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What to Know: Prosecutorial Misconduct and the Death Penalty
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Death Penalty Information Center
3 % of all death sentences imposed since 1972 were reversed because of prosecutorial misconduct or resulted in an exoneration.
Of the 202 total death row exonerations, at least 144 , or roughly 70 %, involved prosecutorial misconduct specifically (a subset of the broader “ official misconduct” category, which also includes police and other government misconduct).
Prosecutorial misconduct can include the illegal exclusion of people of color from juries, in violation of Batson v. Kentucky .
All-white and nearly all-white juries have been found to be more conviction-prone and more likely to impose death sentences.
Exonerations take longer in cases involving official misconduct because of ongoing efforts by government officials to hide misconduct and false testimony or accusations.