Barred: Why the Innocent Can't Get Out of Prison (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781541675919)

A groundbreaking exposé of how our legal system makes it nearly impossible to overturn wrongful convictions

Thousands of innocent people are behind bars in the United States. But proving their innocence and winning their release is nearly impossible.

In Barred, legal scholar Daniel S. Medwed argues that our justice system's stringent procedural rules are largely to blame for the ongoing punishment of the innocent. Those rules guarantee criminal defendants just one opportunity to appeal their convictions directly to a higher court. Afterward, the wrongfully convicted can pursue only a few narrow remedies. Even when there is strong evidence of a miscarriage of justice, rigid guidelines, bias, and deference toward lower courts all too often prevent exoneration.

Offering clear explanations of legal procedures alongside heart-wrenching stories of their devastating impact, Barred exposes how the system is stacked against the innocent and makes a powerful call for change.

Author: Daniel S. Medwed
ISBN-10: 1541675916
ISBN-13: 9781541675919
Publisher: Basic Books
Language: English
Published: 09/20/2022
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 9.45h x 6.34w x 1.16d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/27/2022
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2022
Booklist 08/01/2022 pg. 6