Record number of convicts cleared in 2015

Published February 3, 2016 7:04pm ET



As the popularity of TV shows such as “Making a Murderer” suggests, public interest in criminal exonerations has hit an all-time high. That’s likely in part a result of the rising number of convicts who have been cleared of wrongdoing in recent years.

According to a new report by the National Registry of Exonerations, 2015 saw 149 exonerations, a record. Those exonerees had served an average of 14-and-a-half years in prison. Fifty-eight of the cases involved homicide and 47 involved drugs.

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