OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Oklahoma state has done nothing to correct the 465 collective years wrongfully served by Oklahomans, according to an opinion article published in The Oklahoman by Andrea Miller this past week.
Forty-six former inmates have been released, and Miller claims there are others, and writes that “the question is not whether we have mistakenly convicted innocent people. The real question is, how many people have we wrongfully convicted? More importantly, what are we going to do about it?”
Miller describes the most recent instance of misconduct is the case of Richard Glossip, in which the U.S. Supreme Court reversed his murder conviction.
“These instances of misconduct are not outliers,” states Miller, who is also the lead director of the Oklahoma Innocence Project.
Miller explained the Supreme Court justices believed there was “error at the hands of prosecutors,” resulting in innocent people serving large sentences, and noting more than half of the 46 wrongful convictions “were overturned based on…prosecutorial misconduct.”
After releasing the innocent former inmates from prison, “the state of Oklahoma has done nothing to correct course,” opines Miller, adding, “Neither the Legislature, the courts, nor the Oklahoma Bar Association has lifted a finger to restore the full integrity of our criminal justice system.”
Miller makes it clear, “The vast majority of prosecutors conduct themselves professionally and ethically. However, it only takes a handful of bad actors to inflict life-changing damage upon innocent people. At the same time, prosecutors who engage in misconduct rarely face repercussions.”
The Oklahoma Court of Appeals reviews state criminal convictions and is the only court that does so, writes Miller, noting it “makes it almost impossible to prove a prosecutor hid evidence that could exonerate a defendant,” and, often, those wrongfully convicted must rely on the finding of new evidence to prove their innocence, reports Miller.
“The vast majority of cases involving prosecutorial or police misconduct continue without consequence, often in cases where the inmate does not have the help of post-conviction counsel,” which means that there is almost nothing they can do to prove their innocence, continues Miller.
Miller believes prosecutors are not the only place that is at fault for wrongful convictions, writing in her Opinion piece, “Issues involving unreliable forensic evidence and defense attorneys who fail to conduct their own investigation also play a significant role in wrongful convictions.”
