Wrongful convictions' awards: Average is $6.1 million ($1334/day of incarceration); initial incarceration is valued at over $50,000 for the first day; year one is valued at $1.5 million ($4000/day); marginal cost of the 10th year is $350,000 ($950/day)

Pain, suffering, and jury awards: A study of the cost of wrongful convictions. Mark A. Cohen. Criminology & Public Policy, November 8 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12559

Research summary: This paper estimates the cost of wrongful convictions based on analysis of jury awards and settlements for individuals who were wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. Key variables of interest are number of days spent in prison, days on probation, and demographics of wrongfully convicted and their families. The average “cost” of a wrongful conviction is estimated to be $6.1 million, or $1334 per day of incarceration, while the marginal cost decreases over time: initial incarceration is valued at over $50,000 for the first day; year one is valued at $1.5 million ($4000/day), while the marginal cost of the 10th year is estimated to be approximately $350,000 ($950/day).

Policy implications: State mandated compensation for wrongfully convicted individuals who oftentimes spend years in prison for crimes they did not commit is highly variable and in many cases bears little relationship to either the monetary or nonmonetary harms endured. In addition to providing benchmarks for more appropriate compensation, these estimates provide a foundation for future benefit-cost analyses of policies that might reduce wrongful convictions such as increased expenditures for DNA testing or indigent defense counsel.