ABSTRACT
There have been precious few substantive studies that investigate race and
wrongful conviction. However, the empirical studies that have been conducted
present a strikingly grim view. According to a 2001 essay, Parker, Dewees, and
Radelet found that “57% of exonerees were black” (p. 114). More recently,
in 2011, as exonerations increased, so did the number of minorities who were
exonerated. According to Smith and Hattery (2011), as of 2010, minorities made
up 75% of exonerated individuals. Further, Gross (2005) found that 90% of
exonerated juveniles were Black or Hispanic. As indicated by Smith and Hattery,
“African American men are disproportionately represented among the popu-
lation of exonerees” (p. 79). Though these statistics are unnerving, there are
organizations that are increasingly aware of the disproportionate incarceration of
minorities and the innocence-related issues that impact these populations. The
Innocence Project, a network of activist organizations, is an example of an activist
network that seeks to address failures of our justice system through reform and
exoneration. The Innocence Project does not focus solely on wrongful conviction
cases that involve minorities; rather the Innocence Project holistically examines
the causes and results of wrongful convictions. Here, I begin by presenting the
story of two defendants. And, although these wrongfully convicted individuals
are not minorities, their case highlights the tireless work of one organization,
the Innocence Project Northwest (IPNW) and their dedication to the inno-
cence movement. In addition, I emphasize the importance of using ethnographic
research methods to understand how networked, activist organizations such
as the IPNW communicate to reach meaningful social goals (goals that often
address populations that are marginalized and disenfranchised on the basis of
race, gender, and social class) and why this matters in order for activists and
scholars to understand complex human behavior and social interaction.
