A 2013 study by the National Institute of Justice has identified 10 statistically significant case factors that lead to wrongful convictions. The 10 factors identified by the authors are:
- a younger defendant,
- a criminal history,
- a weak prosecution case,
- prosecutorial misconduct (such as when a prosecutor withholds evidence),
- lying by a non-eyewitness,
- eyewitness misidentification,
- misinterpreted forensic evidence at trial,
- a weak defense,
- a defendant’s use of a family witness at trial, and
- a punitive state culture.
