Few are held responsible for wrongful convictions. Can a Philadelphia police perjury case stick?

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
AP Legal Affairs Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nearly 3,500 people have been exonerated of crimes in the U.S. since 1989, and $4 billion has been paid in compensation. But it’s rare for anyone to be held accountable for wrongdoing that leads to flawed convictions. A Philadelphia case could change that. District Attorney Larry Krasner hopes to prove that three retired detectives perjured themselves at the retrial of a now-exonerated man originally convicted of rape and murder. Former detectives Martin Devlin, Manuel Santiago and Frank Jastrzembski want a judge to dismiss the case. Experts in the exoneration community can cite just a handful of efforts to charge police or prosecutors in their cases.