#11: Want justice? Get a Journalist
With hundreds of exonerations of the wrongfully convicted, it’s easy to think that the law and lawyers making use of DNA have made all the difference. But investigative journalists have made huge contributions: exposing shoddy forensics, showing the public how eyewitness testimony goes wrong and how false confessions get made, and confronting police wrongdoing and lack of accountability. Without the untiring efforts of reporters, much of the injustice in the criminal system would stay hidden.
Maurice Possley is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and was a four-time Pulitzer finalist during his 25 years with the Chicago Tribune. He is currently a writer and researcher for the National Registry of Exonerations.
Check out Possley's Tribune series on criminal justice and the death penalty here.