Most of us likely sleep easier when were told that a violent criminal terrorizing our neighborhood has been apprehended. But would we sleep as well if we knew that that person was actually innocent? Would we sleep as well if we knew the real criminal was still at large, just waiting for an opportunity to offend again? And if this criminal wasnt alone but was accompanied by thousands of others?

Our pleasant slumber has become a nightmare.

Unfortunately, this nightmare is all too real.

Organizations like Truth in Justice and The Innocence Project estimate that 5% to 10% of the U.S. prison population is factually innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. (Figures in other countries are likely to be similar.)

In mid-2006 the U.S. Department of Justice put the population of federal, state, and local jails at about 2.2 million. Even using the conservative estimate of 5%, that would mean more than 100,000 of those are innocent. Again using DOJ figures, 50,000 of those may be serving time for violent crimes they didnt commit.

Do the math. For every innocent person behind bars, a guilty person still walks among us. 50,000 violent criminals, with no one pursuing them because, as far as the authorities--the police and the courts--are concerned, the crimes they committed have already been solved with the guilty safely behind bars.

To put a face to these figures, consider James Curtis Giles. James served ten years in prison for aggravated rape, then another ten years as a registered sex offender. His true crime? He happened to have a name similar to the man eventually identified as the likely real assailant, James Earl Giles.