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O ut of 153 exonerations in 2023, around 61% of exonerees were Black, according to a new report published by
The National Registry of Exonerations released
on March 18. New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, and Oregon were the top states for exonerations last year.
In 2023, individuals who were cleared of wrongdoing collectively reclaimed 2,230 years of their lives that had been unjustly taken away. On average, each exoneree endured 14.6 years of wrongful imprisonment, according to the new study.
The Registry noted that wrongly convicted Black Americans have been compensated with a staggering $4 billion by state and local governments since 1989. This compensation has nearly doubled in just five years since 2019 when exonerees received approximately $2.2 billion. This notable increase mirrors the rising number of exonerations and highlights one of the expenses associated with wrongful convictions, particularly in states like Illinois, New York, and Texas.