Hidden Evidence Problem Tracked

Prosecutors throughout the country have hidden evidence, leading to wrongful convictions, retrials and appeals that cost taxpayers millions of dollars, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis of thousands of court records in homicide cases. The records show prosecutors have won conviction against black men, hiding evidence the real killers were white. They also have prosecuted a wife, hiding evidence her husband committed suicide. Since a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling designed to curb misconduct by prosecutors, at least 381 defendants nationally have had a homicide conviction thrown out because prosecutors concealed evidence or presented evidence they knew to be false, the paper said.