A History of the Innocence Movement

Now available from New York University Press. You can order your copy directly from NYU Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and more! Also available as an e-book!

“[An] informative overview of the development of the innocence movement…A useful contribution to an important national conversation about crime and punishment.” -Kirkus Reviews

“The American justice system is in deep need of reform. Exonerated tells the story of how miscarriages of justice have captivated lawmakers and the public, breaking through political barriers and becoming a force for change. Carefully researched and elegantly written, this book calls attention to the importance of wrongful convictions for the death penalty and beyond. It shows how the criminal justice system is at the heart of efforts to achieve social justice. This is an important book.” -Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents

“Exonerated is the first serious, thorough history of the modern innocence movement. A major, innovative contribution to the scholarship on wrongful convictions and a true delight to read.” -Daniel S. Medwed, author of Prosecution Complex: America’s Race to Convict and Its Impact on the Innocent

“A timely and important new contribution to the literature, Exonerated is both an accessible history of the recent history of wrongful convictions, and a much needed analysis of the innocence movement as a social movement.” -Simon A. Cole, author of Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification

“Exonerated is the definitive account of how the innocence movement transformed public views about the everyday fallibility of the American criminal justice system in the late 20th century, and why preventing the wrongful convictions of the factually innocent remains more important than ever in the 21st century.” -Richard A. Leo, author of The Wrong Guys: Murder, False Confessions and the Norfolk Four

“Exonerated is the first complete and authentic history of the innocence movement. Robert J. Norris shows us how it came into being and how it evolved over the decades. He also shines light on the issues involved and the challenges the movement faces. With his unmatched academic credential, Norris has written a book that will benefit both students and experts of innocence movement.” –The Washington Book Review

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