American Samoa's Public Defender, Douglas Fiaui, says he believes there are inmates wrongly accused in the territory and serving time in jail.
However, he told lawmakers his office does its best to defend its clients in the local criminal justice system.
The government official was responding to a query from Senator Paepae Iosefa Faiai during a legislative hearing.
Douglas Fiaui said he thought people had been falsely accused but it was a rare situation.
He said his office fights hard to defend its clients, by arguing in front of juries and judges and they do the best they can for people charged for crimes.
