Those findings, and many others, reverberate among our readers and in other media accounts of our series. Too often, journalists don't pay heed to what's going on in our midst. We simply miss the big picture. For example, the number of exonerated inmates has climbed dramatically in recent years, thanks largely to the emergence of DNA testing and its role in exposing wrongful convictions. But for the most part, members of the media have covered each miscarriage of justice in isolation, bypassing the opportunity to learn from the mistakes common to them all.
Some stories deserve extraordinary commitment.
The Tribune has expended an incredible amount of time and resources on the subject of wrongful convictions. Several reporters have worked on the story, and I've personally spent four years navigating electronic databases, conducting research in law libraries and sifting through hundreds of court files. It's been money and time well spent. Ken Armstrong is the Chicago Tribune's legal affairs writer and is a 2001 Nieman Fellow.