6533b834fe1ef96bd129de66
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Imprisoned But Innocent: Wrongful Convictions and Imprisonments in Germany, 1990-2016
Axel DesseckerFredericke LeuschnerMartin Rettenbergersubject
Political science050901 criminology05 social sciences050109 social psychology0501 psychology and cognitive sciences0509 other social sciencesCriminology16. Peace & justiceLawPathology and Forensic MedicineSystem errorCriminal justicedescription
Although in the United States wrongful convictions and imprisonments are a major public and scientific concern, this topic has been largely ignored in Germany for decades. The present article offers for the first time an overview of all accessible German cases of successful retrials involving convicted persons who served a prison sentence since 1990. The data refer to 31 wrongfully convicted persons in 29 independent cases. Although the largest group consists of cases of false allegations, some of the wrongly convicted were considered not guilty by reason of insanity, and a few wrongful convictions occurred because of eyewitness misidentification and false confessions. In addition, incorrect expert testimony contributed considerably to the wrongful conviction in some cases.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-03-06 | Crime & Delinquency |