I didn't kill her. I thought all you had to do was tell the truth, but I was wrong. That's the statement made by Thomas Sophonow, just after a jury of his peers found him guilty of the second-degree murder of Barbara Stoppel in 1981. While many of those convicted maintain their innocence, Sophonow was actually wrongly convicted of the second-degree murder of Barbara Stoppel. murder of Barbara Stoppel. Wrongful convictions like Sophonow's have inspired the plots of many works of fiction, including John Grishan's The Confession, Shawshank Redemption (1994), and Stephen King's The Green Mile. To some, these works of fiction are just fiction. Yet for the countless innocent men and women who have been incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, these works of fiction are their reality. Although some people think that wrongful convictions are a thing of the past, the truth is that they are still a thing of the past. our justice system today. In fact, it is estimated that every year, 6,000 people from the United States are wrongly convicted. While in Britain, it is estimated that there are 15 cases of wrongful convictions each year. Since DNA testing has become increasingly accepted, during appeals in cases where there is a DNA sample from the perpetrator, wrongly convicted people are able to prove their innocence. Yet there are still cases where there is no DNA evidence proving the innocence of those wrongly convicted. Therefore, even when we have so much advanced technology, without proper evidence of these technologies, we can still wrongly convict innocent people if we are not careful. Wrongful convictions can affect many people. People like Steven Truscott, Ronald Dalton, Wilbert Coffin, Guy Paul Morri...... middle of article...... List. " SIRS Researcher. May 21, 2012. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-portal-res?id=STHAMES-0-4 (accessed January 1, 2014). Liptak, Adam “Lyin' Eyes » October 24, 2011. http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/frontpage (accessed January 1, 2014). , Philip "Wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system." Library of Parliament. 1992. http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/researchpublications/bp285-e.htm (accessed January 1, 2014). Sher, Julian. “Until You're Dead”: Steven Truscott's Long Journey to History. Toronto, ON: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2001. Swan, Bill True Justice: Fourteen Years and Sentenced to Death. Toronto, ON: James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers, 2012. Trent, Bill. The Steven Truscott Story Toronto, ON: PaperJacks Ltd.., 1971.