Incentivized Informants and Wrongful Convictions: Understanding the Risks and Mitigating the Effects

The government’s use of incentivized informants is a leading cause of wrongful convictions, which disproportionately affects people of color.  However, there has never been a comprehensive study on the use of incentivized informants in wrongful convictions.  Significant questions remain about the extent of the problem, risk factors contributing to the unreliability of incentivized informants, and how certain policy reforms may help mitigate the problem. 
 
    This research aims to fill this knowledge gap.  First, we will assess the current legal and policy landscape by collecting and coding data on: 1) model jury instructions regarding incentivized informant testimony; 2) prosecutorial guidelines regulating the use of informants; 3) pending and proposed legislation relating to incentivized informants, and 4) litigation challenging the use of incentivized informants.  

    Second, we will build a database of all of the cases in the National Registry of Exonerations that involve incentivized informants, revealing the percentage of known wrongful convictions involving incentivized informants. This statistic is currently unknown, but critical for litigants in demonstrating the prevalence of incentivized informants in wrongful convictions. These cases will be coded for key variables such as the type of incentive or threat used and demographics of the defendant and informant. 

    Third, we will perform quantitative analyses on the dataset, including descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and various multivariate regression models to identify and understand patterns relating to incentivized informants. We will visualize the results with charts, graphs, and tables. 

    Finally, we will disseminate our findings to key stakeholders. We will display research findings on LAJ’s website, develop  best practices guidelines, publish reports and academic articles, and present our findings through webinars and at conferences.  In partnership with the American Bar Association, we aim to design and teach a continuing legal education class on the risks and risk mitigation strategies associated with incentivized informants. 

    This research project aims to guide new policies and practices to prevent and remedy wrongful convictions involving incentivized informants.  The results will support litigants by helping to educate key stakeholders, such as judges and prosecutors, on the risks associated with incentivized informants and the need for pretrial reliability hearings.  It will also provide litigants who have been wrongfully convicted based on incentivized informant testimony with data that can be used when advocating for a new trial. It will also enhance the work of the National Registry of Exonerations by adding a new code in the database for incentivized informants. CA/NCF