When Prosecutors Withhold Information, Innocent People Go To Prison—or Worse.

When it comes to deciding what evidence a jury should hear when deciding innocence or guilt, the American criminal justice system entrusts prosecutors with extraordinary power.

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PART I OF THIS SERIES:

The Private Eye Trying to Prove an Innocent Man Was Sentenced to Death

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Kenneth Clair has spent more than three decades in prison for the rape and murder of a young woman in Orange County, California. But he's been seeking a retrial since ever since private eye CJ Ford uncovered the fact that the county DA had tested DNA evidence found on the scene and that it didn't match Clair.

But the DNA testing isn't the only piece of information the county withheld in this case. Prosecutors failed to disclose that the county had offered deals or incentives to multiple witnesses who testified against Clair.

In the case of Kenneth Clair, who lost when facing a prosecutor who purposely withheld information in multiple cases over the years, Sanders believes there are lingering questions that only fresh examination of the evidence can address.

"What else wasn't turned over?" asks Sanders. "In a case like Clair, the right outcome, at the very minimum, is to give him a new trial."

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Kenneth Clair's death sentence earlier this year for murky reasons unrelated to evidence disclosure. He continues to serve a life sentence and is seeking a new trial.

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Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Music by Kai Engel. Approximately 10 minutes.