African American Exoneration Cases

There are more and more cases of wrongfully convicted African Americans occurring nowadays. According to National Registry of Exonerations of the United States, 58 people were exonerated in 2015, more than two thirds were minorities, including half who were African Americans. 22 cases according to the same source are cases of false confessions. Moreover, this exoneration cases include false confessions under police oppression or African American wrongfully accused by white people. Racist-oriented criminal justice system and society, socioeconomic factors as high poverty percentage, disadvantaged neighborhood – all of these factors are playing crucial role in African Americans’ being put in prison more often today. Most of these factors are
portrayed in Richard Wright’s short story “The Man Who Lived Underground”.
The protagonist of the short story Fred Daniels - the black man, falsely accused of murder and forced by police to sign the confession. As the story goes on, Fred hides underground in sewer system to escape the police. Wrongfully accused, hunted by police, discriminated, therefore unaccepted by white-skin-colored society, he had to hide, however failed to escape the police gunshot.
Even though the short story was published in 1945, the main points which it raises are still palpitant today. The term paper will cover the issues of false confessions signed under the police oppression, racial discrimination of African American citizen by the criminal justice based on biases, which are reflected in “The Man Who Lived Underground”