Erroneous Convictions vs. Near Misses

Cases that lead to erroneous convictions and those that lead to near misses share many of the same characteristics, e.g., false confession, official misconduct, misidentification or incorrect tip.

In the adversarial process, however, those cases diverge based on a number of factors identified by researchers. For example, factors that lead to an erroneous conviction include, but are not limited to, punitive state culture, forensic error, weak facts, or a mistaken or lying eyewitness. Factors that lead to a near miss include, but are not limited to, an older defendant with no criminal history, a strong defense or prosecutorial disclosure of critical evidence