List of exonerated death row inmates explained

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

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

1989

Taiwan

2012

2016

United Kingdom

1966

1969

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

1850s

1851

1880s

1889

1890s

1895

1897

1898

1900s

1901

1902

1905

1910s

1911

1913

1915

1917

1918

1920s

1920

1928

1929

1930s

1930

1931

1933

1936

1937

1938

1939

1940s

1940

1942

1943

1945

1946

1948

1949

1950s

1951

1952

1953

1956

1957

1958

1960s

1961

1962

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970s

1971

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980s

1980

1981

1982

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990s

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000s

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2007

2008

2009

2010s

2010

2011

2012

[231] [232]

2013

2014

2015

2017[246]

2018[252]

2019

2020s

2020

2021

2023

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row?scid=6&did=110 "Innocence: List of Those Freed from Death Row"
  2. News: Canada's wrongful convictions . . 6 August 2009.
  3. Web site: Supreme Court Acquits Six People on Death Row Who Spent 16 Years in Jail . 2024-02-01 . The Wire.
  4. News: 2019-03-06 . 6 awarded death by SC in 2009, acquitted in 2019 . 2024-02-01 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.
  5. News: 2023-04-12 . Rajasthan: An error that sent Indian teen to death row for 25 years . 2024-02-01 . en-GB.
  6. Web site: Hernon. Matthew. The Life of Sakae Menda, the Man who Spent 34 Years in Prison for Crime He Didn't Commit. 11 December 2020 .
  7. McNeill, David; Mason, C.M. (August 4, 2007). "One who has lived to tell the tale" . The Japan Times.
  8. Furukawa, Yukina (January 19, 2019) "Former death row inmate expresses concerns about ex-boxer's retrial" Mainichi Shimbun.
  9. Hirano, Keiji (November 6, 2014) "Freed death row prisoner brings new life to group fighting capital punishment". The Japan Times.
  10. News: Hsichih Trio acquitted as 20-year murder case finally closed. Want Chinese Times. 31 August 2012.
  11. News: Cheng Hsing-tse freed from death row. Taipei Times. 4 May 2016.
  12. Mary Westlake v Criminal Cases Review Commission . EWHC . Admin . 2004 . 2779 . 17 November 2004 . auto . 22 September 2009 . . It includes a segment from the Hansard transcript of Jenkins's decision to recommend a pardon in the House of Commons.
  13. News: Hanged man's pardon 'inadequate'. 16 November 2004. BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 6 September 2010.
  14. Web site: Shakespeare. Andrew-Paul. 2019-01-23. Timothy Evans: An Innocent Man Hanged for Murder he did not Commit. 2022-02-15. Medium. en.
  15. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1969/dec/16/murder-abolition-of-death-penalty#S5CV0793P0_19691216_HOC_518 "MURDER (ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY)"
  16. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1969/dec/18/murder-abolition-of-death-penalty-act#S5LV0306P0_19691218_HOL_47 "MURDER (ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY) ACT 1965"
  17. (10 October 2016) International Day against Death penalty European Commission, Memo 06/390, Press release, Retrieved 22 March 2015
  18. News: Open verdict on hanged man's son . BBC News. 22 October 2003 .
  19. Web site: Court of Appeal judgment [1998] EWCA Crim 2516 (30 July 1998) |publisher=Bailii.org |access-date=2017-06-28].
  20. Web site: Innocence Database.
  21. Web site: Jesse Boorn.
  22. Web site: Stephen Boorn.
  23. Web site: Thomas Berdue.
  24. Web site: William Woods.
  25. Web site: Michael Sabol.
  26. Web site: George Rusnak.
  27. Web site: William Jackson Marion.
  28. Web site: Will Purvis.
  29. Web site: Michael J. Synon.
  30. Web site: Henry Miller.
  31. Web site: Samuel Greason.
  32. Web site: David Sherman.
  33. Web site: Andrew Toth.
  34. Web site: Stearns Kendall Abbott.
  35. Web site: J.B. Brown.
  36. Web site: John McElwrath.
  37. Web site: Herman Zajicek.
  38. Web site: Charles Stielow.
  39. Web site: Frank Jordano.
  40. Web site: John Pender.
  41. Web site: George Williams.
  42. Web site: Fred Dove.
  43. Web site: Frank Dove.
  44. Web site: Joseph Weaver.
  45. Web site: Gangi Cero.
  46. Web site: Richard Phillips.
  47. Web site: William Harper.
  48. Web site: Harry Cashin.
  49. Web site: Edward Larkman.
  50. Web site: Gus Langley.
  51. Web site: Eugene Williams.
  52. Web site: Willie Roberson.
  53. Web site: Ozie Powell.
  54. Web site: Olen Montgomery.
  55. Web site: Ayliff Draper.
  56. Web site: Tom Jones.
  57. Web site: Thomas J. Mooney.
  58. Web site: George Bilger.
  59. Web site: Walter Woodward.
  60. Web site: Jack Williamson.
  61. Web site: Charlie Davis.
  62. Web site: William Wellmon.
  63. Web site: Charles Bernstein.
  64. Web site: Sidney Rudish.
  65. Web site: Morris Malinski.
  66. Web site: Lemuel Parrott.
  67. Web site: Clyde Beale.
  68. Web site: Horace Wilson.
  69. Web site: James Thorpe.
  70. Web site: John McKenzie.
  71. Web site: McKinley Forrest.
  72. Web site: Silas Rogers.
  73. Web site: George Lettrich.
  74. Web site: Camilo Leyra.
  75. Web site: L.D. Harris.
  76. Web site: Aaron Turner.
  77. Web site: Harry Dale Bundy.
  78. Web site: James Fulton Foster.
  79. News: Kennedy . Dolores . Warren K. Billings . 1 May 2024 . National Registry of Exonerations Pre 1989 . University of Michigan Law School.
  80. Web site: Robert Lee Kidd.
  81. Web site: Isidore Zimmerman.
  82. Web site: Theodore Jordan.
  83. Web site: Robert Ballard Bailey.
  84. Web site: James Giles.
  85. Web site: John Giles.
  86. Web site: Joseph Johnson.
  87. Web site: Paul Kern Imbler.
  88. Web site: Lloyd Eldon Miller.
  89. Web site: Dave Roby Keaton.
  90. Web site: Anthony Carey.
  91. Web site: sanderson04. 2016-01-22. Freddie Lee Pitts (1937-2020). 2022-02-15. witnesstoinnocence. en.
  92. Web site: Clarence Smith, Jr..
  93. Web site: Ronald Keine.
  94. Web site: Richard Greer.
  95. Web site: Thomas Gladish.
  96. Web site: Christopher Spicer.
  97. Web site: James Creamer.
  98. Web site: Clarence Norris.
  99. Web site: Tibbs, Delbert Lee. 2001. Studs Terkel: Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Center on Wrongful Convictions. 2014-03-13. Northwestern University School of Law.
  100. Web site: Exoneree, Center on Wrongful Convictions: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. 2022-02-15. www.law.northwestern.edu. en.
  101. Web site: Delbert Tibbs.
  102. Web site: Earl Patrick Charles.
  103. Web site: Gary Radi.
  104. Web site: Gary Beeman.
  105. Web site: Jerry Banks.
  106. Web site: Larry Hicks.
  107. Web site: Michael Linder.
  108. Web site: Johnny Ross.
  109. Web site: Lawyer Johnson.
  110. Web site: Anthony Silah Brown.
  111. Web site: Neil Ferber.
  112. Web site: Clifford Henry Bowen.
  113. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/17/former-death-row-inmate-now-charged-in-wife-killing/ "Former death row inmate now charged in wife's killing"
  114. Web site: Joseph "Shabaka" Green Brown. National Registry of Exonerations, University of California-Irvine.
  115. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-darby-tillis-obit-met-20141113-story.html
  116. Web site: Exoneree, Center on Wrongful Convictions: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. 2022-02-15. www.law.northwestern.edu. en.
  117. Web site: Juan Ramos.
  118. Web site: Robert Wallace.
  119. Web site: Anthony Ray Peek.
  120. Web site: Larry Troy.
  121. Web site: Exoneree, Center on Wrongful Convictions: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. 2022-02-15. www.law.northwestern.edu. en.
  122. Web site: James Joseph Richardson.
  123. Web site: Clarence Brandley.
  124. Web site: Dale Johnston.
  125. Web site: Gary Nelson.
  126. Web site: Charles Smith.
  127. Web site: Jay C. Smith.
  128. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3461 Walter McMillian
  129. Web site: Walter McMillian. 2022-02-15. Equal Justice Initiative. en-US.
  130. [Grisham, John]
  131. Web site: Gregory Wilhoit.
  132. Web site: Kirk Bloodsworth.
  133. Web site: Muneer Deeb.
  134. Web site: Larry Hudson.
  135. Web site: Federico Macias.
  136. Web site: James Albert Robison.
  137. Web site: Andrew Golden.
  138. http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.true-crime/2007-03/msg01216.html "Bones linked to jailed hit man"
  139. Web site: Robert Cruz.
  140. Web site: Rolando Cruz. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  141. Web site: Alejandro Hernandez. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  142. Web site: Sabrina Butler.
  143. Web site: Adolph Munson.
  144. Web site: Verneal Jimerson. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  145. Web site: Dennis Williams. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  146. Web site: Exoneree, Center on Wrongful Convictions: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. 2022-02-15. www.law.northwestern.edu. en.
  147. Web site: Joseph Burrows.
  148. Web site: David Grannis.
  149. Web site: Troy Lee Jones.
  150. Web site: Carl Lawson.
  151. Web site: Roberto Miranda.
  152. Web site: Ricardo Aldape Guerra.
  153. Web site: Benjamin Harris.
  154. Web site: Christopher McCrimmon.
  155. Web site: Larry Randal Padgett.
  156. Web site: Curtis Kyles.
  157. Book: Cohen, Stanley. The Wrong Men: America's Epidemic of Wrongful Death Row Convictions. Carroll & Graf Publishers. 2003. 978-0-7867-1258-8. 41.
  158. Web site: Ronald Jones. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  159. Web site: Ronald Jones.
  160. Web site: Clarence Richard Dexter, Jr..
  161. Web site: Alfred Rivera.
  162. Web site: Steven Smith.
  163. Web site: Earl Washington. 2022-02-15. Innocence Project. en-US.
  164. Web site: Frank Lee Smith. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  165. Web site: Eric Clemmons.
  166. Web site: Hubert Geralds, Jr..
  167. Web site: Michael Graham.
  168. Web site: Joseph Green.
  169. Web site: Oscar Morris.
  170. Web site: William Nieves.
  171. Web site: Charles Irvin Fain. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  172. Web site: Albert Burrell.
  173. Web site: Gary Drinkard.
  174. Web site: Louis Greco.
  175. Web site: Peter Limone.
  176. Web site: Joaquin Jose Martinez.
  177. Web site: Donald Paradis.
  178. Web site: Henry Tameleo.
  179. Chachere, Vickie: "Florida Death Row Inmate To Be Released After 17 Years", Associated Press, Jan 3, 2002
  180. http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Ray_Krone.php "Know the Cases: Browse Profiles: Ray Krone"
  181. Web site: Today Ray Krone Celebrates 17 Years of Freedom. 2022-02-15. Innocence Project. en-US.
  182. Web site: Thomas Kimbell.
  183. Web site: Andre Minnitt.
  184. Web site: Larry Osborne.
  185. Pennsylvania v. Yarris, No 690-OF1982, Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County, September 3, 2003. Order vacating conviction.
  186. Web site: Gross. Alexandra. 10 July 2014. JOHN THOMPSON. 16 December 2015. The National Registry of Exonerations.
  187. Web site: Joseph Amrine.
  188. Web site: Madison Hobley.
  189. Web site: Rudolph Holton.
  190. Web site: Stanley Howard.
  191. Web site: Timothy Howard.
  192. Web site: Gary Lamar James.
  193. Web site: Leroy Orange.
  194. Web site: Aaron Patterson.
  195. Web site: Lemuel Prion.
  196. Web site: Wesley Quick.
  197. News: Joseph Neff. 2004-12-19. N.C. Prosecutors Stifled Evidence. A1. The News & Observer.
  198. Web site: Balleza. Maureen. October 8, 2004. After 17 years on death row, Texas inmate walks free. March 11, 2017. The New York Times.
  199. Web site: Ryan Matthews. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  200. Web site: Laurence Adams.
  201. Web site: Dan L. Bright.
  202. Web site: Patrick Croy.
  203. Web site: Gordon Steidl.
  204. Web site: Derrick Jamison.
  205. Web site: Harold C. Wilson.
  206. Web site: Curtis McCarty. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  207. Web site: Jonathon Hoffman.
  208. Web site: Michael Lee McCormick.
  209. Web site: Kennedy Brewer. 29 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  210. http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2669008/ "Death Row Inmate Freed After 15 Years"
  211. Linehan, Julie (September 3, 2013). "In justice system, back to business as usual" . The News & Observer.
  212. Merchant, Nomaan (November 13, 2012). "Michael Blair, Texas Man Who Admitted Rape, Wrongly Imprisoned For Murder, Seeks Compensation". The Huffington Post.
  213. Jennings, Diane (August 23, 2013). "Texas Supreme Court denies admitted child rapist Michael Blair compensation for wrongful conviction in Ashley Estell murder" . The Dallas Morning News.
  214. Gross, Alexandra. "Michael Blair". National Registry of Exonerations. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  215. http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=9455416 "Judge won't declare ex-death row inmate innocent"
  216. Grinberg, Emanuella (May 14, 2009). " Exonerated death row inmate: 'Took 'em long enough'". CNN.
  217. Satterfield, Jamie (May 12, 2009). "Prosecutor drops charges; House's family 'on Cloud Nine'" . knoxnews.com.
  218. McClain, Clarissa; Galloway, Drew (June 17, 2013). "The Top Stories from the Past 50 Years". WHNT 19 News.
  219. Blakley, Derrick (September 5, 2013). "City Poised To Pay Another Police-Torture Settlement". CBS 2 Chicago.
  220. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/michael-toney-recently-exonerated-death-row-texas-dies-car-crash "Michael Toney, Recently Exonerated from Death Row in Texas, Dies in Car Crash"
  221. Web site: Yancy Douglas.
  222. Web site: Paris Powell.
  223. Web site: Robert Springsteen.
  224. Rogers, Brian (October 27, 2010). "Texas sets man free from death row". Houston Chronicle.
  225. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/recently-cleared-tennessee-inmate-added-list-exonerations "Recently Cleared Tennessee Inmate Added to List of Exonerations"
  226. News: Deal Frees 'West Memphis Three' in Arkansas. The New York Times. Campbell. Robertson. August 19, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20201120002451/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/us/20arkansas.html. November 20, 2020. December 12, 2020.
  227. Blackmon, Douglas A. (September 28, 2012). "Louisiana death-row inmate Damon Thibodeaux exonerated with DNA evidence". The Washington Post.
  228. Web site: June 16, 2021. Michael Keenan freed, murder charge from 24 years ago dismissed by Cuyahoga County judge (Photo gallery). June 16, 2021.
  229. https://archive.today/20130216095234/http://www.local10.com/news/Former-death-row-inmate-acquitted-released-from-jail/-/1717324/17875690/-/cr6rkpz/-/index.html "Former death row inmate acquitted; released from jail"
  230. Web site: Joe D'Ambrosio.
  231. Web site: Oliphint . Joel . 20 September 2017 . Delayed Justice: The Dale Johnston case . 2023-02-09 . . en-US.
  232. News: 2015-03-11 . Wrongly convicted Ohio man, 81, says death row was 'hell on earth' . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-02-09 . 0261-3077.
  233. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-another-exoneration-death-row-reginald-griffin-missouri "INNOCENCE: Another Exoneration from Death Row--Reginald Griffin of Missouri"
  234. Bever, Lindsey (March 12, 2014). "After nearly 30 years on death row, Glenn Ford is exonerated — and free". The Washington Post.
  235. News: June 13, 2014. State Supreme Court throws out death row inmate's conviction for 1987 killing. Tampa Bay Times. October 30, 2014.
  236. News: September 2, 2014. Half-brothers to go free after convictions overturned in 1983 murder. WRAL.
  237. News: November 21, 2014. Ricky Jackson and Wiley Bridgeman: Exonerated friends leave prison after 39 years behind bars. cleveland.com. November 21, 2014.
  238. Web site: Kwame Ajamu.
  239. Web site: Hastings. Deborah. 2014-12-17. Black teen executed in S.C. has conviction overturned. 2017-06-28. NY Daily News.
  240. News: March 23, 2015. Debra Milke, Who Spent 22 Years On Death Row, Has Murder Case Thrown Out. The Huffington Post. March 23, 2015.
  241. Web site: April 3, 2015. Alabama exonerates man who spent 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. April 3, 2015. Death Penalty Information Center.
  242. News: Nave. R. L.. 2015-04-22. DA Dropping Charges Against Willie Jerome Manning in One Set of Murders. Jackson Free Press. 2016-11-16.
  243. News: Balko. Radley. 2015-06-10. Texas death row inmate Alfred Dewayne Brown is released from prison. en-US. The Washington Post. 2016-11-16. 0190-8286.
  244. Web site: 2016-01-18. William Lee. 2016-11-16. National Registry of Exonerations. Michigan State University College of Law.
  245. Web site: Supreme Court vacates death sentence of Pasco man convicted in Land O'Lakes murder. 2016-11-16. Tampa Bay Times.
  246. Web site: Innocence Database. 30 April 2020. Death Penalty Information Center.
  247. Web site: Jedra. Christina. Former Delaware death row inmate: I was convicted of murder, exonerated, and wrongfully accused again. 2021-02-21. The News Journal. en-US.
  248. Web site: He spent five years on death row. Now the charges have been dropped.. 2021-02-21. NBC News. 20 April 2017 . en.
  249. Web site: Supreme Court orders Ralph Wright Jr. to be acquitted of 2007 St. Pete killings. 2021-02-21. Tampa Bay Times. en.
  250. Web site: 2017-10-12. Former Arkansas death row inmate freed after 16 years in custody; charges dropped in mutilation case. 2021-02-21. Arkansas Online. en.
  251. Web site: Robert Miller. 30 April 2020. Innocence Project.
  252. Web site: Innocence Database. 30 April 2020. Death Penalty Information Center.
  253. Web site: Tchekmedyian. Alene. 2019-06-26. Vicente Benavides spent 25 years on death row. Now he's suing over 'false evidence'. 2021-02-21. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
  254. Web site: Williams. Michael. Exonerated from death row, freedom is a 'beautiful dream' for Clemente Aguirre-Jarquin. 2021-02-21. orlandosentinel.com. 23 November 2018 .
  255. Web site: September 19, 2019. Nevada Court Orders Man's Release from Death Row Due to Prosecutorial Misconduct and Inadequate Defense. November 10, 2019. Equal Justice Initiative.
  256. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=5533 The National Registry of Exonerations Clifford Williams Jr.
  257. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/29/us/florida-wrongful-imprisonment-42-years-murder/index.html For 42 years, two Florida men were imprisoned for murder. Now, they're free after the state tosses the case.
  258. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=5577 The National Registry of Exonerations Charles Finch
  259. Web site: Christopher Williams.
  260. Web site: Robert Duboise.
  261. Web site: Curtis Flowers.
  262. Web site: Kareem Johnson.
  263. Web site: Roderick Johnson.
  264. Web site: Walter Ogrod.
  265. Web site: Sherwood Brown.
  266. Web site: Eddie Lee Howard, Jr..
  267. Web site: Barry Williams.
  268. News: Jiménez . Jesus . 2023-12-20 . Man Cleared of Murder After More Than 48 Years in Prison . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-12-21 . 0362-4331.
  269. Web site: Alfonseca . Kiara . September 20, 2023 . Man formerly on death row gets murder case dismissed after 48 years . 2023-12-21 . ABC News . en.

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