Correcting Racial Injustice: Forensic DNA Technology and the Exoneration of the Wrongfully Convicted

Rocco d'Este () and Noam Yuchtman
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Rocco d'Este: University of Sussex

No 16076, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: We study the effects of laws streamlining access to post-conviction forensic DNA technology ("DNA laws"). We present a conceptual framework in which DNA laws' effects differ by race due to unequal access to non-DNA exoneration technologies. Consistent with the framework's predictions, we find that DNA laws: (i) increased DNA-based exonerations for Blacks and non-Blacks; (ii) increased total exonerations for Blacks, while non-Blacks exhibit substitution across exoneration technologies and smaller effects on total exonerations. We estimate that without DNA laws, around 100 wrongfully convicted Black Americans would have died in prison, with wrongfully convicted Blacks spending over 1,800 additional years imprisoned.

Keywords: racial inequality; criminal sentencing; legal institutions; technology and justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 J15 K40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 65 pages
Date: 2023-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law
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