It’s time for finals around here which means, for me at least, A LOT of paper writing and A LOT of chocolate eating (I’m not entirely sure why the two are linked but they most certainly are).

Finals time also means that I didn’t find myself with a lot of or, really, any time  to come up with this week’s blog posting. So I thought it kismet when in the course of suffering through  the ebbs and flows of my sugar highs, I came across CNN’s  new documentary: An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story.   As you may have read in my introductory post, or noticed in the several other posts on related topics,  I have a pretty serious fascination with The Innocence Project and the work it does. Its a fascination that in its own round-about way led me to enroll at  Silver School and, ultimately, dedicate my time here to exploring the social injustices that lead to individuals being wrongfully convicted in the first place.   311 individuals have been exonerated through DNA testing in the United States. 18 of them were proclaiming their innocence from death row. The rest of them served on average 13.6 years before being set free. Michael Morton is part of these statistics. So are the Central Park Five and the West Memphis Three. Who isn’t counted though? Who served three years in prison and  became a registered sex offender on the account of  an extremely flawed criminal justice system and never said anything? Which wrongfully accused immigrant  unknowingly signed a plea deal hoping to be released from prison only to find themselves deported back to their  country of origin? Life sentences for the wrongfully convicted are appalling but what about the small sentences that add up to a life of poverty and unjust treatment? How can we proactively prevent this from happening instead of just reacting once its already been done?

While I take a break from thinking about these questions to complete my final papers,  I encourage you to pick up where I left off.  Check out Michael Morton’s story. And maybe these articles too….

How to Fight ‘Bad Apple’ Prosecutors who Abuse the Criminal Justice System

Released but Never Exonerated, a Man Fights for Freedom

An Arrest in the News, an Exoneration in Silence

We can talk about it if I make it through the semester….