Using DNA to Help Exonerate the Innocent

With the rate of wrongful convictions being estimated between 2% and 6%, there are thousands of innocent people currently incarcerated in the United States. Over the years, multiple Innocence Project organizations have been founded to help exonerate the innocent, provide legal counsel, and to advocate for needed reforms within the justice system.

Mike Ware is the Executive Director and co- founder of the Innocence Project of Texas. IPTX is dedicated to correcting past injustices, preventing future wrongful convictions, and giving hope to people who feel that they are out of options. IPTX has grown to be one of the leading innocence organizations since its inception in 2006, having exonerated or freed 29 people.

In this interview, Mike shares the impetus for the creation of the nation’s first Convictions Integrity Unit in Dallas and what it was like working within the unit, the steps involved in re-examining a closed case, what could lead to a wrongful conviction, and the role that DNA plays in the process.