Public Perceptions of Wrongful Conviction Kimberley A. Clow * and Rosemary Ricciardelli ** Relatively little research has investigated public perceptions of wrongful con- viction. Considering the growing number of exonerees and the amassing literature on wrongful conviction, what does the public think about this issue of failed jus- tice? This article investigates how the issue of wrongful convictions has entered Canadian citizens’ consciousness, the areas where the public has more accurate knowledge of wrongful convictions vs. issues in need of greater public education. Moreover, as Canada is not currently bound to compensate exonerees and does not systematically track wrongful convictions, unlike many U.S. states that have com- pensation statutes and American innocence organizations that publically report in- creasing numbers of exonerees, it is suggested that this lack of national attention to wrongful conviction leads some Canadians to falsely believe that wrongful convic- tion is an American — and not a Canadian — problem. Tr` es peu de recherches ont port´ e sur les perceptions du public quant aux con- damnations injustifi´ ees. Compte tenu du nombre croissant de personnes exon´ er´ ees et de l’accumulation de litt´ erature sur les condamnations injustifi´ ees, que pense le public de cette question o` u la justice a ´ echou´ e? Dans cet article, les auteures ex- aminent comment la question des condamnations injustifi´ ees est entr´ ee dans la con- science des citoyens canadiens, les domaines o` u le public a une connaissance plus pr´ ecise des condamnations injustifi´ ees par rapport aux questions n´ ecessitant une plus grande sensibilisation du public. De plus, comme le Canada n’est actuelle- ment pas tenu d’indemniser les personnes exon´ er´ ees et ne suit pas syst´ ematique- ment les condamnations injustifi´ ees, ` a la diff´ erence de nombreux ´ etats am´ ericains qui ont des lois sur l’indemnisation et des organisations d´ efendant les droits des innocents qui signalent au public le nombre croissant de personnes exon´ er´ ees, les auteures sugg` erent que ce manque d’attention nationale aux condamnations injus- * Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Email address: kimberley.clow@UOIT.ca. This research was supported by a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. ** Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts, Department of Sociology, Memorial University. Email address: rricciardell@mun.ca.