cases and related policy issues. The book is ideally suited for use in undergraduate classes which focus on wrongful convictions and the administration of justice.

PowerPoint slides are available to professors upon adoption of this book. You can download a sample of the full 139-slide presentation here. If you have adopted the book for a course, contact bhall@cap-press.com to request the PowerPoint slides.

"The learning objectives presented in the beginning of each chapter are accomplished through a variety of ways. Importantly, regardless of a student's background, discussions are presented from so many different angles that the material is tailored to all readers. Each chapter starts with a case study, introduces new concepts, discusses the related law, and concludes with presenting policy reforms. The authors not only present the issues related to wrongful convictions but the potential solutions as well."
-- Matthew R. Hassett, UNC-Pembroke

"I will continue to frequently open this book and read it to make myself a better police officer and to pass on knowledge to do my part in preventing wrongful convictions."
-- Earthen McEachen, Senior Capstone student at Curry College in Boston