Since the first US prisoner was exonerated in 1989, released from years of prison custody based on a crime he didn't commit, convictions have been overturned in 32 states on the basis of DNA evidence. Improvements in genetic evidence have allowed over 200 prisoners to walk freely from their prison cells in that span, holding out hope to other inmates, thousands of whom may have been falsely convicted.

Improper arrest and false conviction happen most often in allegations of sex crimes; by nature of the beast, these crimes, even if they have actually occurred, often involve only the alleged assailant and the victim. These highly emotional cases, being notorious for their lack of eyewitness accounts, often hinge on DNA evidence-evidence that wasn't widely available until the late 1980s.

In the state of California, nine such verdicts, many involving sex crimes, have been overturned by California defense attorneys. Only Texas, Virginia, and Louisiana have had more convictions proven to be false. Although experts disagree on wrongful conviction statistics, arguing numbers that range anywhere from 0.5% to 10% of all convictions, neither number is acceptable. When we consider that the percentages used in statistical jargon actually represent real people, with lives and families and hopes, we are forced to confront the specter of something between 10,000 and 100,000 people behind bars-some to be executed-for crimes they didn't commit.

Statistics do indicate, however, that the situation is improving with regard to false accusations and convictions, especially in the arena of sex crimes. Although it took thirteen years for defense attorneys to reach one hundred post-conviction exonerations, the 200th prisoner walked free just five years later. Market forces may be taking over this phenomenon; as criminal defense attorneys see more successful exonerations, their methods will only become more refined, leading to more exonerations. It remains to be seen what the next five years will bring, or how long it will take to reach exoneration number three hundred.