BOOK REVIEW (gifted @prhaudio @riverheadbooks) Bringing Ben Home by Barbara Bradley Hagerty (out now!) Another day, yet another book about wrongful conviction. It really says something about our criminal justice system with the number of books and articles and podcasts about wrongful convictions 🫠 This was another eye-opening account of wrongful conviction - this time the case of Ben Spencer in Dallas, TX. I had all the usual reactions when I read this type of book - anger, disbelief, rage, frustration, and sadness. I found this book very interesting because the author provided great descriptions of many factors that lead to wrongful conviction - eyewitness testimony, “testilying”, confirmation bias, etc. I learned some new things! I was also interested in hearing about this case - it’s the first one I’ve learned about where there was not any DNA evidence available. So I’m amazed by the work of Ben Spencer’s team and how they got him out of prison without conclusive DNA evidence. But it’s also disheartening because there are so many people in the same situation as Ben Spencer - but without DNA evidence proving their innocence, they’ll likely never leave prison. (Cue the rage and frustration) One bright spot was the author’s description of some criminal justice reforms - conviction integrity units (when they have proper autonomy) and disproving some of the fake science commonly used in convictions (e.g., hair analysis). In short - please read this one. Wrongful conviction happens so much more often than people realize. And I’m always shocked by how little people know about the topic. What are you reading this week? bookreview bringingbenhome criminaljusticereform bookrecommendations nonfictionbookparty nonfictionbookstagram riverheadbooks barbarabradleyhagerty bibliophile readingisfun readingisfundamental goodbooks bookfeature