--- title: The Changing Face of Exonerations description: For all the understandable weight we give DNA evidence, it is of little if any use for the vast majority of the wrongfully convicted. canonical: https://time.com/12685/the-changing-face-of-exonerations/ author: Deborah Tuerkheimer article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-05T10:45:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:53:48.130Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Changing Face of Exonerations og:description: For all the understandable weight we give DNA evidence, it is of little if any use for the vast majority of the wrongfully convicted. og:url: https://time.com/12685/the-changing-face-of-exonerations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf67df1edf4d01509/698683f1361760dc1490abe0/woman-prison.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5616 og:image:height: 3159 og:image:alt: Woman in jail og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Changing Face of Exonerations twitter:description: For all the understandable weight we give DNA evidence, it is of little if any use for the vast majority of the wrongfully convicted. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf67df1edf4d01509/698683f1361760dc1490abe0/woman-prison.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Changing Face of Exonerations > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c19ebda4-7b7c-4332-9e07-6a50d388464f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 430,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 50.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c19ebda4-7b7c-4332-9e07-6a50d388464f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=c19ebda4-7b7c-4332-9e07-6a50d388464f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. It reaches 430,000 subscribers with a 50.7% open rate as of August 2026. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Deborah Tuerkheimer](https://time.com/author/deborah-tuerkheimer/) ## Deborah Tuerkheimer Mar 5, 2014 10:45 AM UTC  Woman in jail Woman in jail Getty Images by [Deborah Tuerkheimer](https://time.com/author/deborah-tuerkheimer/) ## Deborah Tuerkheimer Mar 5, 2014 10:45 AM UTC The popular image of exonerations—fueled by any number of movies and TV criminal procedurals—is of a wrongly accused rapist set free after DNA testing reveals the real perpetrator. But as a new [report](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/us/study-puts-exonerations-at-record-level-in-us.html) shows, this DNA-centric scenario is becoming increasingly less common in the real world of exonerations. Indeed, while the number of exonerations hit a record high in 2013—87 compared with the previous high of 83—only 18 of these involved DNA evidence. (**MORE**: [Study: Record Number of U.S. Convicts Cleared in 2013](http://nation.time.com/2014/02/04/study-exonerations-in-u-s-hit-record-level/#ixzz2uSGLBpeY)) These figures point to a hard truth: For all the understandable weight we give DNA evidence, it is of little if any use for the vast majority of the wrongfully convicted. While DNA remains the focus of exoneration efforts around the country, and all states have passed laws that provide for post-conviction access to testing, experts estimate that [only 5% to 10% of all criminal cases involve such evidence](http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/non-dna-exonerations.php). If we are to make meaningful progress towards freeing innocent people now serving time—a population some now place at [more than 100,000](http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/How%5Fmany%5Finnocent%5Fpeople%5Fare%5Fthere%5Fin%5Fprison.php)—we need new laws designed to target miscarriages of justice that lack DNA evidence. Taking such steps is especially critical for women, who make up [a fast-growing segment of the nation’s prison population](http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2013/03/08/55787/rethinking-how-to-address-the-growing-female-prison-population/). Women’s alleged crimes of violence—often involving children or romantic partners—do not typically hinge on the whodunit question of identity that DNA is so useful in resolving. To the contrary in such cases, the more common question is whether a crime was even committed, with one salient example being the increasingly discredited diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. (Notably, “no crime” cases comprise another category on the increase, accounting for a whopping 22% of this year’s exonerations.) Happily, recent years have seen the beginnings of a movement to grapple with these issues. In a curious twist, it is Texas—not a state generally associated with progressive criminal justice reform—that is leading the way. Last fall, [the state passed the nation’s first law recognizing faulty forensic evidence](http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2013-05-17/junking-junk-science/) (aka junk science) as a basis for post-conviction relief. The underlying logic is simple: as science evolves and past scientific testimony is seen in new light, we ought to revisit those convictions that have been cast in doubt. The first to successfully invoke the Texas junk science law were [three women convicted in 1998 of sexually abusing a child.](http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2013/12/04/san%5Fantonio%5Ffour%5Fjunk%5Fscience%5Fand%5Fanti%5Flesbian%5Fprejudice%5Fsent%5Fthem%5Fto%5Fprison.html) Days later, [another woman was separately released](http://nation.time.com/2013/12/10/texas-justice-goes-soft/) after serving 21 years for sexually abusing multiple children–one of the many satanic ritual day care scandals of the 1990s, often rightly compared to the Salem witch trials of the late 17th century. Without the new legislation, these women would still be behind bars. Another sign of this trend came last month, when a federal judge in Chicago issued a ruling finding “actual innocence” in a case based on shaken baby syndrome. Even without DNA to prove her innocence, 43-year-old Jennifer Del Prete was able to show that, based on current science, no reasonable jury could possibly find her guilty of murdering the baby in her care. As U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly wrote in his [97-page opinion](http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/files/2014/01/Actual-Innocence-Ruling.pdf), it’s now apparent that the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome is arguably “more an article of faith than a proposition of science.” These incisive words reflect the growing consensus among experts that the neurological symptoms once viewed as conclusive proof of a caregiver’s guilt may well have natural causes, including congenital defects, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases and autoimmune conditions. Such “mimics of abuse” have attracted growing attention in the five years since I began studying the criminal justice system’s treatment of shaken baby syndrome. But our law’s approach to unwinding injustice remains both far too fluky and far too delayed. If Del Prete is ultimately exonerated—as appears not unlikely—her case will be in keeping with the demographic trend away from a reliance on DNA. Yet in so many ways, hers is also a cautionary tale. Del Prete is now almost a decade into a 20-year prison sentence. And, notwithstanding the finding of “actual innocence,” she will remain incarcerated, at least for now. Federal law allows state prisoners to challenge the constitutionality of their convictions, but the grounds are narrowly defined. In the Alice in Wonderland world of federal criminal procedure, the judge who found her claims of innocence entirely credible was not permitted to vacate her conviction, since innocence is not a basis for relief. The ruling simply means she can move forward to challenge her conviction on separate constitutional grounds. Such troubling cases underscore the need to reform our laws to better address the realities of _all_ wrongful convictions. We need new avenues for post-conviction relief that reflect what we now know about the [common causes of false convictions](http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/): false confessions, lying informants, eyewitness misidentification, and invalid forensic science. And we owe it to those wrongly convicted to move far more quickly—to recognize the moral imperative of overcoming the inertia of injustice. _Deborah Tuerkheimer, a Professor of Law at DePaul University, is a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan who has written widely on rape and domestic violence. She is currently a Public Voices Faculty Fellow with the OpEd Project._ _Her book_ Flawed Convictions: “Shaken Baby Syndrome” and the Inertia of Injustice _(Oxford University Press) is forthcoming in Apr_ _il._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/12685/the-changing-face-of-exonerations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/12685/the-changing-face-of-exonerations/"},"headline":"The Changing Face of Exonerations","datePublished":"2014-03-05T10:45:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:53:48.130Z","description":"For all the understandable weight we give DNA evidence, it is of little if any use for the vast majority of the wrongfully convicted.","url":"https://time.com/12685/the-changing-face-of-exonerations/","keywords":["society","Crime","U.S."],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf67df1edf4d01509/698683f1361760dc1490abe0/woman-prison.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Deborah Tuerkheimer","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/deborah-tuerkheimer/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf67df1edf4d01509/698683f1361760dc1490abe0/woman-prison.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Woman in jail","caption":"Woman in jail","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/society/","name":"society"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/12685/the-changing-face-of-exonerations/","name":"The Changing Face of Exonerations"}}]}] ```