Jon Gould Authors New Book on Wrongful Convictions

Jon B. Gould, Director of the Center for Justice, Law and Society at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and member of the AJS Board of Directors, has written an informative and compelling book on the fight against wrongful convictions. The Innocence Commission traces the formation and early years of the Innocence Commission for Virginia (ICVA). Gould is the Chair of the ICVA and in that role coordinated a five-person steering committee, seven-member advisory board, and group of eleven law firms in an 18-month, $500,000 project to analyze erroneous convictions in Virginia and recommend reforms. The book examines twelve cases of wrongful convictions to illustrate the causes of wrongful convictions and the investigations used to free the inmates who did not commit the crimes for which they were incarcerated.  

Gould distinguishes the ICVA, which he helped to create, from innocence projects around the country. The ICVA investigates proven cases of wrongful convictions to determine how the system failed and to make recommendations to prevent future failures. In contrast, innocence projects generally investigate or work on behalf of convicted inmates claiming their innocence. Gould emphasizes “the crucial importance of learning from wrongful convictions.” He notes that “in other professions, people make a serious effort to investigate errors and learn from the mistakes,” citing as an example airplane crashes and ensuing National Transportation Safety Board investigations. “Only in the justice system,” he says, “do we put on blinders when a wrongful conviction occurs and refuse to dig further.” The problem transcends ideological boundaries because for the justice system “it’s hard to imagine a more serious violation than locking up (or sentencing to death) an innocent suspect.” He notes the importance of the issue to both civil rights advocates and law and order advocates. No one wins if resources are devoted to incarcerating an innocent person while the real perpetrator remains free and able to commit additional crimes. 

Gould is Associate Professor in the Department of Administration at George Mason University. He teaches courses in law and the judicial process, and in addition to wrongful convictions, he has research interests in law and justice, with an emphasis on civil rights and liberties, judicial administration, evaluation of justice functions, and popular construction of the law. He has published two books and more than 20 articles on various subjects. His 2005 book, Speak No Evil: The Triumph of Hate Speech Regulation (University of Chicago Press), was a co-winner of the Herbert Jacob award for best book in law and society. 

Before joining George Mason University, Professor Gould practiced law with a Washington, D.C. firm, directed human rights programming, served as chief of staff for a college president, and worked on the national staff of two presidential campaigns.  He continues to consult both domestically and abroad for governments and non-governmental organizations alike. During the 2006-2007 term, Gould served as a United States Supreme Court Fellow with the Federal Judicial Center. From 1996-1999 he was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkley’s Institute of Governmental Studies. From 1991-1996 he was a Fellow with the International Human Rights Law Institute at the DePaul University College of Law. He was College Counsel and Special Assistant to the President from 1992-1994 at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. Gould was the Harry A. Bigelow Fellow and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School in 1991-1992. 

Professor Gould received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago, his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, his M.P.P. from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, and his A.B., with highest distinction and highest honors in public policy, from the University of Michigan.