Wrongful Convictions Among Women: An Exploratory Study of a Neglected Topic

Interest in wrongful convictions in the United States criminal justice system has accelerated over the past several decades. Most attention, however, has focused on wrongfully convicted men, leaving largely unexplored the problem of women who are wrongfully convicted. Using two large electronic databases, this study examines the problem of wrongful convictions involving women in the United States since 1970 (N = 42). Case characteristics of wrongfully convicted women are compared with a sample of wrongfully convicted men. Racial differences in the wrongful conviction of white and African American women are also explored.