Police Misconduct Leading to Wrongful Convictions

Police misconduct is one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions. While most police officers behave ethically, some do not. A police officer’s illegal actions can ruin an innocent person’s life. This article discusses the role of police misconduct in wrongful convictions. It also covers the laws that provide compensation for wrongfully convicted people.

If police misconduct played a role in your conviction, time is of the essence. Contact a police misconduct attorney near you as soon as possible.

What Is Police Misconduct?

Police misconduct occurs when law enforcement officers engage in improper or illegal actions. It includes actions such as:

• Using excessive force
• Offering false testimony in court 
• Tampering with witnesses or evidence 
• Using illegal or questionable tactics to obtain confessions 

What Is a Wrongful Conviction? 

A wrongful conviction occurs when: 

• Evidence proves that the convicted person was innocent
• The conviction relied on violations of the suspect’s constitutional rights

One example of a wrongful conviction would be where DNA testing shows another person was the culprit. Additionally, a prosecutor’s refusal to give the defense exculpatory evidence is a constitutional violation that can be overturned. 

Lawyers call a decision that clears a wrongful conviction an exoneration. The cleared person is an exoneree.

Six Factors That Lead to Wrongful Convictions

Six factors lead to most wrongful convictions. They are: 

• Eyewitness misidentifications 
• False confessions
• False or misleading forensic evidence
• False testimony
• Inadequate legal representation
• Official misconduct by police or district attorneys

However, police often play significant roles in generating false confessions, false testimony, flawed evidence, and poor eyewitness identifications. So, police misconduct can influence many of the factors that lead to wrongful convictions. 

How Does Police Misconduct Factor Into Wrongful Convictions? 

Police misconduct causes innocent people to be arrested, charged, and convicted in several ways. 

• Giving false testimony: An officer’s false testimony can lead a jury to the wrong result. 
• Influencing testimony: Officers can influence what witnesses and suspects say. Some officers force coerced confessions. Telling a witness to pick a particular person during a lineup can also influence what’s said in court. 
• Fabricating evidence: When an officer says that a suspect confessed or that they found specific evidence, jurors accept it – even if it’s a lie. 
• Mishandling evidence: Police departments must carefully gather, preserve, and document forensic evidence from crime scenes. Juries reviewing tainted or incomplete information are more likely to reach bad outcomes. 

Can I Sue if Police Misconduct Caused My Wrongful Conviction?

The first step is to get exonerated. For that, you will need a criminal defense attorney. But what happens after your exoneration? Can you recoup the significant losses you’ve incurred due to your conviction?

The answer is maybe. The federal government, 37 states, and the District of Columbia have exoneree compensation laws. However, 13 states – Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming – currently have no such laws.

Generally, you’ll need to prove that: 

• You were convicted under state law
• You served at least part of your sentence 
• You were pardoned, or your sentence was vacated because you are innocent 

Some states impose additional requirements. Missouri law, for example, limits compensation to people exonerated by DNA evidence. 

Exoneree Compensation

In most places, you’ll have to go to court to receive compensation. However, some states use special agencies to hear exoneree claims. An attorney can help you file your claim in the right place. Most states base exoneree compensation on the number of days or years served. California pays $140 for every day of wrongful incarceration.

Get Help After a Wrongful Conviction

The American criminal justice system tries its best to generate reliable results. Police misconduct corrupts the legal system and leads to grave injustices. When this happens, it’s important to hold wrongdoers civilly accountable.

If you were wrongfully convicted because of police misconduct, you have rights. But you don’t have to fight for your rights alone. Use the LawInfo directory to find a police misconduct lawyer near you.