WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia is setting up a special unit to identify and investigate cases that resulted in wrongful convictions.
The creation of the Conviction Integrity Unit was announced Friday. The office says the unit will also make recommendations about ways to improve training, investigations and prosecution practices.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the unit will review cases in which defendants convicted of violent felonies can show their case should be reconsidered as a result of new evidence. That includes DNA evidence.
State-level prosecutors in a number of states have set up similar units in recent years.
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