Prison Book: The Wrong Men

The Wrong Men: America's Epidemic of Wrongful Death Row Convictions by Stanley Cohen is an excellent look into the causes of wrongful convictions. Each of the major causes of wrongful convictions are outlined in their own chapters, with specific cases given as examples of innocent people convicted despite their innocence.

This was another one of the very first books I read related to prison. This is the book that opened my eyes to the wrongful conviction epidemic. I was already reeling from the realization that good people like my friend could be locked up, and this book made me realize that some of those incredible people were actually innocent and science could prove it. My entire worldview was flipped upside down. All I could think was, "Wait a sec, you mean prison isn't filled with bad guys?"

This book includes the stories of 102 wrongful convictions and focuses on those sentenced to death. It was released in 2003. There have been many more exonerated innocent people freed from death row since. In a country where 1000 executions have taken place since 1976, and 241 people have been exonerated with DNA evidence, this book is of the utmost importance and an absolute must read.

As Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Center said, "Some day, the number of mistakes in death penalty cases will become intolerable. Thankfully, The Wrong Men brings that day closer."

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