Report: Prosecutors Rarely Disciplined for Misconduct
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A report by a nonprofit group that investigates possible wrongful convictions says prosecutors are rarely held accountable for misconduct and mistakes.
Tuesday's report by the Innocence Project coincides with the fifth anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned a $14 million judgment to a former death row inmate who was convicted of murder after New Orleans prosecutors withheld evidence from his defense lawyers.
In response to the ruling, researchers examined 660 criminal cases in Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, New York and Texas where courts confirmed prosecutorial misconduct. Their report found only one prosecutor had been disciplined in any of those cases.
John Thompson was exonerated after 18 years in prison and successfully sued the New Orleans district attorney's office, but the Supreme Court overturned Thompson's award in 2011.
(Story by: Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press)
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