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January 27, 2015

124 People Exonerated in 2014 
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A record 125 people were exonerated in the United States last year.
Thirty-three of the exonerations came in the Houston, Texas, area where
33 individuals had drug convictions dismissed after lab tests determined
they never had illegal substances. Many of the individuals had pleaded
guilty before the lab work was done. Samuel Gross of the National
Registry of Exonerations said, "One of the reasons people plead guilty
for a crime they have not committed is they can't make bail and have to
wait in jail while waiting for trial. If they are convicted, they might
get decades in prison. They plead guilty if they are offered a deal that
is too good to resist."

 

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