List of exonerated death row inmates

This list contains names of people who were found guilty of capital crimes and placed on death row who were later found to be wrongly convicted. Some people were exonerated posthumously.

This list includes individuals who were sentenced to death and had their sentenced overturned by acquittal or pardon. The state listed is the state where the individual was convicted, the year listed is the year of release and the case listed is the case that overturned their conviction.

This list does not include

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

List by country

Japan

1980-1989

1983

• - Sakae Menda (convicted 1949).

1984

• - Shigeyoshi Taniguchi.
• - Yukio Saito.

1989

• - Masao Akahori.

Republic of China (Taiwan)

2011

• Chiang Kuo-ching (posthumous, executed 1997).

Nigeria

2000-2007

2002

• Safiyatu Husseini Tunga-Tuda (Convicted 2001).

Pakistan

2000-2007

• Zahid Mahmood Akhtar.

2002

• Arshad Javed (sentenced 1992).

2006

• Mirza Tahir Hussain.

United Kingdom

1965 Death penalty for murder suspended when evidence of wrongful executions surfaced.

1966

• Timothy Evans (posthumous, executed).

1968

• Mahmood Hussein Mattan (posthumous, executed).
• Derek Bentley (posthumous, executed).

1969

• Death penalty for murder abolished.

1973

• Despite abolition in the UK, the separate legal systems meant death sentences still passed in Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands but with no likelihood of them being carried out. One Provisional Irish Republican Army member sentenced to death for murder before this anomaly was abolished. European Union protocols signed in 1999 on human rights mean no death penalty statute can exist in an EU country.

United States

1970-1979

1973

• 1. David Keaton Florida (Keaton v. State, 273 So.2d 385 (1973)). Convicted 1971.

1974

• 2. Samuel A. Poole North Carolina (State v. Poole, 203 S.E.2d 786 (N.C. 1974)). Convicted 1973.

1975

• 3. Wilbert Lee Florida (Pitts v. State 247 So.2d 53 (Fla. 1971), overturned and released by pardon in 1975). Convicted 1963.

• 4. Freddie Pitts Florida (Pitts v. State 247 So.2d 53 (Fla. 1971), overturned and released by pardon in 1975). Convicted 1965.

• 5. James Creamer Georgia (Emmett v. Ricketts, 397 F. Supp 1025 (N.D. Ga. 1975)). Convicted 1973.

• 6. Christopher Spicer North Carolina (State v. Spicer, 204 SE 2d 641 (1974)). Convicted 1973.

1976

• 7. Thomas Gladish New Mexico. Convicted 1974.

• 8. Richard Greer New Mexico. Convicted 1974.

• 9. Ronald Keine New Mexico. Convicted 1974.

• 10. Clarence Smith New Mexico. Convicted 1974.

1977

• 11. Delbert Tibbs Florida. Convicted 1974.

1978

• 12. Earl Charles Georgia. Convicted 1975.

• 13. Jonathan Treadway Arizona. Convicted 1975.

1979

• 14. Gary Beeman Ohio. Convicted 1976.

1980-1989

1980

• 15. Jerry Banks.
• 16. Larry Hicks.

1981

• 17. Charles Ray Giddens.
• 18. Michael Linder.
• 19. Johnny Ross.
• 20. Ernest (Shuhaa) Graham.

1982

• 21. Annibal Jaramillo.
• 22. Lawyer Johnson Massachusetts (Commonwealth v. Johnson, 429 N.E.2d 726 (1982)). Convicted 1971.

1985

• 23. Larry Fisher.

1986

• 24. Anthony Brown.
• 25. Neil Ferber.
• 26. Clifford Henry Bowen.

1987

• 27. Joseph Green Brown.
• 28. Perry Cobb.
• 29. Darby (Williams) Tillis.
• 30. Vernon McManus.
• 31. Anthony Ray Peek.
• 32. Juan Ramos.
• 33. Robert Wallace.

1988

• 34. Richard Neal Jones.
• 35. Willie Brown.
• 36. Larry Troy.

1989

• 37. Randall Dale Adams Texas (Ex Parte Adams, 768 S.W.2d 281) (Tex. Crim App. 1989). Convicted 1977.
• 38. Robert Cox.
• 39. James Richardson.
• On April 8, 2010, former death row inmate Timothy B. Hennis, once exonerated in 1989, was reconvicted of a triple murder, thereby dropping him from the list of those exonerated. [1] Sentenced to death by military court-martial 15 April 2010

1990-1999

1990

• 40. Clarence Brandley Texas (Ex Parte Brandley, 781 S.W.2d 886 (Tex. Crim App. 1989). Convicted 1981.
• 41. John C. Skelton.
• 42. Dale Johnston.
• 43. Jimmy Lee Mathers.

1991

• 44. Gary Nelson.
• 45. Bradley P. Scott.
• 46. Charles Smith.

1992

• 47. Jay C. Smith Pennsylvania. Convicted 1986.

1993

• 48. Kirk Bloodsworth Maryland. Convicted 1984. Exonerated 1993; first prisoner to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Serving life in prison when exonerated, as earlier death sentence was overturned.
• 49. Federico M. Macias.
• 50. Walter McMillan.
• 51. Gregory R. Wilhoit Oklahoma. Convicted 1987. Along with Ron Williamson, Wilhoit later became the subject of John Grisham's 2006 non-fiction book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.
• 52. James Robison.
• 53. Muneer Deeb.

1994

• 54. Andrew Golden.

1995

• 55. Adolph Munson.
• 56. Robert Charles Cruz.
• 57. Rolando Cruz.
• 58. Alejandro Hernández.
• 59. Sabrina Butler.

1996

• 60. Joseph Burrows. Joseph Burrows was released from death row after his attorney Kathleen Zellner persuaded the real killer to confess at the post-conviction hearing.
• 61. Verneal Jimerson.
• 62. Dennis Williams.
• 63. Roberto Miranda.
• 64. Gary Gauger
• 65. Troy Lee Jones.
• 66. Carl Lawson.
• 67. David Wayne Grannis.

1997

• 68. Ricardo Aldape Guerra.
• 69. Benjamin Harris.
• 70. Robert Hayes.
• 71. Christopher McCrimmon.
• 72. Randall Padgett.
• It is later revealed, through additional research by Prof. Samuel Gross of the University of Michigan, that though James Bo Cochran was acquitted of murder, he did plead guilty to a robbery charge in an agreement made with prosecutors prior to his release. Therefore, Cochran is no longer on the list of those exonerated from death row. [2]

1998

• 73. Robert Lee Miller, Jr.
• 74. Curtis Kyles.

1999

• 75. Shareef Cousin Louisiana (Louisiana v. Cousin, 710 So. 2d 1065 (1998)). Convicted 1996.
• 76. Anthony Porter Illinois. Convicted 1983.
• 77. Steven Smith.
• 78. Ronald Williamson Oklahoma. Convicted 1988. Along with Gregory R. Wilhoit, Williamson later became the inspiration for and subject of John Grisham's 2006 non-fiction book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.
• 79. Ronald Jones.
• 80. Clarence Dexter, Jr.
• 81. Warren Douglas Manning.
• 82. Alfred Rivera.

2000-2009

2000

• 83. Steve Manning.
• 84. Eric Clemmons.
• 85. Joseph Nahume Green.
• 86. Earl Washington Virginia (pardoned). Convicted 1994 (1984, without life sentence).
• 87. William Nieves.
• 88. Frank Lee Smith (died prior to exoneration).
• 89. Michael Graham.
• 90. Albert Burrell.
• 91. Oscar Lee Morris.

2001

• 92. Peter Limone.
• 93. Gary Drinkard.
• 94. Joachin José Martínez.
• 95. Jeremy Sheets.
• 96. Charles Fain.

2002

• 97. Juan Roberto Melendez-Colon Florida. Convicted 1984.
• 98. Ray Krone Arizona (State v. Krone, 897 P.2d 621 (Ariz. 1995) (en banc)). Convicted 1992.
• 99. Thomas Kimbell, Jr.
• 100. Larry Osborne.

2003

• 101. Aaron Patterson.
• 102. Madison Hobley.
• 103. Leroy Orange.
• 104. Stanley Howard.
• 105. Rudolph Holton.
• 106. Lemuel Prion.
• 107. Wesley Quick.
• 108. John Thompson.
• 109. Timothy Howard Ohio. Convicted 1976.
• 110. Gary Lamar James Ohio. Convicted 1976.
• 111. Joseph Amrine.
• 112. Nicholas Yarris Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania v. Yarris, No 690-OF1982, Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County, September 3, 2003. Order vacating conviction). Convicted 1982.

2004

• 113. Alan Gell.
• 114. Gordon Steidl.
• 115. Laurence Adams.
• 116. Dan L. Bright.
• 117. Ryan Matthews.
• 118. Ernest Ray Willis.

2005

• 119. Derrick Jamison.
• 120. Harold Wilson.

2006

• 121. John Ballard.

2007

• 122. Curtis McCarty.
• 123. Michael McCormick.
• 124. Jonathon Hoffman.

2008

• 125. Kennedy Brewer Mississippi. Convicted 1995.
• 126. Glen Edward Chapman North Carolina. Convicted 1995.
• 127. Levon "Bo" Jones North Carolina. Convicted 1993.
• 128. Michael Blair Texas.

2009

• 129. Nathson Fields Illinois. Convicted 1986.
• 130. Paul House Tennessee. Convicted 1986.
• 131. Daniel Wade Moore Alabama. Convicted 2002.
• 132. Ronald Kitchen Illinois. Convicted 1988.
• 133. Herman Lindsey Florida. Convicted 2006.
• 134. Michael Toney Texas. Convicted 1999. (Toney later died in a car accident on October 3, 2009, just one month and a day after his exoneration.).
• 135. Yancy Douglas Oklahoma. Convicted 1997.
• 136. Paris Powell Oklahoma. Convicted 1997.
• 137. Robert Springsteen Texas. Convicted 2001.

2010-2019

2010

• 138. Joe D'Ambrosio Ohio. Convicted 1989. (While he was freed in 2010, but not yet exonerated, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the state of Ohio challenging the unconditional writ of habeas corpus and bar to D'Ambrosio's re-prosecution on January 23, 2012, nearly 2 years later, making D'Ambrosio the 140th death row exoneree since 1973. [3])
• 139. Anthony Graves Texas. Convicted 1994.

2011

• 140. Gussie Vann Tennessee. Convicted 1994.

Canada

• Between 1879 and 1960, Canada commuted 438 death sentences. One notorious case at the time was that of Angelina Napolitano, a pregnant, abused wife who became the first person in Canada to use the battered woman defense for murder after she axed her husband to death. Although she was initially sentenced to hang, the federal cabinet eventually commuted her sentence to life imprisonment.
• Previous Canadian government policy was that in all but exceptional cases, Canada will not extradite accused murderers unless the death sentence will not be imposed, or if imposed, not carried out. This diplomatic commutation arrangement stems from the 2001 case of United States v. Burns. Sebastian Burns. In 2008, the incumbent government announced that it would no longer participate in clemency dealings. The decision was met with criticism from human rights activists and Canadian citizens.

See also

• Wrongful execution
• Death row
• Miscarriages of justice
• List of United States death row inmates

External links

• Death Penalty Information Center List of Exonerated Death Row Inmates [4]
• National Review article critical of the DPIC 'roll of death row innocents' Bad List: A suspect roll of Death Row 'innocents'
• Innocence Project - 190+ Individuals Exonerated by DNA Evidence [5]
• Center on Wrongful Convictions [6]
• Death Penalty Information Center, Facts about exonerations [7]
• Landmark Study of death penalty reversals. Justice Denied magazine.
• The Innocents Database of wrongly convicted people, including more than 900 wrongly convicted of murder.
• Returning to Life After DNA Exoneration