Date of Submission

4-30-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Advisor

Michael P. Lawlor, J.D.

Keywords

Gender, Crime Type, DNA, Compensation, Wrongfully Convicted

LCSH

Gender, Crime, DNA, Judicial error, Compensation for judicial error, False imprisonment

Abstract

The current study sought to assess the factors that determine compensation amounts for the wrongfully convicted. It utilized a comprehensive set of 250 New York cases from the National Registry of Exonerations. The data included exonerations between 1989 and 2018. Although there are numerous factors that affect compensation, the current study focused on three that had not been looked at before: gender, crime type and DNA. Compensation was determined via the dollar amount awarded to each exoneree from the state. The researcher sought to understand if these variables played a role in determining compensation. It was found that while gender had no significant effect, both crime type and DNA did have a significant effect on compensation. Policy implications pertain to whether these variables should influence compensation awarded to those that have been wrongfully convicted.

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