Huwaida Arraf Gives First-Person Account of Bahrain Crackdown; Prof Brandon Garrett on His New Book, “Convicting the Innocent”

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Huwaida Arraf, an American lawyer/activist, reports on the repression in Bahrain, her deportation, and America’s double standard; Prof. Garrett defines the causes of wrongful convictions, and suggests reforms. Arraf is co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement, and joined other activists in Bahrain to mark the first anniversary of the citizen uprising that has been suppressed with US support. She describes the march that led to her arrest and deportation on February 11, and the arrests of 6 other Americans today. Find out more at their website.

At 27:00, we talk with Brandon Garrett, professor of law at the University of Virginia and author of Convicting the Innocent. His book does an excellent job of identifying the causes of wrongful convictions, like false confessions, bad forensic evidence, manipulation by cops and prosecutors, and false identifications by eyewitnesses. It challenges many types of conventional wisdom about the criminal justice system, mostly based on TV and movie dramas. And he has some good ideas for reform.