Innocence Project Founding Board Member On What To Do If You're Wrongly Arrested

If you’ve been arrested for a crime you didn’t commit, what do you do? Jason Flom, founding member of The Innocence Project says to follow these steps.

“Remember the words: I want a lawyer,” he said. “Maybe you know something peripheral about a crime scene. Maybe you heard something. You don’t have to spill your guts right away.”

Flom recommended memorizing phone numbers, because if you’re arrested and granted the proverbial one phone call, you need to have your contacts’ numbers memorized.

He also urged not to waive your Miranda Rights.

“They’re there for a reason. Don’t waive them,” he said. “People who have been wrongfully convicted often waive their Miranda rights because they thought they had nothing to fear by saying what was on their mind.”

Two to 10% of incarcerated people in the U.S. were wrongfully convicted due in part to poor police work, false confessions, and bad lawyering.

On his podcast “Wrongful Conviction,” Flom talks to dozens of people who were convicted of crimes they didn’t commit.

“I know what you’re thinking. This only happens to people from the other side of town, from the other side of the tracks, whatever it is,” he said. “Wrong. This can happen to anyone. And it has happened to people from all walks of life.”