What percentage of people in jail are innocent of their convicted crimes?

[ilikeverin]

In approximately 75% of the cases where people are taken off death row, the innocent people put there got into that situation because of false witness testimony.

[ilikeverin]

In approximately 75% of the cases where people are taken off death row, the innocent people put there got into that situation because of false witness testimony.

Deliberately false?  Regardless, way too many lay people overvalue personal recounting - it's amazing how differently two people under duress can describe an identical situation.  And do you just mean that false testimony was involved somewhere in the trial?

Sorry; not deliberately false.  Most of the time the witnesses believe they're being entirely truthful in their testimony, and are convincing enough in the emphaticness of their statements that people believe them.  "Witness misidentification" is a much better descriptor

In approximately 75% of the cases where people are taken off death row, the innocent people put there got into that situation because of false witness testimony.

You GOT to have a cite for that.

Sure and here's more info.

[ilikeverin]

So... I present a rather controversial piece of information, with reliable sources backing it up, and still everyone says the rate is extremely low?

[ilikeverin]

Yes.  Your cites don't say anything about what the overall rate of innocence would be.  Stats on over turned cases don't have any solid correlation with cases that were not.

That's what my second link is for, which clearly shows that the way police interrogate eyewitnesses now predisposes people all over to making terrible mistakes.

[ilikeverin]

Yes.  Your cites don't say anything about what the overall rate of innocence would be.  Stats on over turned cases don't have any solid correlation with cases that were not.

That's what my second link is for, which clearly shows that the way police interrogate eyewitnesses now predisposes people all over to making terrible mistakes.

Clearly?  Assuming this is the site, nothing is clear there.

What's unclear?

[ilikeverin]

It's a page full of links to .pdf files.  You expect me to dig through that looking for your point?

My point is that there is quite a bit of research on the subject; I was expecting you to go to the trouble of reading some of it because I doubted you'd take it straight from me.

Perhaps a 60 Minutes feature?