John,
Today is International Women’s Day. As we reflect on this year’s theme of embracing equity, we can’t help but think of the many unique challenges women face when it comes to wrongful conviction, incarceration, and contact with the criminal legal system.
To date, 286 women have been exonerated, representing about 8% of all exonerated people. Wrongly convicted women seeking to clear their names often face further challenges because of the types of crimes for which women tend to be wrongly convicted.
Nearly 75% of women exonerated in the last three decades were wrongfully convicted of crimes that never took place at all, according to data from the National Registry of Exonerations. And in many wrongful conviction cases involving women, there may be less DNA evidence (due to the type of crime) to test and prove innocence.
In fact, only 14 women so far have been exonerated with the help of DNA evidence.
Over the course of this month, Women’s History Month, we’ll be celebrating the achievements of women around the world and progress made to advance gender equality, while also continuing our work of pushing for a more just and equitable criminal legal system for all. This includes women exonerees, and the mothers, sisters, daughters, and all the women who have been impacted by the wrongful incarceration or conviction of a loved one.
We hope you’ll kick off this month by learning more about the unique impacts of wrongful conviction and incarceration on women — read these eight facts now, and then share them with your friends and family online.
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Thank you for your support,
The Innocence Project Team |
