The only way to eliminate the risk of failure on the part of the criminal justice system is to abolish the death penalty. These 400 case histories detail the mistaken identities, perjured witnesses, overzealous prosecutions, and negligent police work responsible for the convictions of ordinary citizens. Three chapters address perjury by prosecution witnesses and mistaken eyewitness testimony as the causes of wrongful convictions. Another three chapters present cases of miscarriage of justice which occur when community passion is aroused against vulnerable defendants. Subsequent chapters focus on failures in police work due to negligence and incompetent investigations or overzealous prosecution and finally cases which illustrate the spectacle of someone making the defendant fit the crime. 332 references