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Two primary factors contributed to the wrongful conviction of CJ Rice, pictured above with his current legal team, in 2013: a mistaken eyewitness identification and the ineffective assistance of his counsel. His co-defendant, Tyler Linder, was also mistakenly identified by a witness; however, the evidence against both defendants was so slim that Linder, with a different attorney representing him, was acquitted of all charges. Meanwhile, Rice was found guilty and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Read more about the case here.

Mistaken witness identification is a factor known to contribute to about one quarter of wrongful convictions nationwide. According to statistics from the National Registry of Exonerations, the problem is even more prevalent in cases of wrongful conviction resulting in the exoneration of people convicted in Pennsylvania: witness misidentification has played a role in 33% of more than 130 wrongful convictions in the Commonalth since tracking began in 1989.

Even more concerning, inadequate legal defense has played a role in the wrongful conviction of 27% of cases nationwide, while this rate in the Commonwealth has soared to 41%.

And, as staggering as that 41% is, it likely under-reports the problem. Pennsylvania presents a particularly adversarial landscape for clients like CJ seeking post-conviction relief. Defendants must usually raise claims of the ineffectiveness of their trial counsel in their very first Post Conviction Relief Act petition, which must be filed within one year of when their conviction becomes final. Most individuals who write ot the Project for help were convicted decades ago, making it impossible for us to raise these claims. If these barriers were not in place, we likely would see even more Pennsylvania convictions overturned due to inadequate legal defense.

Thus, the problems at CJ Rice's trial and the obstacles he faced to proving his innocence are unfortunately commonplace in our state.