The election is over and most of us are happy about that. Whether your candidate won or lost, most folks are ready to get on with their lives. However, I want to suggest that we consider getting ready for the next campaign season by getting familiar with an oft-ignored topic: the cost to society of mass incarceration. As I watched the pundits discuss why particular candidates won or lost, the discussion inevitably came back to themes related to the economy, the d…

In recent years, a number of inmates have been released after spending decades in prison. Often, the accused is exonerated based on DNA evidence. In some of those cases, the accused pled guilty to avoid a more severe sentence, even though he had maintained his innocence in private. A recent article in the American Bar Association’s online version of the Journal highlights a recent case where a man accused of raping his own daughter was exonerated after he had spe…