Black people represent less than 15 percent of the U.S. population, but they account for more than half of all exonerations, according to a new report released today.

The National Registry of Exonerations releases an annual report each spring documenting trends in cases the previous year where people who have been convicted of crimes have subsequently been found guilty. Today’s report delves into racial patterns of the 3,200 exonerations the registry has documented dating back to 1989.

The registry has taken note in its past annual reports of how black citizens are much more likely to be falsely convicted and then exonerated than white defendants. This report, looking over decades of history, shows that innocent black Americans are seven times more likely than white Americans to be falsely convicted.

There are some categories, like child sexual abuse and white-collar crimes, where a greater percentage of the exonerations are of white defendants. But in all categories except for white-collar crimes, blacks are disproportionately represented compared to their share of the population.

The reasons why are varied depending on the crime. It’s more complicated than simply crying “racism,” and the report explores some of the systemic issues. When talking about murder, the report doesn’t shy away from the high homicide rate within the black community and the fact that the vast majority of homicides among both whites and blacks target somebody of the same race….