Introduction: Path Forward or Road to Nowhere? Implications of the 2009 National Academy of Sciences Report on the Forensic Sciences

The evolution of DNA technology has shined a light on an issue previously shrouded in darkness: the extent to which innocent prisoners are wrongfully convicted. To date, post-conviction DNA testing has succeeded in exonerating 252 criminal defendants, their innocence proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. DNA exonerations provide a dataset to study in the hopes of figuring out “what went wrong” in these cases. This process of deconstructing post-conviction innocence cases helps not only in understanding the causes of wrongful convictions, but in designing reforms to prevent future miscarriages of justice.