Prosecutors play a unique role in the American criminal justice system. Unlike defense attorneys, who act as advocates for their clients, a prosecutor advocates for no single individual. Rather, a prosecutor advocates for a just outcome.
With the unique role of prosecutors comes enormous power. Prosecutors decide which charges to bring, what sort of plea bargain to offer, and what sentence to request. Unfortunately, prosecutors can wield their power in a careless or even intentionally unfair manner. The adversarial nature of the prosecutor’s job can lead to an “ends justify the means” mentality. A recent study found that prosecutorial misconduct was a factor leading to wrongful conviction in 45 percent of the first 74 inmates exonerated by DNA evidence.
While the vast majority of prosecutors strive to ensure justice, many have been shown to bend and even break the rules to ensure a conviction. In some cases evidence has been destroyed, mishandled, even fabricated. This is known as prosecutorial misconduct, which leads to wrongful convictions.
Intentional prosecutorial misconduct tends to be the exception. Unfortunately, mistakes are made even when prosecutors are behaving ethically due to systemic weaknesses that lead to misconduct. The most common error is a failure to turn over to the defense evidence that is favorable to the defendant, called exculpatory evidence. Others include courtroom misconduct, mishandling of physical evidence, threatening or badgering witnesses, using false or misleading evidence, and improper behavior during grand jury proceedings.
Regardless of intent, prosecutorial misconduct is a serious problem that undermines the constitutional right of the accused to due process and threatens the integrity of the criminal justice system.
The Justice Project’s Recommendations for Ensuring Proper Safeguards Against Prosecutorial Misconduct
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Related Studies
Death Penalty Information Center, Blind Justice: Juries Deciding Life and Death With Only Half the Truth, 2005.
The Center for Public Integrity, Harmful Error: Investigating America’s Local Prosecutors, 2003.
Related Cases
Michael Graham
Michael Graham spent 14 years on death row in Louisiana for a double murder he did not commit. With little evidence, the case was built on the testimony of three highly questionable witnesses. The prosecutor ignored obvious discrepencies in the witnesses stories and failed to turn over evidence to the defense that would have cast doubt on the star witness, a serial jailhouse snitch with a history of mental illness who came forward seeking a deal for leniency. Graham was freed in December 2000 having spent half his adult life on death row. Read about Michael Graham
Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez
Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez spent more than 10 years on Illionois’ death row after being wrongfully convicted in the kidnapping, rape and murder of a young girl. The prosecutor indicted Cruz and Hernandez just two weeks before his reelection bid, and prisoners testified years later that some of the charges against them were “possibly” dropped after they falsely testified against the two defendants. Cruz and Hernandez were finally cleared of a crime that another man had confessed to committing a decade earlier. In the trial’s aftermath, a special grand jury indicted four sheriff’s deputies and three prosecutors for perjury and obstruction of justice in the case. Read about Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez
