DNA Laws and the Pursuit of Racial Justice: Access to Forensic DNA Technology and the Exoneration of the Wrongfully Convicted

d’Este, Rocco and Noam Yuchtman

No 21309, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We provide evidence that the passage of “DNA laws†streamlining access to forensic DNA technology was a watershed in the exoneration of Black Americans. Exploiting staggered adoption across states, we find that DNA laws increased exonerations of wrongfully convicted Black individuals serving life sentences for sexual offenses by nearly 200%, freeing over 50 individuals — plausibly over 10% of the wrongfully convicted — and saving nearly 900 years of prison time. Our findings suggest that DNA laws redressed longstanding inequalities in access to other exoneration pathways. More generally, changes on multiple margins (technological and legal) may be necessary to reduce racial disparities.

Keywords: Racial; inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 J15 K40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03
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