List_of_exonerated_death_row_inmates

List of exonerated death row inmates

List of exonerated death row inmates

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This list contains names of people who were found guilty of capital crimes and placed on death row but later found to be wrongly convicted. Many of these exonerees' sentences were overturned by acquittal or pardon, but some of those listed were exonerated posthumously.[1] The state listed is that in which the conviction occurred, the year is that of release and the case is that which overturned the conviction.

This list does not include:

  1. Posthumous pardons for individuals executed before 1950.
  2. Inmates who were given life sentences when their country, province or state abolished the death penalty.
  3. People who were threatened with death and never jailed.
  4. People who were jailed by extralegal groups or courts, for example, as often occurs in cases of sentences of stoning.

Canada

  • Steven Truscott was convicted of a schoolmate's murder in 1959 and sentenced at age 14 to death by hanging. His sentence was commuted to life in prison four months later, and he was paroled in 1969. His conviction was overturned in 2007 for "miscarriage of justice."[2] In July 2008, the Ontario government announced it would pay Truscott $6.5 million in compensation for his ordeal.

India

Six men Ankush Maruti Shinde, Rajya Appa Shinde, Ambadas Laxman Shinde, Raju Mhasu Shinde, Bapu Appa Shinde and Suresh Shinde were convicted and sentenced to death penalty in 2009 on charges of rape and murder. On 6 March 2019, the Supreme Court of India acquitted all the six death-row convicts and proclaimed them innocent.[3][4]

In March 2023, the Supreme Court of India freed Niranaram Chetanram Chaudhary after he spent 28 years, six months and 23 days in custody, and was freed from Nagpur jail. At the time of conviction, Chaudhary was 12 years and six months. As per Indian laws, death sentence or any sentence more than three years cannot be awarded to a juvenile.[5]

Japan


1983

  • Sakae Menda was forced to confess to the murders of a Buddhist priest and his wife in 1948 and was convicted on two counts of murder and robbery in 1949. In a 1983 retrial, he was found not guilty of all charges. He died in 2020.[6][7]

1989

  • Masao Akahori was convicted in 1954 at the age of 24 of raping and murdering a schoolgirl. In 1989, he became the fourth death row inmate in Japan to be released.[8][9][6]

Taiwan

2012

  • Su Chien-ho (蘇建和), Liu Bing-lang (劉秉郎) and Chuang Lin-hsun (莊林勳) were sentenced to death for the 1991 murder of Wu Ming-han and his wife Yeh Ying-lan in Xizhi District, Taipei County, Taiwan. They were acquitted in 2012.[10]

2016

  • Cheng Hsing-tse (鄭性澤) was sentenced to death for the 2002 murder of a police officer in Fengyuan, Taichung, Taiwan. He was acquitted in May 2016.[11]

United Kingdom

1966

  • Timothy Evans, convicted of the murder of his infant daughter Geraldine in 1950, was hanged on March 9, 1950, and posthumously pardoned in 1966.[12][13][14]

1969

  • Death penalty for murder abolished.[15][16]

1973

1998

United States

As of February 2nd, 2024, the Innocence Database maintained by the Death Penalty Information Center shows 196 exonerations of prisoners on death row in the United States since 1973.[20]

1820s

1820

  • Jesse Boorn, Vermont. Convicted 1819.[21]
  • Stephen Boorn, Vermont. Convicted 1819.[22]

1850s

1851

  • Thomas Berdue, California. Convicted 1851.[23]

1880s

1889

  • William Woods, Arkansas. Convicted 1888.[24]

1890s

1895

  • Michael Sabol, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1891.[25]

1897

  • George Rusnak, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1891.[26]
  • William Jackson Marion, Nebraska. Convicted 1887.[27]

1898

  • Will Purvis, Mississippi. Convicted 1893.[28]

1900s

1901

  • Michael J. Synon, Illinois. Convicted 1900.[29]

1902

  • Henry Miller, Arkansas. Convicted 1888.[30]

1905

  • Samuel Greason, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1901.[31]

1910s

1911

  • David Sherman, Tennessee. Convicted 1907.[32]
  • Andrew Toth, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1891.[33]
  • Stearns Kendall Abbott, Massachusetts. Convicted 1880.[34]

1913

  • J.B. Brown, Florida. Convicted 1901.[35]

1915

  • John McElwrath, Tennessee. Convicted 1903.[36]

1917

  • Herman Zajicek, Illinois. Convicted 1907.[37]

1918

  • Charles Stielow, New York. Convicted 1915.[38]

1920s

1920

  • Frank Jordano, Louisiana. Convicted 1919.[39]
  • John Pender, Oregon. Convicted 1913.[40]

1928

  • George Williams, North Carolina. Convicted 1922.[41]
  • Fred Dove, North Carolina. Convicted 1922.[42]
  • Frank Dove, North Carolina. Convicted 1922.[43]

1929

  • Joseph Weaver, Ohio. Convicted 1927.[44]

1930s

1930

  • Gangi Cero, Massachusetts. Convicted 1927.[45]
  • Richard Phillips, Virginia. Convicted 1900.[46]

1931

  • William Harper, Virginia. Convicted 1931.[47]

1933

  • Harry Cashin, New York. Convicted 1931.[48]
  • Edward Larkman, New York. Convicted 1926.[49]

1936

  • Gus Langley, North Carolina. Convicted 1932.[50]

1937

  • Eugene Williams, Alabama. Convicted 1931.[51]
  • Willie Roberson, Alabama. Convicted 1931.[52]
  • Ozie Powell, Alabama. Convicted 1931.[53]
  • Olen Montgomery, Alabama. Convicted 1931.[54]

1938

  • Ayliff Draper, Arkansas. Convicted 1935.[55]
  • Tom Jones, Kentucky. Convicted 1935.[56]

1939

  • Thomas J. Mooney, California. Convicted 1917.[57]

1940s

1940

  • George Bilger, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1938.[58]

1942

  • Walter Woodward, Florida. Convicted 1933.[59]
  • Jack Williamson, Florida. Convicted 1933.[60]
  • Charlie Davis, Florida. Convicted 1933.[61]

1943

  • William Wellmon, North Carolina. Convicted 1942.[62]

1945

  • Charles Bernstein, DC. Convicted 1933.[63]

1946

  • Sidney Rudish, New York. Convicted 1943.[64]
  • Morris Malinski, New York. Convicted 1943. [65]

1948

  • Lemuel Parrott, North Carolina. Convicted 1947.[66]

1949

  • Clyde Beale, West Virginia. Convicted 1926.[67]

1950s

1951

  • Horace Wilson, New Jersey. Convicted 1948.[68]
  • James Thorpe, New Jersey. Convicted 1948.[69]
  • John McKenzie, New Jersey. Convicted 1948.[70]
  • McKinley Forrest, New Jersey. Convicted 1948.[71]

1952

  • Silas Rogers, Virginia. Convicted 1943.[72]

1953

  • George Lettrich, Illinois. Convicted 1951.[73]

1956

  • Camilo Leyra, New York. Convicted 1950.[74]

1957

  • L.D. Harris, South Carolina. Convicted 1947.[75]
  • Aaron Turner, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1946.[76]

1958

  • Harry Dale Bundy, Ohio. Convicted 1957.[77]
  • James Fulton Foster, Georgia. Convicted 1956.[78]

1960s

1962

  • Robert Lee Kidd, California. Convicted 1960.[79]
  • Isidore Zimmerman, New York. Convicted 1938.[80]

1965

  • Theodore Jordan, Oregon. Convicted 1932.[81]

1966

  • Robert Ballard Bailey, West Virginia. Convicted 1950.[82]

1967

  • James Giles, Maryland. Convicted 1961.[83]
  • John Giles, Maryland. Convicted 1961.[84]

1968

  • Joseph Johnson, Maryland. Convicted 1962.[85]

1969

  • Paul Kern Imbler, California. Convicted 1961.[86]

1970s

1971

  • Lloyd Eldon Miller, Illinois. Convicted 1956.[87]

1973

  • Dave Roby Keaton, Florida. Convicted 1971.[88]

1974

  • Anthony Carey, North Carolina. Convicted 1973.[89]

1975

  • Freddie Pitts and Wilbur Lee, Florida. Convicted 1963 [90]
  • Clarence Smith, Jr., New Mexico. Convicted 1974.[91]
  • Ronald Keine, New Mexico. Convicted 1974.[92]
  • Richard Greer, New Mexico. Convicted 1974.[93]
  • Thomas Gladish, New Mexico. Convicted 1974.[94]
  • Christopher Spicer, North Carolina. Convicted 1973.[95]
  • James Creamer, Georgia. Convicted 1973.[96]

1976

  • Clarence Norris, Alabama. Convicted 1931.[97]

1977

1978

  • Earl Patrick Charles, Georgia. Convicted 1975.[101]
  • Gary Radi, Montana. Convicted 1975.[102]

1979

  • Gary Beeman, Ohio. Convicted 1976.[103]

1980s

1980

  • Jerry Banks, Georgia. Convicted 1975.[104]
  • Larry Hicks, Indiana. Convicted 1978.[105]

1981

  • Michael Linder, South Carolina. Convicted 1979.[106]
  • Johnny Ross, Louisiana. Convicted 1975.[107]

1982

  • Lawyer Johnson, Massachusetts. Convicted 1972.[108]

1986

  • Anthony Silah Brown, Florida. Convicted 1983.[109]
  • Neil Ferber, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1981.[110]
  • Clifford Henry Bowen, Oklahoma. Convicted 1981.[111]

1987

  • Joseph Green Brown. Florida. Convicted 1974. He was re-arrested in 2012 and charged with the murder of his wife in North Carolina, for which he was convicted on September 12, 2013.[112][113]
  • Perry Cobb and Darby J. Tillis. Illinois. Convicted 1979. The primary witness in the case, Phyllis Santini, was determined to be an accomplice of the actual killer by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Judge in the case, Thomas J. Maloney, was later convicted of accepting bribes.[114][115]
  • Juan Ramos, Florida. Convicted 1983. Acquitted on retrial in April 1987.[116]
  • Robert Wallace, Georgia. Convicted 1980.[117]
  • Anthony Ray Peek, Florida. Convicted 1978.[118]

1988

  • Larry Troy and Willie Brown, Florida. Convicted 1983.[119]

1989

  • Randall Dale Adams, Texas. Convicted 1977. He was exonerated as a result of information uncovered by film-maker Errol Morris and presented in an acclaimed 1988 documentary, The Thin Blue Line. Adams was released and all charges were dropped in December 1988.[120]
  • James Joseph Richardson, Florida. Convicted 1968.[121]

1990s

1990

1991

  • Gary Nelson, Georgia. Convicted 1980.[124]
  • Charles Smith, Indiana. Convicted 1983.[125]

1992

1993

1994

  • Andrew Golden, Florida. Convicted 1991.[136]

1995

1996

1997

  • Ricardo Aldape Guerra, Texas. Convicted 1982.[151]
  • Benjamin Harris, Washington. Convicted 1984.[152]
  • Christopher McCrimmon, Arizona. Convicted 1993.[153]
  • Larry Randal Padgett, Alabama. Convicted 1992.[154]

1998

  • Curtis Kyles, Louisiana. Convicted 1984.[155]

1999

  • Shareef Cousin, Louisiana. Convicted 1996.[156]
  • Anthony Porter, Illinois. Convicted 1983.[157]
  • Ron Williamson, Oklahoma. Convicted 1988. Along with Gregory R. Wilhoit, Williamson later became the inspiration for and subject of John Grisham's 2006 non-fiction book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.[129]
  • Ronald Jones, Illinois. Convicted 1989. Released May 17, 1999.[158][159]
  • Clarence Richard Dexter, Jr., Missouri. Convicted 1991.[160]
  • Alfred Rivera, North Carolina. Convicted 1997.[161]
  • Steven Smith, Illinois. Convicted 1986.[162]

2000s

2000

  • Earl Washington, Jr., Virginia. Convicted 1984.[163]
  • Frank Lee Smith, Florida. Convicted 1985. Smith died in prison in January 2000, before being exonerated later that year.[164]
  • Eric Clemmons, Missouri. Convicted 1987.[165]
  • Hubert Geralds, Jr., Illinois. Convicted 1997.[166]
  • Michael Graham, Louisiana. Convicted 1987.[167]
  • Joseph Green, Florida. Convicted 1993.[168]
  • Oscar Morris, California. Convicted 1983.[169]
  • William Nieves, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1994.[170]

2001

  • Charles Irvin Fain, Idaho. Convicted 1983.[171]
  • Albert Burrell, Louisiana. Convicted 1987.[172]
  • Gary Drinkard, Alabama. Convicted 1995.[173]
  • Louis Greco, Massachusetts. Convicted 1968. Posthumous exoneration.[174]
  • Peter Limone, Massachusetts. Convicted 1968.[175]
  • Joaquin Jose Martinez, Florida. Convicted 1997.[176]
  • Donald Paradis, Idaho. Convicted 1981.[177]
  • Henry Tameleo, Massachusetts. Convicted 1968. Posthumous exoneration.[178]

2002

2003

  • Nicholas Yarris, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1982.[185]
  • John Thompson, Louisiana. Convicted 1985.[186]
  • Joseph Amrine, Missouri. Convicted 1986.[187]
  • Madison Hobley, Illinois. Convicted 1990.[188]
  • Rudolph Holton, Florida. Convicted 1986.[189]
  • Stanley Howard, Illinois. Convicted 1987.[190]
  • Timothy Howard, Ohio. Convicted 1977.[191]
  • Gary Lamar James, Ohio. Convicted 1977.[192]
  • Leroy Orange, Illinois. Convicted 1985.[193]
  • Aaron Patterson, Illinois. Convicted 1989.[194]
  • Lemuel Prion, Arizona. Convicted 1999.[195]
  • Wesley Quick, Alabama. Convicted 1997.[196]

2004

  • Alan Gell, North Carolina. Convicted 1995.[197]
  • Ernest Willis, Texas. Convicted 1987.[198]
  • Ryan Matthews, Louisiana. Convicted 1999.[199]
  • Laurence Adams, Massachusetts. Convicted 1974.[200]
  • Dan L. Bright, Louisiana. Convicted 1996.[201]
  • Patrick Croy, California. Convicted 1979.[202]
  • Gordon Steidl, Illinois. Convicted 1987.[203]

2005

  • Derrick Jamison, Ohio. Convicted 1985.[204]
  • Harold C. Wilson, Pennsylvania. Convicted 1989.[205]

2007

  • Curtis McCarty, Oklahoma. Convicted 1986.[206]
  • Jonathon Hoffman, North Carolina. Convicted 1996.[207]
  • Michael Lee McCormick, Tennessee. Convicted 1987.[208]

2008

2009

  • Herman Lindsey, Florida. Convicted 2006.
  • Nathson Fields, Illinois. Convicted 1986.[215]
  • Paul House, Tennessee. Convicted 1986.[216][217]
  • Daniel Wade Moore, Alabama. Convicted 2002.[218]
  • Ronald Kitchen, Illinois. Convicted 1988.[219]
  • Michael Toney, Texas. Convicted 1999. Toney later died in a car accident on October 3, 2009, just one month and a day after his exoneration.[220]
  • Yancy Douglas, Oklahoma. Convicted 1995.[221]
  • Paris Powell, Oklahoma. Convicted 1997.[222]
  • Robert Springsteen, Texas. Convicted 2001.[223]

2010s

2010

2011

2012

[231][232]

2013

  • Reginald Griffin, Missouri. Convicted 1983.[233]

2014

2015

2017[246]

  • Isaiah McCoy, Delaware. Convicted 2010.[247]
  • Rodricus Crawford, Louisiana. Convicted 2013.[248]
  • Ralph Wright, Florida. Convicted 2014.[249]
  • Rickey Newman, Arkansas. Convicted 2002.[250]
  • Gabriel Solache, Illinois. Convicted 2000.
  • Robert Miller, Oklahoma. Convicted 1988.[251]

2018[252]

  • Vicente Benavides, California. Convicted 1993.[253]
  • Clemente Aguirre-Jarquin, Florida. Convicted 2006.[254]

2019

2020s

2020

2021

  • Sherwood Brown, Mississippi. Convicted 1995.[265]
  • Eddie Lee Howard, Jr., Mississippi. Convicted 1994.[266]
  • Barry Williams, California. Convicted 1986.[267]

2023

See also


References

  1. "Innocence: List of Those Freed from Death Row". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  2. "Canada's wrongful convictions". Canadian Broadcasting Company. 6 August 2009.
  3. "6 awarded death by SC in 2009, acquitted in 2019". The Times of India. 2019-03-06. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  4. McNeill, David; Mason, C.M. (August 4, 2007). "One who has lived to tell the tale". The Japan Times.
  5. Mary Westlake v Criminal Cases Review Commission [2004] EWHC 2779 (Admin) (17 November 2004), High Court (England and Wales). It includes a segment from the Hansard transcript of Jenkins's decision to recommend a pardon in the House of Commons.
  6. "Hanged man's pardon 'inadequate'". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 16 November 2004. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  7. Shakespeare, Andrew-Paul (2019-01-23). "Timothy Evans: An Innocent Man Hanged for Murder he did not Commit". Medium. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  8. "MURDER (ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY)". Hansard, 16 December 1969.
  9. (10 October 2016) International Day against Death penalty European Commission, Memo 06/390, Press release, Retrieved 22 March 2015
  10. "Open verdict on hanged man's son". BBC News. 22 October 2003.
  11. sanderson04 (2016-01-22). "Freddie Lee Pitts (1937-2020)". witnesstoinnocence. Retrieved 2022-02-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. "Joseph "Shabaka" Green Brown". National Registry of Exonerations, University of California-Irvine.
  13. .Chicago Tribune. November 13th, 2014
  14. Walter McMillian National Registry of Exonerations.
  15. "Walter McMillian". Equal Justice Initiative. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  16. Grisham, John (2006). The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. Doubleday Books
  17. "Bones linked to jailed hit man". derkeiler.com. March 29, 2007
  18. "Rolando Cruz". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  19. "Alejandro Hernandez". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  20. "Verneal Jimerson". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  21. "Dennis Williams". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  22. "Ronald Jones". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  23. "Earl Washington". Innocence Project. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  24. "Frank Lee Smith". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  25. "Charles Irvin Fain". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  26. Chachere, Vickie: "Florida Death Row Inmate To Be Released After 17 Years", Associated Press, Jan 3, 2002
  27. "Know the Cases: Browse Profiles: Ray Krone" Archived 2014-04-03 at the Library of Congress Web Archives. Innocence Project. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  28. "Today Ray Krone Celebrates 17 Years of Freedom". Innocence Project. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  29. Pennsylvania v. Yarris, No 690-OF1982, Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County, September 3, 2003. Order vacating conviction.
  30. Gross, Alexandra (10 July 2014). "JOHN THOMPSON". The National Registry of Exonerations. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  31. Joseph Neff (2004-12-19). "N.C. Prosecutors Stifled Evidence". The News & Observer. pp. A1.
  32. Balleza, Maureen (October 8, 2004). "After 17 years on death row, Texas inmate walks free". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  33. "Ryan Matthews". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  34. "Curtis McCarty". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  35. "Kennedy Brewer". Innocence Project. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  36. Gross, Alexandra. "Michael Blair". National Registry of Exonerations. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  37. McClain, Clarissa; Galloway, Drew (June 17, 2013). "The Top Stories from the Past 50 Years". WHNT 19 News.
  38. "Michael Toney, Recently Exonerated from Death Row in Texas, Dies in Car Crash". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  39. "Recently Cleared Tennessee Inmate Added to List of Exonerations". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  40. Robertson, Campbell (August 19, 2011). "Deal Frees 'West Memphis Three' in Arkansas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  41. Blackmon, Douglas A. (September 28, 2012). "Louisiana death-row inmate Damon Thibodeaux exonerated with DNA evidence". The Washington Post.
  42. Oliphint, Joel (20 September 2017). "Delayed Justice: The Dale Johnston case". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  43. "INNOCENCE: Another Exoneration from Death Row--Reginald Griffin of Missouri". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  44. Bever, Lindsey (March 12, 2014). "After nearly 30 years on death row, Glenn Ford is exonerated — and free". The Washington Post.
  45. Hastings, Deborah (2014-12-17). "Black teen executed in S.C. has conviction overturned". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  46. "Alabama exonerates man who spent 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center. April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  47. Nave, R. L. (2015-04-22). "DA Dropping Charges Against Willie Jerome Manning in One Set of Murders". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  48. Balko, Radley (2015-06-10). "Texas death row inmate Alfred Dewayne Brown is released from prison". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  49. "William Lee". National Registry of Exonerations. Michigan State University College of Law. 2016-01-18. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  50. "Innocence Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  51. "Robert Miller". Innocence Project. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  52. "Innocence Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  53. Tchekmedyian, Alene (2019-06-26). "Vicente Benavides spent 25 years on death row. Now he's suing over 'false evidence'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  54. Williams, Michael (23 November 2018). "Exonerated from death row, freedom is a 'beautiful dream' for Clemente Aguirre-Jarquin". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  55. Jiménez, Jesus (2023-12-20). "Man Cleared of Murder After More Than 48 Years in Prison". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  56. Alfonseca, Kiara (September 20, 2023). "Man formerly on death row gets murder case dismissed after 48 years". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-12-21.

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