In New York state, a new look at the wrongly convicted

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A recent spate of exonerations in New York state has put renewed focus on the plight of the wrongly convicted, with advocates saying it is not as easy as it should be to get an unjust verdict reversed.

In the last two decades, 246 people have been exonerated in the United States with the help of DNA evidence after being convicted of crimes.

But advocates say the system still lags for a far larger pool of people — who are part of the 90 percent of criminal cases where no DNA evidence exists, but where compelling evidence might surface, such as questions about the reliability of a witness.

Last week, a 32-year-old carpenter who was convicted of rape became the fourth New York man in six months to have his conviction overturned after flaws in the evidence against them were uncovered.

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