Wrongful Convictions and ExonerationsThe United States justice system is a system that has continually been called into question due to its handling of certain cases, especially when it comes to face convictions. Of course, the system has now been equipped with more reliable means of obtaining evidence and proving innocence, such as DNA or computer technology. This calls into question what exactly is a wrongful conviction and how much, if any, has the system improved due to an increased reliance on DNA evidence? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In 1985, twenty-two-year-old John Thompson was convicted and placed on death row for armed robbery while also facing a murder conviction. In an op-ed he personally wrote for the New York Times, Thompson himself describes the events that led to his wrongful conviction, as well as what it took for prosecutors to later realize that Thompson was in fact innocent. A man from whom Thompson had purchased a ring and a gun later told police that Thompson was responsible for the murder of another man, and the ring he had bought was that of the victim while the gun served as the murder weapon. To make matters worse, Thompson's face was plastered all over the news, and, as he recalled, "a man called to report that I looked like someone who had recently tried to rob his children." Based on the victim's identification, Thompson was convicted of this crime and the fact that his attorneys were unaware of major blood evidence found at the robbery scene. In connection with Thompson's murder conviction, Thompson was advised by his lawyers not to testify in this trial and therefore could not give his version of events and defend himself. Two years later, Thompson was placed on death row at Angola Prison where he "would end up knowing 12 men who were executed there." Thompson was given six execution dates, all of which "sold out" due to Thompson continuing to use his appeals until the last one in 1999, when his lawyers began to lose hope that Thompson would ever escape the arm of death. In a last-ditch effort, Thompson's attorneys hired a private investigator to examine the evidence one last time where the investigator went back to the blood evidence found at the crime scene of the robbery. It proved that the blood did not match Thompson's, which could have been proven fifteen years ago if the evidence had been provided to Thompson's attorney (Thompson, 2011). Analysis of the blood evidence later revealed other witnesses and police reports that had not even been provided to Thompson's lawyers. If it weren't for Thompson's lawyers continually fighting the system to prove his innocence, would Thompson have gotten off death row? This calls into question how the justice system should be improved to ensure that US citizens remain innocent until proven guilty. At the end of 2014, the total number of exonerations in the United States was 1,529 (Innocence Project 4). That's according to a report by the Innocence Project, an organization that works to exonerate those wrongly convicted using DNA evidence and works to create reforms in the criminal justice system to prevent an increase in “future injustices” (Innocence Project Project 1). The report states that, in terms of exonerated cases, the.