We know all too well that innocent people go to prison. The Death Penalty Information Center has found that, since the 1970s, more than 165 people were sentenced to death before their exoneration. As long as the death penalty exists—or until we can guarantee that no one is ever wrongfully convicted—innocent people can be executed for crimes they did not commit. Additionally, racial bias in our justice system means that Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than white people, and are given the death penalty at much higher rates. Therefore, the Washington Innocence Project opposes the death penalty.
