Database: Complete List of Cases

1996

Illinois

Convicted of rape and robbery. Sentenced to 75 years.

The Observer 7/7/96 & 652 N.E. 2d 278: 1995 & Chicago Sun Times 3/5/99

"Charles McCraney, an uninvolved witness, was able to place Williams, Rainge and Adams at the crime scene"

"The case relied heavily on the evidence of 17-year-old Paula Grey, who could not read, write or tell the time and twice changed her mind."

"Police, desperate to make an arrest for the rape and murder of a white couple, coerced a main witness and failed to follow up key evidence."

"She said police had coerced her into falsely implicating her friends."

"The defendant [Jimerson] asserts that the State's primary witness, Paula Gray, was allowed to testify falsely at the defendant's trial that she had not been promised anything in exchange for her testimony against the defendant. The defendant argues that the State was required to correct this perjured testimony and that the failure to do so requires that the defendant be granted a new trial. We find that a new trial is warranted on this ground."

"The police had not followed up reports that goods stolen from the petrol station were being sold by Johnson and his brother. Nor had they sought out a witness who said he overheard them plan the robbery."

"In sworn interviews, both Ira Johnson and Robinson admitted that four of them - Johnson, his brother Dennis, who died of a drug overdose in 1993, Robinson and Rodriguez - had abducted and killed the couple. However, it was not until last February, when Robinson signed a confession, that police reopened the case, exhumed Schmal's body for DNA testing and confirmed that the semen found inside her could not have been from any of the convicted men."

"Four men wrongly convicted in a 1978 double murder in Ford Heights won a $ 36 million settlement from Cook County today, in what experts said was the largest damage award for police misconduct in the nation's history."

See Paula Gray

1989

Texas

Convicted of murdering a police officer and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"The State was guilty of suppressing evidence favorable to the accused, deceiving the trial court during the applicant's trial and knowingly using perjured testimony."

"She had not picked Adams out of the line-up; indeed, she had first picked another man, and the police officer in charge of the line-up had had to identify Adams for her. . . . . robbery charges against her daughter pending at the time of the Adams trial, were dropped after Mrs. Miller's testimony."

"The judge also heard that witness Michael Randell had lied when he told the jury he was returning from a basketball game at the time he drove past the murder scene."

"Most importantly, Judge Baraka heard David Harris recant his testimony against Adams, essentially admitting sole responsibility for the killing."

"Harris's admission 'that Adams was not even in the car when Wood was shot amounted essentially to a confession.'"

"Grigson . . . still believes that Adams is guilty of murdering Wood, and that history will vindicate him when Adams kills again."

1994

Texas

Convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to 12 years.

San Antonio Express-News 10/23/94

"the victim reviewed another photo lineup. The lineup contained 11 photos. Among them was Gilbert Alejandro. The woman said Alejandro looked like the attacker but she wasn't certain. Interest in Alejandro increased several weeks later when the rape victim reviewed a sketch lineup made of six men. She said the sketch of Alejandro looked like the attacker."

"the rape victim peered at a lineup of five men through a one-way mirror at Uvalde City Jail. Pointing to Alejandro, she said: "That's him."

"the victim identified him at trial"

"a review of the DNA test results showed that he actually had been excluded as a suspect"

"Now Fred Zain is the one in trouble. Fired last year by the Bexar County Medical Examiner after irregularities were detected in his work - in Texas and in West Virginia - Zain's professional reputation is destroyed. He faces criminal charges, including perjury and evidence-fabricating in Uvalde County, Bexar County and West Virginia."

2001

Indiana

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 70 years.

Associated Press Dec 12, 2001 & South Bend Tribune Dec 23, 2001

"Alexander originally was charged with four rapes in South Bend, based solely on the testimony of victims and witnesses who had identified him."

"Alexander had been picked out a lineup by witnesses who said his voice and build were the same as the assailant. Yet Alexander also was identified by the victims in the case he was cleared of before trial."

"His photo was selected from a lineup by the victim of a home invasion in 1997, after Alexander was jailed. That fact was part of Alexander's trial defense."

"At least three similar attacks occurred after Alexander was arrested, authorities said. Then another man, Michael Murphy, recently confessed to one of the rapes for which Alexander was convicted. Murphy is in custody for several offenses, including burglary and child molesting."

"Alexander was finally cleared when a type of DNA test that was not available when he was convicted came back Saturday showing he could not have committed the Aug. 7, 1996 attack."

2001

Virginia

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 210 years.

Richmond Times Dispatch Dec 7, 2001 & NYTimes Dec 10, 2001

"Anderson, 37, was convicted of the 1982 rape by the victim's eyewitness testimony. He received a 210-year sentence and was paroled in 1997."

"Anderson, who is black, was 19 in March 1983 when he was convicted of the three-hour assault on a 27-year-old woman, who is white."

"The victim picked Anderson's photo out of a photo spread and picked him in a police lineup. According to Enzinna, Anderson's photo was obtained from his employer and was different from the other photos in the spread. Also, none of the men in the photo spread was used in the lineup in which the victim identified Anderson."

"The defense lawyers say the DNA test has strongly pointed to another suspect, now in state prison, who was identified at the time and came forward a year later with a confession that a judge discounted after Mr. Anderson's conviction."

1966

New York

Convicted of manslaughter, but never sentenced

In Spite of Innocence

"the trial judge immediately set aside the verdict when Arroyo's defense counsel produced a series of eyewitnesses to testify that they saw another man kill the boy. In 1966 the other man was arrested and indicted for murder; key witnesses who had testified against Arroyo recanted their testimony."

1990

Illinois

"All 4 were convicted of a quadruple murder and sentenced to life."

In Spite of Innocence

"Defendants and some witnesses did not speak English."

"The actual killers, one of whom had admitted guilt, had fled to Mexico. Three witnesses who had not testified at trial but who could establish the defendants innocence were also found."

2000

California

Convicted of rape and robbery. Sentenced to 45 years.

LA Times 2/18/00 & 2/22/00

"Atkins was convicted on the basis of two eyewitness identifications and conventional blood testing. . . . Atkins is an African American, and the victim was a young white woman who was raped and robbed at gunpoint in April 1986 in a shoe store in Lake Elsinore."

"According to court records, Hall testified that Atkins was included in a population of only 4.4% of people who could have committed the rape, based on blood test analysis of semen on the victim's sweater and body."

"But Scheck and Neufeld said that Hall's findings were 'fraudulent,' and that in reality his tests did not narrow the range of suspects at all. Their charges reiterated conclusions rendered by forensic scientist Edward Blake of Richmond, Calif."

2001

Maryland

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Wash Post Dec 29, 2001

"A Baltimore man who spent 27 years in prison proclaiming his innocence was freed yesterday after his 1974 murder conviction was overturned by a judge who said he had received an unfair trial."

"'The evidence was incredibly weak in the first place. The one witness who identified Mr. Austin as the killer has been discredited and is now deceased.'"

"That witness was Jackie Robinson, a clerk at the grocery store where Kellam worked and was killed. In 1975, the prosecution portrayed Robinson to the jury as a clean-cut college student, but new evidence brought to light by Centurion Ministries, a Princeton, N.J.-based group that advocates for inmates, showed Robinson to be a drug dealer who dropped out of high school in the ninth grade, according to Byrnes's ruling. Robinson died in 1997 of a drug overdose."

"Centurion also contacted another eyewitness to Kellam's killing, Eric Komitzsky, who immediately after the shooting described a suspect who was a light-complexioned black male weighing 150 to 160 pounds. Austin is a muscular 6-foot-5, weighs more than 200 pounds and has a dark complexion. Komitzsky was never called to testify at Austin's trial and in July, he told the court that Austin was not a participant in the shooting."

"A timecard from the metal shop where Austin worked showed he had just punched out when the shooting occurred across town. But Austin's attorney, whom Byrnes called 'woefully unprepared,' never subpoenaed that evidence for trial."

"In addition, Byrnes found that prosecutors prejudicially linked Austin to an alleged co-conspirator in front of the jury despite the trial judge's commands not to. At the time, the alleged co-conspirator had not been put on trial, and all charges against him were eventually dropped."

1957

California

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 5 years to life.

The Innocents

"Bright had a picture in his pocket in connection with another case, and since this man was tall and lanky, he showed it to them. They promptly identified Edward Avila, twenty-nine, as the man with the gun."

"When the witnesses viewed Avila in a line-up, one witness still was certain, but the other was not sure."

1960

West Virginia

Convicted of first degree murder & sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"What was the evidence that changed the governor's mind? First and foremost, there was Bailey's alibi. At the very moment that — according to some witnesses — Bailey was committing the murder, the Charleston police were trying vainly to arrest him, miles away, for drunk driving."

"Numerous witnesses who knew Bailey attested to his being very drunk at the time and to being the driver of the car that careened madly down the roads, hotly pursued by the police. None of the few witnesses who identified him as the murderer knew him."

1931

New York

Convicted of robbery and released before sentenced.

Convicting the Innocent

"Not having seen the robber's face, they could not be very certain, so they had Barbera pull his cap down over his face, walk up and down, and speak. Thereupon he was identified by them as the man."

1987

Virginia

Convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"He was convicted despite the failure of the police to identify mysterious fingerprints, clothing, and hair samples found at the scene. These were eventually traced to another man who confessed to the crime two months later."

1960

Oklahoma

Convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 35 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"He pleaded guilty, though he knew he was innocent, because he feared he would get a death sentence if convicted. The police demanded the guilty plea after finding Bennett's fingerprints on the victim's door. Bennett had been drinking and had no recollection of his activities."

"Later he remembered he had painted the door for the victim, who had been a friend."

"A Texas prisoner, Leonard McClain, had confessed to the crime, and authorities had verified the confession."

1851

California

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Convicting the Innocent

Thomas Berdue was arrested and charged for crimes committed by James Stuart.

Berdue was "taken before Jansen, who was wavering between life and death, and he identified Berdue as his principle assailant."

"The witnesses now seemed confident, and said that they had no doubt that the prisoner was Jim Stuart. On a cross-examination they said, in a positive and unhesitating manner, that it was not possible that they could be mistaken in their opinion that the prisoner was Jim Stuart."

Later when the real James Stuart was found: "Mr. Jansen became convinced of his mistake in identification, though the resemblance between Berdue and Stuart was said to be close."

1929

Illinois

Convicted of forgery and released on probation awaiting a new trial.

Convicting the Innocent

"The cashier of the bank and an employee who had cashed the check went to Butler Brothers and picked Mary Berner out of a group of about forty girls. She was brought to the Illinois Bankers' Association office, and there the representatives of six department stores positively identified her as the girl who had cashed several checks."

After the real culprit confessed, "all of the persons who had identified Mary Berner, expect one, positively identified Emma Lutz."

1946

Connecticut

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 10-15 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"Bertrand was convicted of manslaughter after a guilty plea and sentenced to 10-15 years. In 1946, after the actual killers (two men) confessed, the indictment against Bertrand was dismissed, and she was released."

1939

Pennsylvania

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

The Innocents

"George Bilger, nineteen, had been committed to the Elwyn Training school, an institution for the feeble-minded. He was picked up in May 1937, and soon afterward police had their second confession."

"During the trial two witnesses identified him as the person who had held them up."

"Police later said that Howard [the actual culprit] had been armed with two guns and that one of them had been used in the murder of Patrolman Morrow."

"Bilger, who had been in prison for two years, was pardoned and transferred to a mental hospital."

ð

1993

Maryland

Convicted of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to death.

Wash Post 6/29/93 & Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"Bloodsworth, who lived nearby at the time, was arrested after a man told police he recognized Bloodsworth from a composite sketch of the suspect published in local newspapers. The sketch was based on reports by five witnesses, who placed Bloodsworth with the victim or in the Rosedale vicinity. Bloodsworth was arrested later in Cambridge on the Eastern Shore. Prosecutors said Bloodsworth told an acquaintance in Cambridge that he had "done something terrible" and could not return to Baltimore."

"An anonymous caller tipped police that Bloodsworth had been seen with the girl earlier in the day."

"In his first police interrogation, Bloodsworth mentioned a "bloody rock," even though no weapons were known of at the time."

"Testimony was given that a shoe impression found near the victim's body was made by a shoe that matched Bloodsworth's size."

1948

Washington

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

The Court of Last Resort

"Not only did Convict X say that Boggie had confessed to him, later another Idaho convict claimed Boggie had confessed to him while in the Idaho penitentiary."

"Witnesses who had seem the murderer running away from the scene of the crime had identified Boggie as being the man."

Later it became clear that considerable evidence pointed to a different culprit, a man identified as John Doe.

"As Smith Troy, the attorney general, succinctly stated, 'The State now has a better case against John Doe than it ever had against Clarence Boggie'."

"Governor Wallgren finally granted Boggie a conditional pardon in December, 1948."

1820

Vermont

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Convicting the Innocent

Russel Colvin disappeared in 1812. Seven years later the town's people became convinced that Jesse and Stephen Boorn had murdered Russel.

ð "Merrill told a colorful story. He said Jesse had confessed to him in jail that Stephen and Colvin had had a fight; that later Jesse struck Colvin but the blow did not kill him; that later jesse and Stephen, assisted by their father, Barney Boorn, carried Colvin, who was unconscious, to the old cellar, where Barney Boorn cut his throat."

1820

Vermont

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Convicting the Innocent

See above

"Jesse Boorn charged his brother, Stephen, with the murder."

Jesse stated, "Stephen struck Colvin with a club and fractured his skull."

"Before the trial started in November . . . Stephen admitted his guilt and blamed Colvin for initiating the fatal quarrel."

1994

Oregon

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Portland Oregonian 11/25/94 & 5/8/98

"Douglass Harcleroad, Horton's successor as district attorney, took up the case and got the pair indicted in 1986 based on statements made by acquaintances and jail inmates who said that Proctor and Boots had talked about the killing"

"Separate juries convicted Proctor in 1986 and Boots in 1987 an sentenced them to life in prison for Oliver's murder. But in 1994, an informant told police that Ricky Kuppens was the killer. A new investigation found the gun that was used to kill Oliver, and police used informants to tape Kuppens admitting he pulled the trigger."

"DNA testing that was not available at the time of the murder later supported Boots' claim that he was innocent"

1936

Indiana

Convicted of forgery and sentenced to two to fourteen years.

Not Guilty & The Innocnets

"The two Kokomo merchants were certain that Nancy was the criminal. Nancy said that she had never been in Kokomo."

"The prosecution placed seven merchants on the stand. Each described the crime by when he had been victimized. Each testified that Nancy was the criminal."

"The police caught Mrs. Dorsett, the real criminal, in the act. She confessed."

1925

West Virginia

Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.

Convicting the Innocent

"The only issue was whether the prisoner before the court was Cleveland Boyd. Of the 26 witnesses introduced by the state, 24 testified on matters of identity and swore that they had know Cleveland Boyd in 1917. Eight of the 24 were positive in their identification of the prisoner . . . . Four of the 24 identification witnesses of the state believed that the prisoner was Cleveland Boyd, while the remaining 12 testified that he looked the same, but they were not sure enough of it to swear that he was Cleveland Boyd."

2001

Illinois

Convicted of rape & murder and sentenced to 12 years.

Chicago Tribune May 2, 2001

"Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, Jan. 28--more than 15 hours after Bradford was brought to the station-- police said he confessed, implicating himself and Larry Ollins, as well as Larry's 14-year-old cousin, Calvin."

"He said he falsely implicated himself and the others because police beat him during his interrogation--a claim his family also made just after his arrest when they said they saw him bruised."

"'They handcuffed me to this ring.... Every time the door opened, it seemed like somebody [would] come in there and beat me,¹ he said. ŒI'm tired, sleepy, hungry, can't use the bathroom. They give me a can to use for the bathroom.'"

"Ultimately, Bradford said he agreed to testify against Larry Ollins in return for a reduced prison term."

"'I figured like this,' Bradford said. 'I was 17. If I go to trial, they're going to find me guilty. I'd rather take the 12 years and get out when I'm 23 than get convicted.'"

"'I am ready to go back to court and admit I lied,' he said. 'I am willing to go the whole nine yards. I think about this every day--and I will skateboard into hell.'"

1990

Texas

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Houston Chronicle 10/7/90 In Spite of Innocence

"Pickett [retired state district judge] reported to the appellate court that Brandley deserved a new trial, stating that ''the testimony at the evidentiary hearing unequivocally establishes that Gary Acreman and James Dexter Robinson are prime suspects and probably were responsible for the death of Cheryl Lee Fergeson."

"Brenda Medina, who was 16 and living with Robinson at the time of the slaying, testified in a 1986 post-conviction hearing in Montgomery County. She claimed Robinson had come home the night of Aug. 23, 1980, and told her that he had killed a girl at the school and that he'd hidden her body well. She testified he'd left for South Carolina, leaving behind blood-stained tennis shoes which she threw away."

"Sessum, 49, emerged as a key new witness for the defense in 1987, when he told defense-team investigators in a videotaped statement that he'd seen Acreman and Robinson abduct the girl."

"Then Icky Peace, too [as well as Acreman], admitted that he had perjured himself at trial."

"Brandley was hounded to Death Row by a racist team of police and prosecutors who refused to consider evidence that could have proven Brandley innocent."

1994

California

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 8 years

LA Times 1/16/94 & Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"A short, heavyset woman-a longtime patient at the institution-approached a guard and said she had been raped sometime that afternoon. In the course of being interviewed by hospital authorities, she named several people as her attacker. One assailant she named was an employee at the hospital, a supervisor, a man named Bravo."

"The strongest piece of evidence the prosecution seemed to have was blood on the blanket, a blood type found in only about 3% of the population. Bravo has that blood type."

"Chilstrom [Deputy Dist. Atty. ] took a tack that was not expected by the defense. She started to zero in on Bravo and paint him as a liar. She took what in other circumstances might have seemed like little things and made them examples of how Bravo had a pattern of lying."

Postconviction

"As time went by, though, several things happened. The woman who accused Bravo of rape recanted and named another man as her attacker."

1992

Pennsylvania

Convicted of rape, kidnapping & assault and sentenced to 18 to 42 years.

Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"There were two separate victim identifications of Brison near the victim's apartment building."

"A hair sample from the scene of the crime was consistent with Brison's."

"Brison's alibi, sleeping on the couch of his home, was corroborated only by his mother."

1986

Florida

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"The only evidence against Brown came from the testimony of a co-defendant, who was sentenced to life for his role in the crime."

"At retrial in 1986, the co-defendant admitted that his incrimination of Brown at the first trial had been perjured."

1979

DC

Convicted of murder and sentence to 18 years to life.

Wash Post 8/23/79 & In Spite of Innocence

"Brown was convicted on Nov. 28, 1975, after a government witness identified him from photographs and in a lineup as the man who had shot Frazier."

"In testimony at Brown's trial, the witness said that the man who did the shooting that night had come to the door of the W Street house earlier and asked to see a man who lived there."

"In 1979 an informant came forward and told police that Brown had not been involved in the homicide. The informant implicated another man, who was arrested, pleaded guilty to manslaughter , and was convicted."

1913

Florida

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Convicting the Innocent

"Jailer Hagan was standing on the jail porch, when he noticed a colored man come up to a crack in the fence and call for prisoner Crawford. Hagan said that it was J.B. Brown — a former breakman on one of the Plant System trains — and that he heard Brown say to Crawford, "keep your mouth shut and say nothing."

"Alonzo Mitchell, called the sheriff, and told him this story: Brown had just confessed to him that he and Jim Johnson plotted to kill Wesson for his money, and they had waylaid him the wood shack, where Brown had shot him with Johnson's pistol."

"Henry Davis, another cell mate in the prison, corroborated Mitchell's story and said that he had heard Brown confess."

1987

Florida

Convicted of murder and sentence to death.

St. Peterburg Times 3/14/87

"The case against Brown - headed by then Assistant State Attorney Robert Bonanno, now Circuit Judge Bonanno - hinged on the testimony of one witness: Ronald J. Floyd, who testified to being an accomplice to Mrs. Barksdale's murder as he waited with a car across the street."

"Floyd testified that Brown and a mysterious person known only as 'Poochie' entered Mrs. Barksdale's shop. He said he heard gunfire and the next day heard Brown admit he had committed the murder. Floyd has never been prosecuted, and on the witness stand he denied that he had any promise of immunity from prosecutors for his cooperation."

"A federal appeals court in Atlanta ruled that Brown's prosecutor, now a circuit judge in Tampa, had 'knowingly used false testimony' during Brown's 1973 murder trial."

"Floyd has since recanted his testimony."

1997

North

Carolina

Sentenced to 35 years after entering a no-contest plea.

Tallahassee Democrat 7/8/97 & 7/11/97

"A man exonerated of a rape conviction by DNA evidence from Florida was not coerced into the plea bargain that sent him to prison, prosecutors said."

"His defense lawyer, Robert Farris, said Brown was 'vulnerable and defenseless' at the time of his arrest and would have agreed to anything anyone asked him. Farris said Brown has been diagnosed as mildly retarded"

"'(Prosecutors) made him a real attractive (plea) offer based on his other crimes,' said Mandy Wettstein, of the FDLE's Public Information Office. Brown figured it was wiser to take a reduced sentence, rather than risk conviction for burglary and the related sexual offenses against three women."

"the DNA samples from the rapes Brown supposedly committed actually matched those of a Florida man"

1989

Illinois

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years.

Chicago Sun-Times 10/28/92 & In Spite of Innocence

"In 1985, while the defendants' appeal was pending, Anthony Sumner, a former El Rukn gang member who was cooperating with a federal investigation of the street gang, told authorities . . . that Houston's brother and another man committed the slaying."

"Prosecutors only admitted such evidence existed in 1989 - three weeks after Houston's brother and another El Rukn [gang member] confessed to the slaying."

"One eyewitness identified Brown as a participant; two other eyewitnesses identified Houston"

1994

Illinois

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 60 years.

Chicago Tribune 7/16/95

"Bullock, 39, is accusing two Chicago police officers of arresting him without cause, physically abusing him and his infant son and prompting two rape victims who never had seen him before to pick him out of a police lineup."

"The suit says charges against him stemmed from a composite sketch that police created with descriptions from the 9-year-old victim and from a 12-year-old girl who was raped a month later. Although the girls' descriptions differed, the girls worked with a police artist to develop the sketch, according to the lawsuit."

"Later, an officer who was unfamiliar with the cases saw a published copy of the sketch. The officer had arrested Bullock in 1977 on a rape charge. The officer believed that the sketch resembled Bullock."

1958

Ohio

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

The Innocents &

In Spite of Innocence

"Bundy had helped police investigate four murders committed by a friend; when this 'friend' turned himself in to the authorities, he implicated Bundy in two of the murders."

"In a hearing for a new trial, it was asserted that the co-defendant was the actual killer and had implicated Bundy as his accomplice in an effort to have him executed, as revenge for Bundy having helped police investigate the other murders."

2001

Louisiana

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) 1/1/01

"Sheriff Larry Averitt of Union Parish got a phone call from Burrell's ex-wife, Janet. She told authorities that she met him on a deserted road the night of the murder and found a wallet on the car seat; inside it, she said, was William Frost's identification but no money. She said Burrell took out his own wallet and counted 27 $100 bills and told her he had killed the Frosts."

"But now she has signed an affidavit saying she told the story so police would pick up Burrell and she'd get her son. 'What I told police was not true,' she states."

"Testifying at both men's trials was Wayne Brantley, a convict who said he overheard Graham and Burrell confess to the murders. Pincus and Lloyd said that twice before, in Florida, Brantley had said he overheard confessions in other cases."

There was some evidence that the killer may have cut himself, because blood was found at the scene, but a DNA analysis found that it was the Frosts' blood, not that of either of the two men accused of murder.

"Burrell is mentally handicapped"

"The attorney general's office concluded last week that there is 'a total lack of credible evidence' linking Burrell to the crime."

"In its ruling, the state attorney general's office cited recantations by witnesses and the withholding of key evidence by the prosecution."

1994

Illinois

Convicted of murder & robbery and sentenced to death.

Chicago Sun Times April 19, 1996 & Chicago Tribune Dec 9, 2001

"The Illinois Supreme Court Thursday affirmed what Joseph Burrows says his neighbors in Downstate Homer have yet to accept: His murder conviction was a mistake."

"The court's unanimous decision was forged by a woman's confession that she alone committed the murder but had pinned the blame on Burrows to escape the death penalty."

"Potter and Frye claimed Burrows joined them in a robbery attempt that went awry. When Dulin resisted, Burrows shot him in the head, Potter and Frye said at Burrows' two trials in 1989."

"Investigators had no physical evidence tying Burrows to the crime, and Burrows had alibi witnesses who said he was watching television with them in rural Potomac, about 35 miles from Dulin's house."

"Burrows settled for $100,000 after filing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Iroquois County."

1985

Illinois

Convicted of murder but vacated before sentencing.

In Spite of Innocence

"The conviction was based on his confession, which he retracted two days after it was given."

"When sentencing was pending, the grandmother of the victim contacted the judge and told him that she had discovered a gun, and that she believed her daughter — and not Burt — was the killer. Results of ballistics tests on the weapon showed she was correct."

2000

Texas

Convicted of kidnapping & rape and sentenced to 99 years.

Dallas Morning News 1/8/00

"The victim, who is white, told police that a black man abducted her at knifepoint from a hotel parking lot"

"the victim picked Mr. Butler out of a lineup and identified his voice, court records show. That identification and Mr. Butler's lack of an alibi were the basis for conviction"

"the victim and her family submitted a statement to the Smith County district attorney's office, saying that she still believes the 1983 conviction was correct"

1928

Alabama

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life

Convicting the Innocent

Louise's 12 year old daughter and 9 year old niece told an elaborate and detailed story about a murder committed by Louise and George Yelder.

"These stories seemed incredible to the sheriff, but the children appeared to be intelligent and did not vary their story in the least under his questioning."

"Louise was taken to jail to await a preliminary hearing. A few days later, while being questioned, she suddenly confessed that she had killed Topsy, and that she and George tied an old automobile casing to her body to be sure it would sink when thrown into the river."

Topsy was found to still be alive.

1997

Texas

Convicted of rape and sentenced to life.

San Diego Union —Tribune 9/14/97 & Houston Chronicle 10/9/97

"Police had been unable to crack the case until four months later, when the victim saw Byrd in a grocery store and told her husband she was looking at the man who had raped her"

"And despite some contention at the trial -- her initial police report quoted her as saying her assailant was white, while Byrd is black -- he was convicted of the crime."

After the pardon: "But in this case, he added, the witness, 'was wrong. Do I believe that she honestly believes she was right? Yes I do'."

1992

New York

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 25 to 50 years.

LA Times 1/24/93

"the detectives snatched Callace at gunpoint outside a corner store in July, 1986. The woman picked him out of a line-up as the man who raped her."

"Eighteen months earlier, she had described the rapist as 5-foot-10 or taller, with reddish-blond afro-style hair, a full beard and a cross tattoo on his left hand. Callace is 5-foot-8, has straight blond hair and a goatee he's always kept tightly trimmed, and a tiny cross on his right hand."

"At the trial, the defense failed to mention that hair found on the woman's sweater was not Callace's . . . that another suspect was eliminated after revealing he was circumcised-Callace also is circumcised"

1953

Michigan

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence.

"In 1953 two prison warders learned that a key witness had admitted giving false testimony against Calloway, under duress."

"[Another witness] recanted his incriminating statements."

"Two alibi witnesses came forward, as did yet another witness who admitted he was present when a friend of his did the killing."

1942

New York

Convicted of grand larceny and sentenced to 5 to 10 years.

The Innocents & Not Guilty

"There were mistaken eyewitnesses and dubious acts by private detectives employed by insurance companies who secretly painted wax-tipped ends on Campbell's abbreviated mustache before showing the photographs to bank tellers."

"The prosecutor then called five identification witnesses."

Later "Feldhausen and Gugelman agreed that Thiel, not Campbell, had passed the forged checks."

"Rinehart, on the other hand, said that he could not be sure that he had testified incorrectly at Campbell's trial."

"Wesley Irvine, the teller from the New York bank, asked to compare Thiel and Campbell, said that Thiel was the man whose forged checks he had cashed."

"'He was represented to me as a front man of a forgery ring,' Feldhausen said, ' and I was told that his conviction might lead to the clearing up of the rest of them.'"

"Both witnesses stated that they had been influenced by the volunteered information that Campbell had been using one-hundred-dollar bills in payment of his debts."

"'I and the other witnesses,' Irvine said, 'were given lots of time and opportunity to get the picture of Campbell with the painted-in mustache confused in our recollections with whatever image we retained of the actual criminal. As weeks went by, the more my mind pictured Campbell standing at the cashier's cage, the less I remembered the fleeting glimpses of the forger.'"

1977

Ohio

Convicted of rape & murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

"In no time at all, police said, he confessed"

"Carmen's IQ ranged somewhere between 43 and 55. Psychiatric testimony established that Carmen had an extremely faulty memory, could not always recognize his attorneys, asserted and then denied the very same things, and so on."

"Alibi witnesses gave unchallenged testimony on Carmen's behalf: at the time of the murder Carmen had indeed been inside the Volunteers of America Shelter, nowhere near the site of the crime."

1985

New York

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years.

NY Times 3/15/84

"She said a black man she did not recognize had entered the back door of the house and threatened her. After the man had cut her hands with a knife, her story went, she ran out of the house for help, leaving Mrs. Herndon alone with the attacker."

"Officer Harrison made a threat, according to testimony he gave in court. He said he would arrest her for withholding evidence if the knife found in the house carried the fingerprints of anyone she knew."

"After an hour of questioning, she [Mrs. Cater] changed her story and said the killer was her husband."

Two years later:

"She [Mrs. Carter] brushed away tears and told the judge that she had stabbed her foster mother to death and had blamed it on her former husband, Mr. Carter."

1939

New York

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to ten to twenty years.

Not Guilty

"they took him to police headquarters, where they placed him in the line-up with four other men. Caruso heard a man's voice say, "That's the boy. He had a gray suit and he wore a gray hat and the had a mole on his lip." "That's not a mole," Caruso called out. "It's a fever blister. I just got out of bed."

Later "Scaramellino testified that Gottlieb was the criminal he thought he had identified when he picked Caruso out of the line-up." "I was positive when I seen the right man," Scaramellino said. "Weren't you positive before?" Judge Brancato asked. "I was positive until I seen Gottlieb," the witness replied. "Until the last minute I still thought it was Caruso until I seen Gottlieb. Then that made me positive and I said so."

1933

New York

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

State v Cashin 182 N.E. 74 (1932)

The New York Court of Appeals ordered a new trial because, "it appears that the conviction of the defendant is sustained only by the testimony as to his identity of one witness of bad character, who on other occasions refused to identify the defendant and testified in Magistrates' Court that she did not know whether he was the man; that several others who were present at the time of the killing, including a police officer, were unable to identify him; that there was evidence which, if true, showed that the defendant had a good character and that the crime was committed by an entirely different appearing person, and a witness of the killing, present at the trial, but not called by the prosecution, swore in an affidavit, upon a motion for a new trial, that defendant was not the man who escaped"

Also in In Spite of Innocence.

"In 1933 charges were dropped when the eyewitness who had 'identified' Cashin admitted her testimony was false."

2001

Illinois

Convicted of Murder and sentenced to 48 years.

Chicago Tribune 1/19/01

"The conviction was based largely on the testimony of Chicago Police Officer Jose Zuniga, who said Castillo confessed to the killing. There was no written statement implicating Castillo. Castillo's lawyers cast doubt on the alleged confession, arguing that the police officer spoke very little Spanish and Castillo spoke very little English."

"Castillo's lawyers had presented new evidence--including affidavits from Dr. Robert Kirchner, former Cook County deputy medical examiner, and Richard Merritt, an entomologist at Michigan State University. Both concluded that Chinea was killed between May 7 and 9."

"Castillo was in Cook County Jail on a burglary charge from March 23, 1988, until May 11 when he posted bond."

1936

Maryland

Convicted of robbery and awaiting sentencing.

Not Guilty

"After his arrest Chalk was identified in the flesh by those officers and by the two women who had originally notified the police. Chalk spent 5 months in jail awaiting trial, during which Joseph C. Martin confessed that he had driven the holdup car. Martin also stated that Chalk had not been his companion in the episode."

"The police finally turned up Martin's accomplice, and Chalk was released."

1995

New York

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 12 to 24 years.

Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science:

"The victim identified Chalmers from a police photo array. The victim identified Chalmers in two separate police lineups and in the courtroom."

1973

Mississippi

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Chambers v. Mississippi 410 U.S. 284 (1973)

"Only one officer testified that he actually saw Chambers fire the shots."

"After [Chambers] was arrested for murder, another person (McDonald) made, but later repudiated, a written confession. On three separate occasions, each time to a different friend, McDonald orally admitted the killing."

"Sam Hardin, a lifelong friend of McDonald's, testified that he saw McDonald shoot Liberty. A second witness, one of Liberty's cousins, testified that he saw McDonald immediately after the shooting with a pistol in his hand."

"One witness testified . . . that he was looking at Chambers when the shooting began, and that he was sure that Chambers did not fire the shots."

2000

Louisiana

Convicted of rape and sentenced to life.

New Orleans Time-Picayune 1/19/00

"a white Houma nurse told a passing deputy on a roadside that she had been raped by a clean-shaven African American man. Hours after she was picked up, a deputy arrested the fully bearded Charles walking along a country road, handcuffed him and drove him to the hospital, where the woman identified him as her assailant."

1978

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"Mrs. Corcelius identified Charles as the gunman who had killed Max and Fred Rosenstein."

"The defense had never been told the Mrs. Rosenstein and Mrs. Corcelius had failed to identify Charles when they were shown photos of him in the days immediately following the murders."

"He [Nixon] claimed that while he and Charles were together in jail Charles had bragged about shooting two people."

"When one of the attorneys on Charles's defense team talked with Nixon again, he recanted his trial testimony, admitting that Detective Wade had coached him."

"Finally, in 1984, the city of Savannah agreed to pay $75,000 to Charles on Wade's behalf; in return, all further litigation would be dropped."

1962

Michigan

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

The Innocents

A young women "confessed that on the night of the Lipton murder she had accompanied three men to the store and waited outside in a car."

At the trial "the women told her story and would not change it during s severe cross examination. The drugstore clerk also identified the three men."

After the trial, "she admitted she had lied during the trial and said the police had made a deal with her, promising that if she would implicate the three men the charges against her would be handled in such a way that she would be 'put on the the streets'."

Gene Adams was arrested on robbery charges. When confronted with ballistics evidence, "Adams confessed to the drugstore murder and named his companions, one of whom later also admitted the crime."

1929

Texas

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 5 years.

Convicting the Innocent

"Although the robbers were masked and had hats on, exposing but little more than their eyes, English informed his partner that he recognized the fires of the stick-up men as Clements."

1987

New York

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 15 years.

Actual Innocence

"Rios, the brother-in-law witness who had the least opportunity to see the attacker . . . was the first to pick out a photo. 'This is the man'".

"A few hours later, when Irma was released from the hospital, she was shown twelve photographs. She, too, picked out the same picture."

"After Irma Lopez chose his picture, he was brought to the precinct for a lineup. Irma, Gabriel, and Jose all picked him as the fiend."

1933

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

"He had reported the crime to the police and was amazed to be arrested as the prime suspect. The evidence at his trial was wholly circumstantial. In 1932 the real Killer (then in prison for another crime) confessed"

1928

Massachusetts

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 3 years

Convicting the Innocent

"But as Collins happened to answer the general description of the thief, he was taken to the Somerville police station and helf for identification by the victims. Several of them came, and identified Collins as the man who had taken their purses. Collins was presented to each women separately, and each said he was the man."

"After Collins release, . . . three of the women still maintained Collins was the man who had stolen their bags; the other two thought they might be mistaken."

1962

Pennsylvania

Convicted robbery and sentenced to 2 to 4 years to life.

The Innocents

"Sentenced to 4 years after being identified by two witnesses as a participant in a café robbery, he had served only four months when one of the actual robbers who had been convicted became conscience-stricken and named his accomplice so that an innocent man would not have to remain in prison."

1999

Texas

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Houston Chronicle 9/12/99

"Cook was arrested on the basis of a single fingerprint found on the outside of a sliding glass door to Linda Edwards' apartment."

"Rudolph, who had first identified Mayfield as the man she had seen in Edwards' room, changed her identification to Cook. Eddie "Shyster" Jackson, a jail inmate, testified that Cook had admitted the killing to him. Years after that trial the forensics expert would admit that his testimony about Cook's fingerprint was false, coerced, he said, by the district attorney's office. The jail inmate would recant"

"It showed that the semen could not have been Cook's. It came from James Mayfield."

1995

North Carolina

Convicted of rape and sentenced to life.

Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"A photo identification was made by one of the victims."

"A police lineup identification was made by one of the victims."

"A flashlight in Cotton's home resembled the one used by the assailant."

"Rubber from Cotton's tennis shoe was consistent with rubber found at one of the crime scenes."

2001

Virginia

Convicted murder & burglary and sentenced to life.

Richmond Times Dispatch Nov 15, 2001

"Cox, now 33, was convicted in 1991 after a one-day trial based on the testimony of two of Cooper's neighbors. They said Cox dragged Cooper from her apartment at 3 a.m. Her body, stabbed three times, was found later in a park."

"The witnesses were black; Cox, Madison and Hood are white."

"Hood was indicted in May, and sources familiar with the case said he has begun cooperating with authorities and provided information that exonerated Cox. Madison has not yet been charged."

Personal communication from the above author:

"Each of the two witnesses saw the perpetrator from a different vantage point, and they had no relation to each other. Each made an independent but tentative identification of Cox from a single sheet of paper with six photos. There was no in-person lineup, but each witness identified him at a preliminary hearing and at trial. There were reasons to doubt the identifications -- the witnesses were black and had never seen the white perpetrator before. Moreover, the abduction occurred about 3 a.m. in questionable lighting conditions, and the perpetrator was wearing a baseball cap, which would have further obscured his identity."

1975

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"Their convictions in Cobb County Superior Court were based largely on the word of Deborah Ann Kidd, who testified under immunity. She claimed she had accompanied the men to the Matthews home."

But later in federal court, "Judge Charles A. Moye of the United States District Court declared that the prosecution had concealed from the defense transcripts of previous statements that Kidd had made to the police. These statements showed that she had produced a series of different versions of what had happened at the crime scene, of who really shot the victims, even of who was really there with her. At one point she went sot far as to 'confess' that she was the killer, rather than any of the men. None of this mass of inconsistent information by Kidd had been made available to the defense."

"Judge Moye . . . charged the prosecution with willful destruction of the taped testimony Kidd had given during sessions with a hypnotist arranged by the police."

"Debbie Kidd made a formal admission that she had lied in her original trial testimony."

Reversals were secured for all defendants in state court after, "Billy Birt . . . confessed that he and two friends . . . were the actual murderers."

2000

Texas

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 99 years.

Wash Post 8/16/00 & Houston Chronicle 11/26/00

"He was found guilty of rape in 1990 based largely on the varying testimony of three witnesses who said Criner had boasted of picking up a hitchhiker and forcing her to perform oral sex."

"His IQ barely topped 70, and he had difficulty reading and expressing himself. He was evaluated as borderline mentally retarded."

"'We told the sheriff's office over and over that Roy could not have had anything to do with the offense because of the road conditions leading in and out of the logging site and the amount of work done,' Tanya Pitts said in an affidavit. 'The police were not interested in what we had to say that might benefit Roy,' she said. 'They only wrote down what we said that was bad for Roy'."

"Hocker, the lead defense attorney, forced [Sheriff's Sgt. ] Sauls to admit to the jury that he had lied in his application for a search warrant of Criner's person."

"Dowler, 29, of New Caney, confirmed that she had argued with Mitchell West, who was then her boyfriend. She didn't remember how she got home, but a girlfriend confirmed the hitchhiking story."

Despite the new evidence the District Attorney's aren't convinced: "But neither McDougal nor Walker agrees. 'Just because he wasn't there on the cigarette and wasn't there on the sperm doesn't mean he wasn't there,' McDougal says. Walker says, 'We may not be able to prove it, but that doesn't mean he didn't do it. I prosecuted Roy Criner in good faith and believed him to be guilty."

1999

New Jersey

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 50 years.

The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ) 12/15/99

"The victim viewed a photographic array that included Cromedy a few days after the rape but did not pick him out. Seven months later, while walking in New Brunswick, she saw Cromedy carrying a boom box and called police to report him as the rapist. He was arrested. The woman identified him as he stood alone on the other side of a one-way mirror."

"Cromedy is African-American. The victim of the rape at Rutgers is white"

"Fingerprints lifted from the scene did not match Cromedy's, and there was no hair or other fibers linking him to the rape"

Died in Prison

Alabama

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Convicting the Innocent

"At the trial, Ben Nobles, one of the men indicted for the murder, testified for the state that he had seen John Murchison shoot the deceased in the back. Nobles asserted that about midnight on the night of the murder he had gone tot eh schoolhouse grove, in which a game of craps was taking place, that he had there seen Jim Hudson, Willie Crutcher, John Murchison, and Cleo Staten, and that he had seen John Murchison fire the first shot at McClendon, in his back and Cleo Staten the second."

Later, "Otis McClendon, a nephew of the dead man, made a confession to his mother. He stated that the wife of the dead man had promised him, in return for his aid, forty acres of land, a pair of mules, and a home as long as she had one, and that they had shot McClendon as he entered his own home, that wife firing the first shot and he the second."

1995

Illinois

Convicted of kidnapping, rape & murder and sentenced to death.

Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"Several law enforcement officers testified that Cruz and Hernandez made incriminating statements."

"Several witnesses testified that Cruz and Hernandez admitted to having intimate knowledge of the crime."

"Cruz's alleged "dream visions" of the murder, though not tape recorded, were admitted into evidence on the basis of the testimony of sheriff's detectives."

[At the second trial] "a police officer admitted that he had lied under oath about the 'vision' statement, prompting the judge to immediately direct a verdict of not guilty"

1940

Texas

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 30 years.

The Innocents

"Since police had three possible suspects in a car theft, they notified Cherokee county officers to have the witnesses look the men over. The Pritchards identified Curbow and J. C. Strickland."

"The Pritchards identified him from the stand, and without any defense a jury quickly found him quilty and fixed his sentence at 30 years. The Texas Supreme Court later upheld the conviction."

Eighteen months later, "Halbert brought the Pritchards to Oklahoma, where they recognized two of the men as the actual robbers."

1991

New York

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 12 to 20 years.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram 8/1/91 & Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"the victim had testified that she knew her attacker was Dabbs because of his missing front teeth, Micek told the judge, but Dabbs possessed all of his teeth at the time"

"The victim was able to identify Dabbs because they are distant cousins."

"The victim testified that the assailant wore a distinctive cap and had a distinctive laugh, which she stated were both similar to Dabbs'."

"ABO typing of a semen stain on the victim's pants showed the presence of the H and the B antigens; Dabbs is an O secretor whose body fluids contain the H antigen. This blood typing showed that Dabbs could not be excluded as a source of the semen."

"'Despite the results of the tests, she [the victim] is still adamant that Mr. Dabbs is the rapist,' Latino said. 'She said, "I know he did it; he knows he did it," and basically that's her position.'"

1927

Kentucky

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life

Convicting the Innocent

"She told the court that she saw Dabney hug the girl, who protested, and then strike her with a stick. Mary fell to the ground and the witness said she saw Dabney attack her."

"She said Condy took the body into the mine while she fled from the scene."

Mary was found alive and well in Cincinnati.

2001

Texas

Convicted of rape & murder and sentenced to life.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 1/17/01 & Wash Post 1/18/01

See Christopher Ochoa

"Ochoa testified against Danziger in a plea bargain that gave him a life sentence with possibility of parole instead of facing the death penalty. Danziger, now brain damaged from a prison beating, was convicted of rape at his trial and also received a life sentence."

"In the early 1990s, Danziger was assaulted by a fellow inmate and left permanently mentally disabled, authorities said. He is confined to a prison hospital."

1995

West Virginia

Convicted of kidnapping & sexual assault and sentenced to 14 to 35 years.

Charleston Gazette & Daily Mail 12/5/95 Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"During Davis' first trial, Zain testified Davis could not be excluded as a source of semen left on the underwear, a bed sheet and on Davis' underwear."

"The victim, appearing very shaken and frail, testified she went to Davis' Coal River Road home to do laundry and Davis dragged her into the bedroom and assaulted her."

"The victim knew Davis and identified him to police."

"The victim also made an in-court identification of Davis."

"A State police chemist testified that DNA tests could not exclude Davis as the source of the semen found on the victim's underpants."

"Police found a shoe and a jacket belonging to the victim in the Davis home."

"The Davises asserted an alibi that they did nothing while the victim washed clothes."

1994

California

Convicted of rape and sentenced to life.

Seattle Times 10/9/94 & San Diego Union & Tribune 12/11/94

"The victim identified one of her assailants as a black man with a gold cap on his left front tooth, and picked Daye out of a lineup. Daye has a silver cap on his right front tooth"

"He was identified by both the victim and a bystander"

"Daye gave a police officer a phony name, had a leaky alibi and a prison record"

"There was a progression in the victim's identification," he said. "In the photo lineup, she said, 'That looks like the guy'; in the physical lineup, she said, 'I think that's the one'. But then in front of the jury, she burst into tears and said, 'That's him! I'll never forget that face!' "

After the release, "The victim said on TV that she still thinks (Daye) did it."

1968

South Carolina

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 18 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"At Dedmond's trial, a police officer testified that Dedmond had confessed to the murder. Dedmond, however, testified that he had no memory of where he was a the time of the crime. In 1968, three months after Dedmond began serving his sentence, he was released on bond when another man confessed to the homicide. This man, who also confessed to several other murders, was subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Dedmond's wife."

1934

Missouri

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life

The Innocents

"A sergeant entered the restaurant with a more detailed description of the wanted man, which he read aloud to the officers. DeMore, who as on his way out, paused to listen and then remarked that he answered the description. He promptly became the focal point of interest."

"The motorman promptly identified DeMore, but the three women passengers were uncertain. The prisoner was taken to the bedside of the dying patrolman. Siko nodded his head when he looked at Demore, and this was taken to be an identification."

"DeMore promptly confessed to the murder of the patrolman."

"On October 1, 1934, DeMore was pardoned and released from prison. Couch . . . was convicted of Patrolman Siko's murder."

1989

Illinois

Convicted of kidnapping & rape and sentenced to 25 to 50 years.

LA Times 8/15/89 & Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"The victim identified Dotson from a police mug book."

"Dotson was identified by the victim from a police lineup."

"The State's expert serologist testified that the semen on the victim's undergarment came from a type B secretor and that the defendant was a type B secretor. (It was later reported that the State's serologist failed to disclose that the victim was also a type B secretor.)"

"Testimony was presented that a pubic hair removed from the victim's underwear was similar to the defendant's and dissimilar to the victim's."

"In 1985, Webb, who become a member of a fundamentalist Baptist church and who said she was haunted by guilt, said she had made up the story to cover up for a sexual encounter with a boyfriend."

1928

North Carolina

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"A fourth defendant, on the morning of his execution in 1923, stated that these three men had nothing to do with the crime; his perjured testimony- apparently coerced — had been the basis for their convictions."

"In 1928 . . . the three men received an absolute pardon from Governor Angus McLean and were released."

1928

North Carolina

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

See Frank Dove

1987

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

LA Times 12/23/88

Henry Drake was convicted of the murder, largely due to Campbell's testimony. No physical evidence linked Drake to the murder and witnesses confirmed his alibi.

IN 1981 Campbell wrote in prison : "My name is William Campbell and I was a witness in the trial of Henry Arthur Drake for armed robbery and murder. I lied at his trial. I said Henry was the one who killed the barber, Mr. Eberhart, and that I tried to stop Henry from killing him. But what I said were lies. I was the one who killed Mr. Eberhart. Henry wasn't even there. He didn't have anything to do with it . . . . I lied about Henry because I thought Henry had done me dirty. I thought Henry had turned me in . . . ."

In 1987 the State Parole Board voted unanimously to release Drake.

1938

Arkansas

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"The chief evidence against him was the testimony of a co-defendant, Ray House."

"In 1936, a few hours before both defendants were scheduled to die in the electric chair, House admitted sole responsibility for the killing and directed the authorities to the murder weapon."

"In 1938 Governor Carl Bailey granted Draper a full pardon, and he was released."

1997

Oklahoma

Convicted of first-degree rape, rape by instrumentation, forcible sodomy, burglary, attempted robbery & two counts of lewd molestation and sentenced to more than 3,000 years

Tulsa World 1/3/97 & 11/30/98

"Timothy Durham was convicted of rape based mostly on the 11-year-old victim's identification of her attacker"

"the identification was made by a traumatized child who at first 'wasn't sure,'"

"The girl was with her unmasked attacker for at least 30 minutes in 'broad daylight,' he said. She said she would 'never forget that face.'"

"authorities told the girl that Durham was a 'bad man who had been in prison before'"

"Hairs found at the crime scene matched Durham's in width, color, length and angular cut"

1959

Maine

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

"Dwyer readily signed a confession to both murders."

"Because his stories were so extraordinary and his behavior in other ways aberrant, he was briefly transferred to a state mental institution."

"Once in prison, Dwyer changed his story yet again. He claimed that Deputy Carroll had murdered the two Littlefields and forced him to dispose of the bodies."

"The State's case against Carroll rested not only on Dwyer's testimony, but on convincing physical and other circumstantial evidence as well. The jury found him [Carroll] guilty of murder and sentenced him to prison."

1956

Illinois

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 1 year to life.

The Innocents

"Eaton had no funds to bring his witnesses to Illinois, and law-enforcement officials brushed aside his story when three witnesses, eighteen months after the crime, identified him as one of the two hold-up men."

"After serving one year, Eaton was brought before the parole board that fixes the length of sentences. Instead of being a repentant sinner, he heatedly informed them that he was innocent; the board postponed any further consideration of his case for 15 years."

1978

Massachusetts

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

An off-duty police officer was shot and killed when he attempted to stop a robbery.

"In the course of plea-bargaining . . . two of the defendants — Williams and Irving — agreed to testify against the triggerman . . . and the women driver" [Ellison].

"In May 1976, Williams and Irving recanted their trial testimony, admitting there had been no fourth participant in the crime and that Ellison had no connection with their getaway car or the robbery."

"In July 1978, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts unanimously reversed Ellison's conviction."

1954

Washington

Convicted robbery and sentenced to 5 to 20 years to life.

The Innocents

"Arthur Emery, nineteen, was standing on a street in downtown Seattle when a passing bus driver called to police and said he was the man who had held him up several days earlier."

1975

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

See James Creamer

2001

Idaho

Convicted rape & murder and sentenced to death.

New York Times Aug 24, 2001

"Mr. Fain was convicted of the Feb. 24, 1982, kidnapping, rape and murder of the girl, Daralyn Johnson, after a forensics expert from the FBI said microscopic examination ‹ the standard test at the time ‹ showed three hairs found on the victim's body were probably Mr. Fain's."

"Some of the most damning evidence against Mr. Fain was the testimony of two jailhouse informers. The men gave lurid details of what they said Mr. Fain had told them about what he had done to Daralyn."

"A state judge ordered the charges against him dismissed on the basis of DNA tests indicating that hairs found on the girl's body, which had been used to convict Mr. Fain, were not his."

2001

New York

Convicted of Murder and sentenced to 20 years to life.

NY Times 5/15/01

"Their conviction hinged on the testimony of a witness who later admitted she had lied to collect a $1,000 reward. On Friday, the police arrested the man they now say was responsible for the killing, Arlet Cheston. Mr. Cheston has confessed to the crime, the authorities said."

"The new evidence included an affidavit from a woman who said she had received a letter from an ex- boyfriend bragging about there being two men behind bars for a crime he had committed. The letter writer was Mr. Cheston."

"'No fingerprints connected Mr. Faison and Mr. Shepherd to the case,' Mr. Benson told the judge. 'But when we specifically compared Arlet Cheston's fingerprints to this case, two of fingerprints from his left hand matched the glass partition inside the cab.'"

1980

Ohio

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

"The police thought they had the crucial eyewitness identification they needed. And the eyewitness was none other than the victim himself."

"The results of both polygraphs were used against him."

"It is submitted that the Prosecuting Attorney's office, acting on information given to it by the Attorney of the Defendant, performed an investigation leading to substantial proof that Floyd Fay . . . did not perform the crime for with he was tried and convicted. The investigation . . . has led to proof that other individuals committed the crime and not Floyd Fay."

1986

Pennsylvania

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"When shown photographs of possible suspects, the woman picked out Ferber."

Jordan "said that Ferber had confessed to the killings while the two men were in jail."

Later: "Martorano was convicted of hiring Willard Moran to kill Bouras."

"Maran was convicted of the Bouras killing."

1959

Alabama

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"After 13 days of continuous questioning, Fewell, in his third conflicting statement, confessed to the 1949 sex murder of his 9-year-old cousin. He repudiated this confession almost immediately."

"Subsequent investigation by the former city editor of the Birmingham News and the Court of last Resort led to four persons who confirmed Fewell's alibi. In 1959, after this new evidence was introduced, the Alabama Parole Board released Fewell."

1958

New York

Convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15-30 years.

NY Times 1/14/86

"On the night of the killing, Mr. Fisher has recalled, there was a brawl at the speak-easy, and Mr. Fisher was hit on the head, stabbed in the leg and carried out the back door. A short time later, he said, two men were killed by gunfire."

"Mr. Fisher was convicted of manslaughter in one of the killings, but later a prosecutor in the case admitted that there was no connection between the defendant and a pistol used as evidence against him."

"Judge Frank S. Rossetti said in the 11-page opinion handed down yesterday. 'The loss of freedom, to say the least, is painful to any person. That pain is all the more galling when accompanied by the realization that it was precipitated by the misconduct of a public official.'"

"A court awarded $750,000 in damages yesterday to a 74-year-old man who was wrongfully convicted of killing a man in a Manhattan speak-easy 53 years ago."

1926

Illinois

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 10 years to life.

Convicting the Innocent

"At police headquarters, Flood was placed in the 'show-up cage'. . . . The police forced Flood to turn his coat collar up, put on a cap not his own and pull it down over his eyes, stretch his hand forward and say, 'stick 'em up.' The police had been informed that one of the bandits, so attired, had thus acted. Under these conditions the two women identified Flood as the bandit who had covered them during the robbery."

After the actual robbers were found, Susie and Emma Wolf "admitted the possibility of a mistake in their identifications."

1999

Canada

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 4 years.

Globe & Mail (Toronto Can.) 5/22/99

"The assault took place on Nov. 23, 1994, after both men ended a night of partying with the victim by falling asleep in her living room.

"Mr. Folland ended up being charged after the victim said she awoke that night to find a man having sexual intercourse with her. She said she couldn't feel any hair on the front of his forehead as she grasped at the assailant before he fled the darkened bedroom."

"Since Mr. Folland was balding and the friend was not, her observation formed crucial evidence."

"The fresh evidence showed that traces of semen on a set of male underwear in the complainant's bed belonged not to Mr. Folland, but to his friend."

1958

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"Although Mrs. Drake's identification of Foster as her husband's killer was hardly the product of a properly conducted police line-up, the GBI agents were convinced by her reactions that they had their man."

"Camie Drake pointed across the court room at James Foster and uttered the damning words: 'He is the man that shot my husband.'"

"Brought into court directly from his jail cell, where he had met Foster a few weeks earlier, Dameron testified that Foster had boasted to him about the Drake murder."

"Rocky Rothschild, worn down by the combination of evidence against him and his own guilty conscience, had chosen Independence Day to sign a full confession."

Died in prison

Illinois

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life

Justice in the Back Room

Questioned around the clock for six days. He was beaten threatened, refused access to friends or a lawyer.

"On the sixth day, with his left arm broken and his aching body covered with bruises ans welts, Pugh still denied his interrogators."

Taken to meet his friend "Fowler, who had confessed quickly, advised Pugh: 'Man, you'd better sign that confession 'cause these people are going to kill you.' At last Pugh's resistance crumbled. He, too, signed a piece of paper."

"At a hearing in 1955 the lawyer revealed that the prosecution in the 1936 trial had suppressed information that would have exonerated Pugh and Fowler. Two eyewitnesses had seen the killer, a white man, stab and chase his victim in the park. . . . there evidence had not been truned over to the defense at the trial."

"Pugh's conviction was set aside, and the Cook Country prosecutor decided against retrying him for murder."

Lynched 1915

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

NY Times 3/8/82 & LA Times 3/12/86

"The janitor accused Mr. Frank of the killing and said the defendant had paid him $200 to carry the body to the basement and burn it in the furnace."

"Although nothing in Mr. Frank's history indicated wrongdoing, no other evidence supported the janitor, and the prosecution acknowledged that Mr. Conley had told several other versions of his story, the community and the jury were quick to convict Mr. Frank."

"Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman whose lynching in 1915 became a rallying point for both the Ku Klux Klan and the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, was given a posthumous pardon Tuesday for the murder he denied committing."

"The action came less than a year after the death of Alonzo Mann, who came forward in 1982 to say that, as a 14-year-old office boy in Frank's Atlanta pencil factory, he saw another man carrying the body of 13-year-old Mary Phagan."

"Mann said he did not speak out during Frank's trial because he feared the real murderer."

1973

Florida

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Keaton v. State 273 So. 2d 385 (1973)

"The State presented eyewitness identification of all three but had alleged confessions of only Keaton and Frederick."

"Keaton and Frederick were tried and convicted prior to any knowledge by the State of 'the Jacksonville Three.' Thus, there was no evidence presented in their trial to show the strong case which the State had against 'the Jacksonville Three,' and which tended to be exculpatory [ of Keaton and Frederick]"

"Fingerprints of each of 'the Jacksonville Three' were found at the scene on articles in the store (the scene of the crime) handled in the robbery."

"No fingerprints of any of 'the Quincy Five' [Keaton and Frederick] were found anywhere on the premises."

1999

Oklahoma

Convicted of rape & murder and sentenced to life.

Associated Press 4/15/99

"Prosecutors say the same DNA tests that cleared the pair identified a third man, a witness in both Fritz's and Williamson's trials, as a suspect in the case. That man, Glen Gore, 38, escaped from a state Department of Corrections work detail Wednesday."

"Gore testified he saw Williamson with Ms. Carter the night she died and was the only witness to connect them" [to the crime].

"Hair-comparison tests and testimony from jailhouse informants were introduced in both trials."

1959

California

Convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 1 —10 years.

People v. Cooper 349 P.2d 964 (1960)

"John Fry was convicted of manslaughter of Elvira and was serving a sentence in San Quentin State Prison in June, 1959, when defendant [Richard Cooper] killed Earlean and confessed to the two homicides. (Fry, who had been too drunk to remember the events of August 2 and 3, 1958, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter of Elvira. After defendant confessed, Fry was pardoned on June 19, 1959.)"

1985

Alabama

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"In 1990 a man who closely resembled Gaines confessed to the murder, and in a 1991 hearing that lasted five minutes an Alabama circuit judge vacated Gaines's conviction."

1926

California

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 1 year to life.

Convicting the Innocent

"Dunham and Marshall Dessem, the customer who had entered the bank during the holdup, could identify only Rivera. Hatterscheid identified Revera and Galindo. Miss Mongomery was positive about Galindo, and Stover said he recognized Galindo and Hernandez. None of them identified Mendival, so it was supposed that he was the man who had stayed outside in the car."

"Cane said Mendival's complexion resembled that of the man he saw sitting in the Chevrolet."

Later the four bank robbers were found and convicted.

1996

Illinois

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Chicago Sun Times Oct 5, 1996 & Christian Science Monitor Nov 16, 1998

"During a 21-hour interrogation, Gauger made statements that police took as a confession. Despite what looked like a lack of physical evidence, he was sentenced to die."

"In March, the Illinois Appellate Court threw out the 1993 convictions, saying the McHenry County Sheriff's Department had no evidence that warranted a 21-hour interrogation and ultimately his arrest. This week, the state's high court sided with that ruling by refusing to hear an appeal by state and local prosecutors."

"A federal wiretap caught two members of a biker gang bragging about committing the murders. Both are now headed to trial."

1984

Texas

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to life.

NY Times 3/22/84 & 10/14/84

"Many of Mr. Geter's co-workers testified at his trial. They said he could not have committed the mid-afternoon robbery in Balch Springs, 50 miles from his workplace in Greenville. But five witnesses picked Mr. Geter as the robber from a photo lineup."

"Mr. Wade today said that the new suspect in the case, Curtis Eugene Mason, was brought to Dallas and placed in live lineups on March 20 and 21. Four of the five witnesses in Mr. Geter's case identified him as the man who robbed the Balch Springs restaurant. The fifth witness picked a person who could not have had anything to do with the robbery."

"Curtis Eugene Mason, a suspect in a Dallas robbery for which Lenell Geter was wrongly convicted, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven armed robberies."

1957

New York

Convicted of robbery and released before sentenced.

The Innocents

"A half hour after a gas station had been robbed in Brooklyn at 2:40 AM on September 29, 1956, a police radio car spotted three men answering the general description of the bandits seated at a drive-in restaurant about a mile from the scene."

"One of the officers returned with the robbery victim and he promptly identified two men, John Gilbert, twenty one, and Carmine Gotti, twenty two."

1975

New Mexico

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"Judy Weyer, a pert-time maid, said she recognized the bikers."

"Weyer progressively amplified her initial story into an eyewitness account of a murder that included sodomy, shooting, and the dumping of the victim's body in Albuquerque."

"Two other witnesses, a father and son, testified that they had seen the biker gang in Albuquerque on the day of the murder."

"In September 1975, sixteen months after the trial, a young drifter and former mental patient, Kerry R. Lee, walked into a South Carolina police station and confessed to the Albuquerque murder."

"The lurid tale she [Weyer] told, of torture by the homosexual biker terrorist, she herself later admitted was a complete fabrication — developed with the complicity of the police."

1969

Oklahoma

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Goodwin v. Page 296 F. 1205 (1969)

"Mr. Walter Billingsley, the attorney for the co-defendant Lindsey, made an investigation of the facts and during such investigation talked to a young woman who said she saw the shooting, which resulted in the death of the peace officer and that this young woman told him that Lindsey, the driver of the car, fired the shot that killed the officer; the prosecution knew of this witness."

"After the police officer was shot and killed, Horace "Buster" Lindsey, petitioner's co-defendant, surrendered himself and made a voluntary signed written statement to the authorities, upon the advice of his mother, that he shot and killed the officer, and again while he was being held in the State Penitentiary at McAlester for safe-keeping, he confessed to being the killer. Later this same person gave another written statement wherein he stated, among other things, that petitioner shot and killed the officer, and this is the statement . . . which was read to the jury by the Chief of Police of the City of Seminole during petitioner's trial, and the only statement of which the jury was informed."

"He was denied effective assistance of counsel in that he only saw the Court-appointed counsel five days before trial, and then only for a short period of time; that counsel did not subpoena witnesses; that counsel failed to make an opening statement; failed to ask for a continuance or change of venue; placed no evidence before the Court; and did not keep his promise to appeal the conviction."

1957

New York

Convicted of robbery and released before sentenced.

The Innocents

See John Gilbert

2000

Louisiana

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

See Albert R. Burrell

1999

Maryland

Convicted of murder & rape and sentenced to life.

Wash Post 2/9/99

"Gray, 31, is of below-average intelligence. He confessed to a role in Pellicano's death."

"Paul M. Holland and Leonard A. Long, were arrested and questioned about the Pellicano murder. They implicated Gray. Holland told police that the three had smoked crack cocaine together before Gray and Long broke into Pellicano's home to burglarize it. Gray was arrested and told police that he was in the house while Long and Holland killed Pellicano, after she came home from the grocery store and surprised them. Gray later said he lied in his confession because police told him the other two men had implicated him in the murder."

"Anthony G. Fleming, pleaded guilty to killing Pellicano after his DNA was found to match DNA evidence taken from the victim's body."

"Gray said he pleaded guilty because 'they were trying to give me the death penalty for something I didn't do. . . . Why should I die for something I didn't do?'"

"Visiting Prince George's County Judge Graydon S. McKee III ruled in a hearing yesterday that Gray had received ineffective counsel from the attorney he had after he pleaded guilty."

1999

Missouri

Convicted of rape & attempted murder.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch 6/25/99

"The victim, who was stabbed 33 times, identified Gray as her attacker and the same man who came to her house several days earlier to look at a motorcycle her son was trying to sell.

Gray's first trial ended with a hung jury. He was convicted in a second trial in which a former cellmate testified that Gray admitted the crime."

1996

Illinois

Convicted of murder, rape and robbery. Sentenced to 60 years.

Supreme Court of Illinois 652 N.E. 2d 278: 1995

"After questioning by Pastirik, Gray gave a second statement in which she implicated herself, Williams, Rainge, Adams, and, for the first time, the defendant [Jimerson]."

"The 1978 pre-sentence investigation report (PSI) prepared for Gray stated that, at age 6, her IQ was measured at 57, classifying her as mentally retarded. Gray was diagnosed as educable mentally handicapped (EMH) and placed in a special EMH classroom. In 1974, Gray's IQ was measured at 64. A 1974 psychological report attached to the PSI found Gray to be a 'timid, insecure and dependent' personality, who has 'difficulty interpreting stimuli correctly.' Gray's mother stated that Paula's 'mind comes and goes.' At age 17, Gray was unable to read, write or tell time."

1990

Virginia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 52 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"The defense attorney . . . demonstrated that the conviction had been based on erroneous eye witness identification by the State's chief witness. The eyewitness then identified another man, Michael Harvey; other witnesses, who had not testified at Grary's trial, agreed that Harvey was the gunman. Harvey finally confessed."

1905

Pennsylvania

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"The victim's wife recanted her testimony against Greason in 1905"

"The victim's wife confessed to the murder herself and completely exonerated Greason."

2001

Ohio

Convicted of rape & robbery and sentenced to 20 ­50 years.

State v. Green 585 N.E.2d 990; 1990 & The Plain Dealer Oct 19, 2001

"The rape victim, a nurse in her 30s from West Virginia, died a short time after identifying Green as her attacker."

"Appellant objects that the victim was shown two photo arrays, both of which included a photo of appellant. In the first all other photos shown were typical Œmug shots,¹ while appellant's was a wallet-type photo, darker in tone and with surface scratching. In the second series appellant also appeared in a Œmug shot¹ that included an information card indicating his physical description."

"The victim, upon viewing the second set of photographs, immediately recognized the appellant as her assailant."

"Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Anthony O. Calabrese Jr. apologized and threw out Green's 1988 conviction for rape yesterday because of DNA evidence that showed someone else committed the crime."

1990

DC

Convicted of rape & kidnapping , never sentenced.

Wash Post 2/16/90 & 3/20/9 Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"Two young women, assaulted one month apart near a footbridge at Hart Junior High School in Southeast Washington, identified Green as their assailant. Each was the sole witness against him, and in each case Green maintained that the government had the wrong man."

"His attorneys pointed out the darkness of the crime scene, the victim's blindfolding shortly after being accosted, and the allegedly suggestive manner in which detectives asked her to identify Green as her assailant."

"The second victim identified Green in a "show-up" on the street. The first victim identified Green from a photo array and a formal lineup."

1996

California

Convicted of assault and sentenced to 15 years to life.

LA Times 6/22/96 & 6/26/96

"Green's former wife identified him at trial as the man who beat her on the head with a tape measure."

"Dianna D'Aiello said her memory came back to her slowly after a month in a coma, often after something visual jogged her memory."

"Police in Costa Mesa and Tustin, however, discovered Green was innocent while investigating three unsolved attacks in their cities. Forensic scientists found common DNA samples in three cases and those samples matched that of Parker, whose DNA was entered in the state database after he confessed to raping a 13- year-old girl, authorities said."

"D'Aiello said she is still trying to reconcile her vivid memories of the September 1979 night of the attack on her with the stunning news that a serial killing suspect, Gerald Parker, has allegedly confessed to the bludgeoning. The attack left D'Aiello in a coma for a month"

1918

New York

Pleaded guilty to murder and sentenced to 20 years to life.

Convicting the Innocent

See Charles Stielow

1957

Pennsylvania

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

The Innocents

"Two weeks later police received a tip that William S. Green, a Navy veteran, was the killer and were happy to find two excellent witnesses, not available the night of the murder, who positively identified Green."

"In 1957, after Green had served ten years, the man who had claimed he had been twenty-five feet away at the time of the shooting voluntarily appeared at the district attorney's office and admitted that he had perjured himself. He said the other witness, who claimed to be forty feet away, had paid him $100 for his false testimony. The other man was a homosexual who once had been beaten up by Green for making an indecent proposal, and he wanted revenge."

1924

New York

Convicted of passing forged money and sentenced to 7.5 years.

Convicting the Innocent

"Some of the clerks from the stores which had been imposed on were called to identify him as the man who had passed thr forged money orders. They identified him as the man."

His attorney "was told that the identification of Greenwald by the several clerks, the credit man, and the druggist, was positive and that they would all swear that Greenwald was the man who cashed the money orders — that the case against Greenwald was 'cast-iron, brass-bound, copper riveted and airtight.'"

Later the real fogger was found.

"All save one of the witnesses now identified Barry as the man who had passed the money orders."

1975

New Mexico

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

See Thomas Gladish

2000

Kentucky

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 70 years.

Cincinnati Enquire 7/10/00 & Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) 7/6/00

"Both women failed to pick out Gregory when shown a series of photographs, although both later insisted he was their attacker."

"The next day, he was arrested. Mr. Gregory stood in a lineup, and a 20-year-old woman identified him as her assailant."

"A forensic expert testifies that a microscopic examination of Gregory's hair found it to be similar to the hairs found in the stocking."

"the younger victim also still believes Gregory is guilty but understands that the DNA evidence "leaves a huge hole in the case."

1932

Michigan

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence & Not Guilty

"His conviction had been based on erroneous eyewitness identification and the testimony of fellow inmates who claimed that Growden had confessed to the crime."

"In 1932 two other men confessed to the murder, all charges against Growden were dismissed and he was released."

1975

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

See James Creamer

1981

California

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

"That night in a police line-up, Hall was identified by two of the victim's brothers, who had also been targets of the gunman."

"A major break came when the tow brothers recanted their trial testimony. They testified in writing and under oath . . . a man named Oscar Sanchez was the guilty one."

"Another eyewitness . . . identified Sanchez and a third man, Alfred Reyes, as the two who had fired the fatal shots."

"Other witnesses added to the weight of evidence mounting against Reyes and Sanchez."

California Supreme Court Judge Stanley Mosk said the new evidence from witnesses was "amply sufficient to undermine the entire case of the prosecution, because it eviscerates the key trial testimony against petitioner [Hall] and clearly implicates a different culprit."

1962

Michigan

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

See Ephraim R. Clark

1954

California

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 5 years to life.

The Innocents

"Hamlin had been mistakenly identified as Kistler by three eyewitnesses in the robbery of a San Francisco jewelry shop."

"The storekeeper later was puzzled as to how he could have mistaken one man for the other."

1992

Connecticut

Convicted of kidnapping & sexual assault and sentenced to 25 years.

Hartford Courant 10/20/92 & Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"the jury in Hammond's case placed more credibility on the composed and detailed testimony of the victim, a 34-year-old Bristol woman who had never met Hammond. She accurately described Hammond and the contents of his messy Chevrolet Malibu, including the rips in a child's car seat in the back seat of the car and a watch hanging from the gearshift. Hammond habitually placed his watch there when he drove, acquaintances testified"

"The victim identified Hammond in a photo array.

The victim made an in-court identification of Hammond."

"Hammond's alibi was uncorroborated, and he also had altered several details of his alibi when originally interviewed."

"Forensic examination of hairs found in Hammond's car showed they were consistent with the victim's hair."

1966

Louisiana

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

"Spencer vowed to get even. A guard reported he heard Spencer say, 'I'll get that bitch if it's the last think I do'. Spencer began his campaign of retaliation by confessing to murder after murder, implicating Hampton in each one."

"For six weeks Mary Kay was interrogated, and for six weeks she cried and denied any guilt. Then, forty-three days after she had been taken to Louisiana in custody, she finally cracked."

"Nothing implicated her in the murders except Spencer's vengeful accusations and her own ill-advised guilty pleas."

"Taken together, the accumulated evidence strongly argued that Spencer and Hampton had been hundreds of miles away, in Florida, within a few hours of the Louisiana crimes. They simply could not have committed either, let alone both, of the murders."

1951

Minnesota

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

The Innocents

"Several members of the gang had been staying at a rooming house; one gangster was seized there. Leonard Hankins was arrested when he walked into the place. Although one witness was positive he was not the man who had been stationed ouside the bank, several others thought there wa a resemblance and Honkins was found guilty"

"A Barber had supported his story that he was in St. Paul getting a haircut at the time of the robbery."

"The FBI captured Jess Doyle . . . he admitted the bank holdup . . .and named his companions. He said Hankins was innocent. Several other member of the gang caught later also said Hankins was not implicated."

In 1954 "the state legislature passed a bull granting him $300 month for life for his length unjustified imprisonment."

1949

South Carolina

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death

Harris v. South Carolina 338U.S. 68 (1949)

The US Supreme Court wrote: "The use, at a trial for murder in a state court, of a confession obtained by protracted police interrogation violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, where the accused, an illiterate person, was interrogated on two days by at least five officers working in relays and relieving each other from time to time to permit respite from the stifling heat of the cubicle in which the interrogation was conducted, and on the third day by the chief of the state constabulary with half a dozen of his men for about an hour and by the local authorities for three and a half hours longer, and he did not confess until the sheriff threatened to arrest his mother for handling stolen property."

In spite of Innocence

"No retrial was held. In 1957 a man originally suspected of the murder was arrested for similar murders; he confessed to the murder for which Harris had been convicted."

1995

West Virginia

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 10 to 25 years.

Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"The victim identified Harris in a police lineup and made an in-court identification of him."

"Police serologist Fred Zain (see also Glen Woodall and Gerald Wayne Davis cases) testified that the genetic markers in the semen left by the assailant matched those of Harris and only 5.9 percent of the population."

1995

Illinois

Convicted of kidnapping, rape & murder and sentenced to death.

Chicago Sun-Times 12/10/95

"In Hernandez's case, one officer who claimed Hernandez made incriminating statements didn't document them for almost four years. Others said they never took notes, or claimed their notes were lost or destroyed."

"An anonymous caller told police Hernandez had mentioned knowing someone named "Ricky" who had admitted committing the murder."

"As he was being booked at the DuPage County Jail, deputies Thomas Bentcliff and Howard Keltner allegedly heard Hernandez say, 'I didn't hurt anybody. I just went there to do a burglary to get money for drugs.' But the deputies didn't document the report until almost four years later."

"At one point, he allegedly heard Hernandez say, 'All I did was hold that little girl down while they hit her head. . . . I feel like I am guilty, but all I did was hold that little girl down.' Bettilyon acknowledged he understood only part of the conversation because at times Marquez and Hernandez spoke in Spanish."

1926

California

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 1 year to life.

Convicting the Innocent

See Broulio Galindo

1997

Wisconsin

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 19 years.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 4/24/97 & Wisconsin State Journal 5/28/96

"The stenographer had helped make copies of Yahnke's sketch and then started typing Markham's report on Hicks. She saw Hicks' driver's license picture and noticed his strong resemblance to the suspect. She also noticed that he and the victim both lived on Schroeder Road and that Hicks was on probation for the cocaine conviction."

"The next day, police put Hicks, who was cooperative, into a lineup with six other black men. The victim, after seeing Hicks and hearing him speak, said she was sure he was the man who had raped her. But she also said she hadn't noticed the prominent cleft in his chin before, and that his skin seemed lighter than she remembered."

"The lab indicated the hairs were consistent with those of Hicks."

1952

Maine

Convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to 15 years.

Not Guilty

"In 1946, in Presque Isle, Maine, the police arrested Edward A. Hodsdon on a charge of assault with intent to rape. Identified by the victim, Hodsdon went to trial."

"Six years later, in 1952, a man named Edward Kennison, arrested on another charge, confessed that he, not Hodsdon, had committed the assault for which Hodsdon had been convicted."

1952

New York

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

The Innocents

"At police headquarters Halkais looked through the picture file of men wearing thick glasses. He did not make a positive identification of Hoffner but said the photograph looked something like the man."

"Sotzing, Halkais, and a subway porter, who had seen a man rushing down the stairs shortly after the shooting, were called into the room. Sotzing did not identify Hoffner. . . . The subway porter also said the prisoner did not resemble the man he had seen at the subway station. Halkais looked at the four men in the line-up and left the room. He returned ten minutes later and asked to view Hoffner's left profile. He then identified the prisoner."

"The reporter dug away for years, finding additional witnesses and confirming episodes that established that Hoffner had been in Brooklyn at the time of the murder. In November, 1952, the prosecutor's office moved to set aside the conviction and Hoffner was released. . . . The court of Claims later awarded Hoffner $112,000 for his false imprisonment."

1984

Ohio

Convicted of rape & murder and sentenced to life.

NY Times 4/16/84 & 5/5/84

"The prosecution relied largely on the testimony of Curtis Maynard, Mr. Holbrook's cousin, and Susan Sigler, an acquaintance. Mr. Maynard testified at both trials that in a night of drinking at Mrs. Sigler's house, Mr. Rucker told them that he and Mr. Holbrook had killed a little girl because she resisted their sexual advances. Mrs. Sigler told somewhat the same story."

"When Mr. Maynard was in jail on a theft charge, he was again visited by the detectives. His probation officer released him to their custody, and he provided more detail about the Harmon killing."

"The Wayne County prosecutor, Keith Shearer, said he had asked that the charges be dropped because of new evidence linking another man to the murder."

2000

West Virginia

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 30 to 60 years.

Associated Press 1/11/00

"Investigators had shown the woman the Holdrens' photos in an array of suspect pictures, and she picked him out." "Besides being 27, Holdren did not fit the description because he wore his hair short; his barber testified at trial that he cut Holdren's hair every six weeks. But in court testimony, the woman said she was convinced Holdren was her rapist."

1999

Alabama

Convicted of rape and served 12 years. (specific sentence not described.)

Associated Press 1/26/99

Few other details provided.

1994

Virginia

Convicted of rape and sentenced to three life terms plus 34 years.

Wash Post 10/22/94 & Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"Honaker was arrested in October 1984 after a police officer decided he bore an uncanny resemblance to a composite sketch of the burly man in camouflaged clothing who had raped a young woman along the Blue Ridge Parkway four months earlier."

"He was convicted largely on her identification - secretly enhanced by hypnosis, as it was later disclosed."

"The victim and her boyfriend picked Honaker out of a photo lineup."

"The victim made an in-court identification of Honaker."

"The truck that Honaker drove was similar to the one driven by the assailant."

"Police found camouflage fatigues in Honaker's house, similar to those worn by the assailant."

"Honaker's alibi, which was corroborated by his brother, sister-in-law, owner of his trailer park, and mother's housemate, was called a "put-up job" by the prosecution."

"A State laboratory forensic specialist testified that hair found on the woman's shorts 'was unlikely to match anyone' other than Honaker."

"Nearly 10 years to the day after Honaker was incarcerated, Gov. George Allen called to say that DNA tests had persuaded him to grant the 44-year-old carpenter-welder an absolute pardon."

"The victim . . . even now remains convinced that he is guilty."

1989

Illinois

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years.

See Robert Brown

Also in In Spite of Innocence

"One eyewitness identified Brown as a participant; two other eyewitnesses identified Houston"

1930

Illinois

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 1 year to life.

Convicting the Innocent

"Witnesses of the Golden robbery were brought to Peoria to determine whether Howell was one of the participants. Howell was positively identified by gasoline-station owner Gerdes and his companions, Woerman and Winke, and by Henry Schuster, as the man who had driven the Whippet. Cashier Janssen was positive that Howell was the one who held him up with the pistol."

1931

West Virginia

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 15 years.

Convicting the Innocent

"Mr. Cotts came to New Martinsville and positively identified them as the bandits."

"From the witness stand, he pointed to Howell and said, 'That is the man right there.' He testified that he had no trouble at all in identifying the defendant or his wife saying, 'I couldn't be mistaken.'"

Even after the actual criminals confessed, "there remained no doubt in anyone's mind, including Mr. Cott's, that Irene Schroeder and Glenn Dague were the guilty bandits and that the Howells were absolutely innocent."

Died in Prison

Alabama

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Convicting the Innocent

See James Crutcher

1931

Minnesota

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to life.

Convicting the Innocent

"The cashier, Lindquist, and customers, witnesses of the robbery, were called to St. Paul, where they identified Hughes."

1974

California

Convicted of murder & robbery and sentenced to life.

Jackson v. San Diego, 175 Cal. Rptr. 395 (1981)

"Robert Hoke, a gas station attendant, was murdered and robbed on November 26, 1973. The police investigation and the subsequent arrest of Jackson turned on information received from a Victor Thomas, a police informant."

"Thomas' categorical identification of Jackson was at odds with the description of either assailant given by several witnesses at the scene after the incident and contrary to the statement of another witness who positively excluded Jackson as the robber from a photographic lineup."

"The wallet in Jackson's possession was later incorrectly identified by the victim's wife as belonging to her husband."

"During his incarceration, Clarence Blunt came forward and implicated himself in the murder of which Jackson had been convicted. Blunt was tried and convicted. Jackson was set free."

1982

Ohio

Convicted of Rape and sentenced to 14 to 50 years.

NY Times 9/24/82 & ABA Journal March 1999

"William Bernard Jackson, who is not related to Dr. Jackson, had been imprisoned for nearly five years on conviction for two rapes that are now part of the indictment against the physician. William Jackson was sentenced to 14 to 50 years in the maximum security prison at Lucasville after two victims identified him in court as their assailant."

"Police found a list of the rape victims in the doctor's home, and witnesses against William B. Jackson acknowledged their mistake."

"Rep Vernon Sykes thought the state owed William Jackson, and it did pay, eventually awarding him $720,645."

1928

California

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 15 years to life.

Convicting the Innocent

"The four victims attended the police department 'show-ups,' where arrested persons in groups of six were marched before victims of all sort of crimes for identification. Early in September, each of the taxi drivers identified on of the prisoners, Elmer P. Jacobs, as one of the taxi robbers."

"Each victim appeared as a witness and described the holdup, stating the Jacobs was one of the robbers."

After the real culprits were found, "Detective McCaleb then had the four men placed in the 'show-up' and called in again the victims of the robberies. This time the confessed robbers were all positively identified by the victims. It was clear to every one that their earlier identification of Jacobs had been erroneous."

1983

South Carolina

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

"Bother James and Peterson were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, primarily on the testimony of a police officer who stated that he overheard them making incriminating statements while in custody after their arrest. Two months later, prompted by testimony from a previously silent witness that implicated four other men, the court ordered a new trial. Subsequently a grand jury dropped the charges against both James and Peterson."

"at least one of these men pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life."

1991

North Carolina

Convicted of rape and sentenced to life.

Associated Press 1/26/01 & Jean v. Rice, 945 F.2d 82 (1991)

"Believing that Jean matched the description of Wilson's assailant, the two officials detained Jean and radioed for Shingleton to come view him. Shingleton arrived, and positively identified Jean as the person he had stopped, stating, 'that is the man'."

"The next day, July 27, 1982, Ms. Wilson viewed a photo line-up, which included Jean's picture. She could not identify any of the subjects as her rapist. Ms. Wilson, however, returned to the police station the next day because one of the pictures made her "feel sick." She again viewed the photos and selected Jean's photo, saying that his was the face that made her feel sick."

"On July 30, 1982, Captain Collins hypnotized Ms. Wilson to 'improve her memory of why [the] picture makes her sick'."

"Six weeks later, on September 17, 1982, the police had Wilson view a three man line-up . . . . After viewing the line-up, Wilson positively identified Jean as her attacker."

"the state did not inform defense counsel that the victim may have identified Jean's photograph, that the two key witnesses had been hypnotized, or that various records pertaining to hypnosis and identification procedures existed."

"Jean was released from prison in July 1991 after the appeals court ruling and the state decided not to prosecute again. That was before the DNA test results were available."

"DNA evidence was found in the Onslow County clerk's office and a Jan. 12 report said Jean was excluded as a possible rapist."

1975

Georgia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

See James Creamer

1940

Michigan

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life

The Innocents

"A coroner's jury returned with a verdict that Mrs. Jenkins had taken her won life."

"Finally Betty began to talk, confirming what the detectives had thought. She said that she was the one who actually had written the suicide note."

"The girl also told of a flaming romance with Jenkins whenever they could be alone in the apartment and said that he told her many times that he would 'get rid' of his wife and marry her."

"During the trial the prosecution pounded home to the jury that it was impossible for Mrs. Jenkins to fall on her back if she had shot herself."

Later his daughter "consulted ballistics experts and learned from them that there were many authentic cases on record of suicides who had fallen on their backs."

"FBI handwriting experts had examined samples of Mrs. Jenkins' handwriting . . . and were certain that the note had been written by the dead woman."

"The final bit of evidence was an admission from Betty that her entire story had been a complete invention."

1999

New York

Convicted of rape and sentenced to 20 years to life.

Associated Press 9/2/99

"His lawyer, Eleanor Jackson Piel, said improper police tactics prompted the victim to identify Jenkins as her attacker months after the rape. " "She said racism and pressure to solve the case were reasons police worked to convince the white victim that Jenkins, who is black, was her assailant. "

1996

Illinois

Convicted of murder and rape. Sentenced to death.

See Kenneth Adams

1999

Georgia

Convicted of rape and sentenced to life.

Jet 7/5/99

"Four witnesses, including the White victim, identified Johnson as the rapist based on his build and the sound of his voice. None of the witnesses saw the attacker's face. An all White jury convicted him."

Died in Prison

Texas

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"Circumstantial evidence against them was weak and inconclusive, but both defendants originally confessed out of fear of lynching."

"In 1923 another man confessed to the murders, as well as to others."

"By then Johnson, still waiting for a death warrant, had died of natural causes. In 1934 Governor Miriam Ferguson granted a pardon to Young."

2000

Massachusetts

Convicted of murder as a juvenile and sentenced to 18 ­ 20 yrs.

Boston Globe July 11, 2000 & May 4, 2001

"It all began in 1994, when 9-year-old Jermaine Goffigan, playing outside on Halloween night, was killed in a gang-related shooting. Witnesses said one of the shooters was light-skinned and freckle-faced, and the young Johnson fit the description."

"The break finally came last summer. Ralph C. Martin III, the Suffolk County District Attorney who'd always said Johnson was a killer, began to reconsider his position when members of the Heath Street gang, seeking leniency after being arrested on federal drug charges, told investigators Johnson was innocent."

"Then, in late March, upon a motion from Martin, Juvenile Court Judge Paul D. Lewis vacated Johnson's murder conviction. Martin and the Boston police commissioner, Paul Evans, publicly apologized and said new evidence had led to the dramatic reversal of fortune."

"Martin admitted that Johnson was wrongly convicted by the mistaken testimony of eyewitnesses."

1922

Wisconsin

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Convicting the Innocent &

In Spite of Innocence

"A former mental patient, Johnson feared being lynched, and he confessed when he was told that a mob was about to break into his cell."

"In 1922 Johnson was released after the victim's father was shown to have committed the crime."

1982

Massachusetts

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Commonwealth v. Johnson, 429 N.E.2d 726 (1982)

"The convictions of Johnson were obtained largely on the testimony of Kenneth Myers."

"The second trial judge found Myers's testimony on at least one occasion 'evasive.' Myers himself quite freely admitted that he had lied on various earlier occasions. Initially at least, he had named as one of his companions on the day of the murder a person (one Simpkins), promptly shown to have been then in prison. Myers, then an admitted heroin addict, also conceded that he identified Johnson as being present at the murder scene only after the police had indicated that they could 'get' Myers himself for the murder."

"newly discovered evidence, viz. the testimony of a then nineteen-year-old woman, Dawnielle Montiero (hereafter Dawnielle), who had not been a witness at either earlier trial, that she, when ten years old, had been an eyewitness to the killing on December 7, 1971. She testified that Johnson, whom she knew, was not present at the scene and that Myers, whom she also knew, himself had fired three shots at the victim."

1995

Illinois

Convicted of raped and sentenced to 36 years.

Chicago Sun-Times 12/5/95 & Sate Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) 10/27/97

"The victim identified Johnson from police photographs, which were then used on the TV show 'America's Most Wanted.' After his arrest in Florida on Aug. 8, 1991, the victim identified Johnson in a lineup."

"Despite the woman's conflicting descriptions of her attacker, a judge convicted Johnson at a bench trial on the basis of her identification."

1992

Oklahoma

Convicted of rape, kidnapping & assault and sentenced to life.

Kansas City Star 3/13/93 & Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"Three eyewitnesses testified he kidnapped and raped a Topeka woman."

"They had witnessed the abduction, and when they spotted Jones, they called police and identified him as their friend's attacker. The friend later identified him as her assailant."

"The victim picked out a different man in a photo lineup but identified Jones when she saw him face-to-face."

Jones was a member of the same club and had actually been there the night of the incident.

The police found a pair of jeans that resembled those of the assailant in Jones' house.

2000

Illinois

Convicted of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to death.

Chicago Tribune 7/9/97 11/27/97 & 2/8/00

"Chicago police said Jones had confessed, but Jones long held that detectives beat him into confessing."

"Police originally picked up Jones for questioning as a suspect in another rape case. He never was prosecuted for that rape and denies responsibility for it. But his alleged victim was allowed to testify against him in the murder trial to show modus operandi."

"The other main piece of evidence against Jones is a witness who says she saw him panhandling from the victim around the time police think the murder occurred."

"Jones' lawyers argue that the DNA testing now shows that his confession is bogus, and they insist that Jones, who has a low IQ, was coerced into admitting to the crime."

1934

Alabama

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years.

Jordan v. State, 157 So. 485 (1934)

"There had been a woods fire extending up to the road traversed by defendant when his car ran over deceased at night. The stumps and trash were smoking so that, in the absence of a conflicting tendency, it was reasonable to believe defendant when he says he could not see well enough to tell whether a person's body was lying in the road."

"the only circumstance which might be said to need an explanation is that he ran his car over decedent, whether before or after he was dead is uncertain."

In Spite of Innocence

"After the conviction, the police continued their investigation, and another suspect confessed to the killing."

ð

1947

California

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

The Innocents

"Some four months later police received a tip that Daniel Kamacho might be the killer"

"He was placed in a line-up with several others of his general description, and this time Miss Rattenbury, without hesitation, pointed to him as the man. Not long after the identification Kamacho confessed to shooting Guiol."

"The three men returned to Los Angeles on May 2 and presented to the court documentary evidence that Kamacho, who had voluntarily confessed to the murder of Guiol, actually had been in the Juarez jail on the night of the murder."

1966

New York

Convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 5-10 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"I 1965 the conviction was vacated on the ground that Kassim's confession was involuntary. The defendant was unfamiliar with the English language, and his 'supposed admissions . . . actually were the words of the District Attorney.' In addition, another person had confessed to the crime."

"In 1986 a New York court awarded Kassim $501,653."

1973

Florida

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

See Johnny Frederick

1975

New Mexico

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

See Thomas Gladish

1917

North Carolina

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years.

The Innocents

"A group of witnesses came forward who said they had seen Nelson with Kendall and Vickers that day, walking toward the scene of the murder. Both men were convicted and given long terms."

"In 1917 an investigation was conducted by Governor Bickett, and he came to the conclusion that, despite the acquittal, Sam Green had murdered Nelson and had framed Kendall and Vickers. The governor issued an unconditional pardon to the two men. Five years later Green ordered a coffin built for himself and, when it was completed, confessed that he was the killer and committed suicide."

1931

Minnesota

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 30 years.

Convicting the Innocent

A detective went to the bank and "presented to the president (Lyle Hamlin) and the vice-president (C. A. Gilbert) a number of photographs for the purposes of identification. They selected one of the men who looked like the bandit who had stood guard at the door of the bank."

Later, in person, "both Mr. Hamlin and Mr. Gilbert identified him."

After the trial, a Mr. Devers confessed to the crime but later retracted his confession. "Mr. Hamlin, becoming increasingly disquieted over the matter, finally made a trip to Levenworth to interview Devers. When he saw him, Hamlin became convinced that Devers was the man who had stood guard at the door and that he had been utterly mistaken in his identification of Klass."

"Mr. Gilbert also appeared before the Board and stated that he feared that he, also, had been mistaken in his identification."

1992

New York

Convicted of rape, robbery & burglary and sentenced to 25 to 50 years.

Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"The victim identified Kotler from a group of 500 photographs."

"The victim's identified Kotler by sight and voice from a police lineup."

"County laboratory tests showed that Kotler had three non-DNA genetic markers (ABO, PGM, and GLO)that matched those of the semen stain left on the victim's underpants."

1962

Michigan

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

See Ephraim R. Clark

1936

North Carolina

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

The Innocents

"An insurance agent had identified him [Langley] as the man he had spoken to in Asheville the day before the murder."

"The second important witness was the man who had been briefly in Langley's cell. He testified that Langley had admitted the murder to him."

Later "it had been established that Langley was not in Asheville on either the 26^th or the 27^th."

"North Carolina finally admitted that he was innocent and he was granted a full pardon."

1933

New York

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Not Guilty

"Larkman was not placed in the police line-up. He was forced at police headquarters to stand alone under a bright light and to wear a pair of dark glasses, and was thus shown to an eyewitness to the crime, Dorothy Littleworth, who identified him."

"In April 1929, Anthony Kalkiewicz, a Buffalo gangster, arrested for another crime, confessed that Pierce had been murdered, not by Larkman, but by a gang of five men, of which he, Kalkiewicz, had been one."

2000

Texas

Convicted of rape and sentenced 27 years.

Austin American-Statesman 10/11/00

"In August 1984, police showed five pictures to one Barton Creek rape victim . It was the third photo lineup shown to the woman since her June 1983 attack, and the first with Lavernia's picture, court records say. She picked him out, and her case went to trial. Prosecutors said another victim tentatively picked Lavernia from photos, then identified him later in a lineup."

"At Lavernia's trial, Ray questioned the fairness of the photos. spread's fairness. The victim acknowledged that Lavernia's picture was the only one of five pictures that 'anywhere near resembles' the description she gave police of her attacker."

"She can still picture the attack and initially doubted the test's accuracy. 'Maybe it wasn't him," she said, adding, 'I don't think I made a mistake'."

1986

Massachusetts

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

LA Times 12/27/96

"She and another woman were in the Talbot Avenue Variety Store during the crime and both identified Leaster as Whiteside's killer. Leaster, who was arrested 90 minutes after the slaying, has maintained he is innocent."

"Leaster, 36, was freed last month after serving 15 years of a life sentence after a constable [Johnson] said that Leaster was not one of the two men he saw fleeing a Boston variety store after the 1970 slaying of Levi Whiteside during a holdup."

"But O'Meara said that Johnson's testimony was not a major factor in the decision to drop plans to press charges, citing the recent discovery of a weapon that could be tied to the killing. O'Meara said that a .22-caliber revolver was thrown from a car during a police chase 16 days after the killing. The gun was recovered but it was not linked to Whiteside's killing until the case was reopened as a result of Johnson's testimony. O'Meara said ballistics tests showed that a bullet taken from Whiteside's chest had been fired from the gun."

"O'Meara told the judge that Kathleen Whiteside, widow of the slain shopkeeper, was 'still 100% certain (Leaster) is the man who shot her husband'."

1926

Georgia

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 5 years.

Convicting the Innocent

"Lee's photograph was sent to Priors for identification. Postmaster Fite could not identify the picture, but 14 year old Van Underwood did, and several others said that they had seen a stranger around the town about September 15 who looked like the photograph of Lee."

"After Barrett was arrested, the lad, Van Underwood, admitted his mistake in identifying Lee, but there was, in fact, a striking resemblances between lee and Barrett."

1975

Florida

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Buffalo News 7/14/98 & Atlanta Constitution Journal 5/1/98

"Within hours, deputies found them and arrested them. In jail, subsequent court proceedings revealed, they were beaten into making confessions. They were denied lawyers."

"In 1966, a white man in jail admitted to the Port St. Joe murders. Two weeks after those crimes, he committed an almost identical crime in Fort Lauderdale. He told his story to a polygraph operator, who told it to a Miami Herald newspaper reporter."

"More than 30 years after they were sentenced to death for the murders of two gas station attendants, the two men received $500,000 each from the state"

1938

New Jersey

Convicted twice of forgery and served approximately 18 months.

The Innocents

See Clifford Shephard

1992

Illinois

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 40 years.

LA Times 9/18/94 & Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science

"Fourteen years ago, Steven Linscott told police a shocking story: He saw a man attack and kill someone. His account of the crime had one very unusual aspect-he said it was just a dream."

"A dream, though, that occurred the same night a neighbor was murdered."

"Some details he recounted were similar to the woman's death; others were not. The discrepancies didn't dissuade police. To them, this was no vision, no coincidence-this was a confession."

"The results of blood-typing tests that showed that the semen from the crime scene could have come from Linscott."

"The results of head and pubic hair analyses showed that hairs found at the scene were 'consistent' with Linscott's hair."

1977

Indiana

Convicted of three counts rape and murder and sentenced to death.

The Innocents &

In Spite of Innocence

"He had voluntarily confessed to the crimes and pleaded guilty, and an eyewitness implicated him at the trial."

"By 1950 another man had been convicted of the crimes and a third man, Franklin Crick, had confessed to the other tow crimes and been executed for them."

"In 1975 Governor Otis Bowen ordered an investigation that resulted in Lobaugh's release on parole in 1977."

"After two months of freedom, Lobaugh voluntarily returned to prison, telling officials that he could not relax on the outside."

1959

Michigan

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to life.

The Innocents

"Russell promptly named Ronald J. Logan as the driver of the getaway car. Logan presented evidence that he had been asleep at the home of a relative at the time of the crime, and the other two participants in the armed robbery also testified that he had not taken part in it, but a jury was more impressed by Russell's testimony and Logan was sentenced to life imprisonment. Thirteen years later Russell finally admitted that he had framed Logan to get even with him because they had fought over a girl."

1934

Illinois

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to one year to life.

Not Guilty

"The robberies had been witnesses by seven people, the employees of the two pharmacies. Summoned to headquarters and asked if Long and Wilch were the criminals, each of the seven said that they were."

"In June of 1934, Judge McKinley held a new hearing. The seven witnesses, who had testified for the state at Long's trial, testified again. Each stated that he had been mistaken at the trial: Brethauer, they now said, had been Wilch's accomplice. Brethauer testified that he had participated in the crime."

2000

New York

Convicted of rape & robbery. Sentenced to 8 to 24 years.

N.Y. Times 6/29/00

"Based on a description that was broadcast over the police radio, an officer picked up Mr. Long on the street as he neared home. He was later identified by the victim, who said she was sure, when she saw his boots, that it was Mr. Long who had attacked her and stolen her jewelry."

"Mr. Long's girlfriend, Yvette McCormick, after he was taken into custody. She told the officer that Mr. Long had been with her in Brooklyn and then on the train home when the rape occurred."

"It was not until the investigation was reopened that the authorities uncovered the timing of the initial conversation with Ms. McCormick: before Mr. Long could have contacted her and concocted an alibi."

"Questions also arose in the new investigation about the victim's identification of Mr. Long, which was based mostly on clothing and the boots, which she later said she only "felt," and did not see."

"In reversing Mr. Long's conviction, Justice Joseph G. Golia of State Supreme Court in Queens said, åThe wrong man was convicted¼."

1931

Illinois

Convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In Spite of Innocence

"In 1931 the actual killer made a deathbed confession, and after further investigation a key witness at the original trial admitted that her testimony had been perjured because her life had been threatened. The only other witness again Lucas had been a prison inmate, who had perjured himself as a means of reducing his sentence for an unrelated crime."

1912

Virginia

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 18 years.

Convicting the Innocent

Smith disappeared and later a badly decomposed body was found in the river. Lyons was convicted based on circumstantial evidence.

After the trial, when his attorney had filed a motion for a new trial "Lyons confessed that he had participated in the killing of Smith. The details of his confession, concerning the way the crime had been committed, were exactly as the Commonwealth's Attorney had alleged them at the trial."

Later, "Smith was found alive and in the best of health just across the state line in North Carolina. After much urging, Smith was induced to return to Suffolk, where he was produced before Judge McLemore and was identified by a large number of people who knew him."

1932

Nebraska

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 12 to 15 years.

Not Guilty

"Five witnesses identified Lytle as the bandit who, on entering the bank, had threatened to blow it up with sticks of dynamite tied around his waist."

"In January 1932 the police arrested a bank robber who confessed to the crime for which Lytle had been convicted."

1997

Alabama

Convicted of rape & kidnapping and served 13 years (sentence unknown)

San Diego Union-Tribune 12/4/97 & Associated Press 12/19/97

"Police arrested the Mahans on Jan. 20, 1984, after receiving a tip from someone claiming to have heard members of the Mahan family discussing the rape in a tavern. The victim then picked both brothers from photographic lineups, saying that she could identify them because they occasionally raised their masks to the bridges of their noses while drinking and smoking. Their blood type matched the semen samples, and the victim said the younger man had a stutter, as does Dale Mahan."

"New tests conducted this week showed the semen apparently matched a man the woman had consensual sex with on the same day in 1983 she claims she was abducted and raped, according to prosecutors and defense attorneys. The woman originally said she had sex with her husband the day of the rape, but the DNA testing ruled out his semen as well as the Mahans'."

1984

Texas

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"He was released two months later when an anonymous tip led police to a women who had witnessed the murder. Her information led to the filing of charges against the real killer and freedom for Malloy. The conviction had been based on erroneous eyewitness identification by four people."

1960

New York

Convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

In Spite of Innocence

"The real culprit's wife confessed on her deathbed in 1960 that she had 'fingered Matera to save her husband.' After having served 30 years in prison, Matera was released."

1938

Texas

Convicted of robbery and sentenced to 30 years.

Not Guilty

"Since Mathis had accompanied Southerland on his June 6 trip, the police also brought him to headquarters. Clements identified him as the robber wearing overalls."

Hughes, the bookkeeper, agreed with Clements that Southerland and Mathis were the bank robbers. The farmer, Hunt was also sure."

"When the FBI agents arrived at the county jail where Chaplin was being held, he confessed to the first and second robberies of the Atlanta bank, insisting that Southerland and Mathis were innocent."

"Sterrett immediately recognized Chaplin as the men in the 1934 Atlanta robbery."

"Hunt, the farmer, said that Chaplin had been one of the bandits in the bank."

"Clements and Hughes, however, did not recognize Chaplin as one of the bank robbers. These witnesses still thought Southerland and Mathis the guilty men. For that reason the state did not release the prisoners."

"As one of Governor O'Daniel's first official acts, he granted Southerland and Mathis unconditional pardons."

1937

Colorado

Convicted of rape and sentenced to two life sentences.

Not Guilty

"The police decided to call the rape victims to headquarters to confront Mattice, on the theory that he might be one of the criminals in the cases still unsolved. Only one victim identified Mattice. Mrs. Cyckose immediately said: "that is the man."

"The prosecutor called Mrs. Cyckose to the stand. Pointing to Mattice, she said, "This is the man who did those things to me."

"Eventually Frank . . . admitted that he had raped Mrs. Cyckose."

"At police headquarters Mrs. Cyckose instantly picked Frank out of the line-up. "That is the man," she said, "I was mistaken before. He looked like Mattice but it was not Mattice, I know that now."

1973

Illinois

Convicted of murder and sentenced to 100 to 150 years.

In Spite of Innocence

"The conviction was based on misleading circumstantial evidence. In 1973 was released from prison when another man confessed to the killing after having been arrested for a similar murder."

Died incarcerated