Introduction.

AuthorDenov, Myriam

In recent years, several high-profile cases of wrongful conviction have served as powerful and disturbing reminders of the fallibility of our criminal justice system. Media attention and public interest around these cases have often been fleeting, and there has been minimal scholarly research on the topic, particularly from a Canadian perspective. However, traditions of social justice have long been important to Canadian society, and, for the most part, our national policies have tended to reflect concerns for the social welfare of Canadians. The case of wrongful conviction is no different. Unlike other jurisdictions, the Canadian criminal justice system allows those who believe they have been wrongly convicted, and who have exhausted their appeals, the opportunity for conviction review through statute. However, this process is not without difficulties. Given the many legal, social, and political complexities surrounding the issue of wrongful conviction, the need for further investigation is evident.

In response, a conference entitled "Wrongful Conviction: Experiences, Implications and Moving Towards Justice" (1) was held at the University of Ottawa that addressed the various legal, academic, and personal perspectives on wrongful conviction in Canada. Conference panels included wrongly convicted Canadians who discussed their experiences, legal experts in the field (both government officials and independent counsel), academics studying the problem, and members of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC). Many valuable insights, information, and ideas on the problem emerged from the conference, leading to the creation of this special issue of the Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Like the conference, this special issue seeks to shed light on the experience of wrongful conviction, with a special focus on Canada. Nonetheless, it is also important to provide an overview of some seminal American research. Thus, this issue examines how, in the North American context, wrongful convictions are defined; the factors that contribute to them; and the limitations of existing mechanisms of redress. It also addresses the attribution of remorse on the sentencing and imprisonment of the wrongly convicted, as well as the role of defence counsel in post-conviction cases. Finally, two articles in this collection trace the personal experiences of the wrongly convicted and, importantly, the long-term effects of wrongful imprisonment.

The first article in this issue, written by noted wrongful conviction scholar C. Ronald Huff, summarizes the extant literature in this area. Huff was one of the first researchers to introduce academic scholars to this important topic (see Huff, Rattner, and Sagarin 1986). His contribution to this special issue sets out a framework for understanding the nature and extent of the problem, with special...

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