Wrongful convictions

​NIJ is seeking proposals for research on sentinel events in the criminal justice system. When bad things happen in a complex system, the cause is rarely a single act, event, or slip-up. More often, bad outcomes like wrongful convictions, mistaken prison releases, and even revictimization are "sentinel events" -- defined as significant negative outcomes that signal underlying weaknesses in the system or process. Sentinel events...

​NIJ is seeking proposals for funds to help defray the costs associated with postconviction DNA testing in cases of violent felony offenses where actual innocence might be demonstrated. Specifically, funding may be used to review postconviction cases of violent felony offenses (as defined by State law), and to locate and analyze biological evidence samples associated with these cases. Where a strong justification is provided, a...

NIJ is interested in stimulating research in a new area of study in criminal justice research – an exploration of the use of sentinel event reviews to improve the justice system overall. Sentinel event review processes have been used in other fields, notably aviation and medicine, and NIJ would like to explore whether similar reviews would be feasible in the criminal justice field. With this...

NIJ seeks proposals for funds to help defray the costs associated with postconviction DNA testing in cases of violent felony offenses where actual innocence might be demonstrated. Specifically, funding may be used to review postconviction cases of violent felony offenses (as defined by State law), and to locate and analyze biological evidence samples associated with these cases. Where a strong justification is provided, a small...