What Can DNA Exonerations Tell Us about Racial Differences in Wrongful Conviction Rates?

David J. Bjerk () and Eric Helland ()
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David J. Bjerk: Claremont McKenna College
Eric Helland: Claremont McKenna College

No 11837, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: We examine the extent to which DNA exonerations can reveal whether wrongful conviction rates differ across races. We show that under a wide-range of assumptions regarding possible explicit or implicit racial biases in the DNA exoneration process (including no bias), our results suggest the wrongful conviction rate for rape is substantially and significantly higher among black convicts than white convicts. By contrast, we show that only if one believes that the DNA exoneration process very strongly favors innocent members of one race over the other could one conclude that there exist significant racial differences in wrongful conviction rates for murder.

Keywords: justice; wrongful convictions; DNA evidence; discrimination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2018-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law and nep-ure
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Published - published in: Journal of Law and Economics, 2020, 63 (2), 341 - 366

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11837

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