Overturned convictions in the United States
This is a list of overturned convictions in the United States.
Alabama
Bill Wilson was convicted of the 1912 murder of his wife and child. He was exonerated in 1918 when they were both found living in Indiana.
The Scottsboro Boys were nine black juveniles convicted of an alleged 1931 rape of a white girl. Some were later exonerated.
Arizona
Ray Krone was sentenced to death for the 1991 murder of a bar manager. Bite marks found on the victim were said to match Krone's teeth. DNA tests exonerated Krone in 2001.
Arkansas
Charles Hudspeth was convicted of the 1887 murder of his lover's missing husband. Hudspeth was hanged in 1892, but the husband was found alive, living in Kansas in 1893.
California
Huey Newton was convicted of the 1967 manslaughter of an Oakland Patrolman. His conviction was overturned in 1970.
Geronimo Pratt, a Black Panther leader, was convicted in 1972 of the 1968 murder of a white school teacher. He was exonerated in 1997.
Florida
Joseph Shea was convicted of the 1959 murder of an airline clerk. He was retried and acquitted in 1966.
James Richardson was convicted of the 1967 poisoning murder of seven of his children. He was exonerated in 1989.
Wilbert Lee and Freddie Pitts were sentenced to death for the 1963 robbery and murder of two Port St. Joe gas station attendants. They were released and pardoned in 1975.
The Quincy Five were accused of murdering a sheriff's deputy. Two were convicted before evidence emerged that exonerated all five.
Georgia
Douglas Echols was convicted of a 1986 kidnapping, rape, and robbery. DNA tests exonerated him in 2004.
The Marietta Seven were convicted of the 1971 murder of two physicians in Marietta. The seven were exonerated in 1975.
Clarence Harrison was convicted of the 1986 kidnapping, robbery, and rape of a 25-year-old woman in Decatur. DNA tests exonerated him in 2004.
Marcus Dixon was convicted in 2003 of the rape of Kristie Brown, a 15-year-old schoolgirl. These charges were later overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court and dropped to statutory rape.
Leo Frank was convicted of the 1913 murder of a 13-year-old female employee in Atlanta. He was lynched in 1915, and posthumously pardoned in 1986.
Illinois
Majczek and Marcinkiewicz were convicted of the 1932 murder of a Chicago police officer. They were exonerated in 1945 and 1950.
Gary Dotson was convicted of a 1977 rape after he was identified by the victim. The victim recanted in 1985 and DNA tests cleared him in 1989.
The Ford Heights Four were convicted of the 1978 murder of an engaged couple. DNA tests exonerated them in 1996.
Anthony Porter was sentenced to death for the 1982 murder of an engaged couple. He was exonerated in 1989.
David Dowaliby was convicted of the 1988 murder of his stepdaughter. His conviction was reversed in 1991 on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
Julie Rea was convicted of the 1997 murder of her 10-year-old son. She was acquitted on retrial in 2006.
Indiana
Richard Alexander was convicted of committing two 1996 rapes. He was exonerated of the crimes in 2001.
Louisiana
Shareef Cousin was sentenced to death for a 1995 murder. He was released in 1998.
Mychal Bell was sentenced to 22 years for assault. Overturned September 14 2007
Gregory Bright was sentenced to life for a 1973 murder. He was released in 2003.
Maryland
Michael Austin was convicted of the 1974 murder of a grocery store security guard. He was exonerated in 2001.
Kirk Bloodsworth was convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl. DNA tests exonerated him in 1993.
Massachusetts
Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted of a 1920 double homicide and robbery. They were executed in 1927. Governor Dukakis posthumously pardoned the pair in 1977.[citation needed]
Lawyer Johnson was sentenced to death for a 1971 Roxbury murder. He was exonerated in 1982.
Michigan
Ken Wyniemko was convicted of a 1984 rape and robbery of a 28-year-old woman. DNA tests exonerated him in 2003.
Missouri
Johnny Briscoe was convicted of a 1982 rape and robbery. DNA tests exonerated him in 2006.
New Jersey
Bill MacFarland was convicted of the 1911 arsenic murder of his wife. He was acquitted on retrial.
The Trenton Six were convicted of the 1948 murder of a Trenton shopkeeper. All six were exonerated by 1952.
Rubin Carter, a middleweight boxer who was convicted twice of a 1966 triple murder, conviction overturned in 1985 and indictments withdrawn in 1987.
New York
The Central Park Five were five Harlem teens convicted of the 1989 assault and rape of a jogger in New York's Central Park. The convictions were set aside in 2002.
Jeffrey Mark Deskovic was convicted of the 1989 of rape and murder of a high school classmate. He was exonerated in 2006 when the DNA from the crime was matched to another person.
North Carolina
Darryl Hunt was convicted of the 1984 rape and murder of a newspaper reporter. He was exonerated in 2004.
Ohio
Dr. Sam Sheppard was convicted of the 1955 murder of his wife. He was acquitted on retrial in 1966.
Oklahoma
Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were convicted in 1988 of the 1982 rape and murder of an Ada barmaid. Both were exonerated in 1999.
Other Counties
Timothy Durham, sentenced to 3,100 years, served 3.5 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence.
Alvin McGee, sentenced to 298 years, served 11 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence.
Robert Miller, sentenced to death, served 10 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence.
Jeffery Pierce, sentenced to 65 years, served 14.5 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence.
Calvin Lee Scott, sentenced to 25 years, served 20 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence.
Thomas Webb, sentenced to 60+ years, served 13 years befoe being exonerated by DNA evidence.
Curtis McCarty, sentenced to death, served 11 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence.
David Johns Bryson, sentenced to 85 years, served 16 years before being exonerated by DNA evidence.<http://www.innocenceproject.org/news/state.php?state=OK>
Oregon
Santiago Ventura Morales was convicted in 1986 of murdering a farm worker. He was exonerated in 1990.
Pennsylvania
Smith and Bradfield were convicted of the 1979 murder of a schoolteacher and her two children. Smith’s conviction was overturned in 1992.
Nicholas Yarris was sentenced to death for a 1981 rape and murder. DNA tests exonerated him in 2004.
Fred Thomas was convicted of the 1993 murder of a Federal Express truck driver. The conviction was overturned in 2002.
Texas
Anthony Charles Graves was convicted of the August 18, 1992 mass murder of six people in Somerville, after being implicated in the crime by Robert Carter - the father of one of the victims. Carter was executed in May of 2000 for his part in the crime - and in his final statement took sole responsibility for the crime: "To the Davis family, I am sorry for all of the pain that I caused your family. It was me and me alone. Anthony Graves had nothing to do with it. I lied on him in court. ... Anthony Graves don't even know anything about it"[1]
.
After spending 12 years on Death Row, Graves conviction was overturned on March 3, 2006 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals when, in an a unanimous opinion, a three judge panel held that the state’s case had hinged on Carter’s perjured testimony [2]
and concluded that the Prosecutor, Charles Sebesta, had intentionally withheld evidence that could have helped Graves; most notably that Carter had recanted right before he testified at Grave's August 1992 trial[3].
Graves was held for an additional four years in solitary confinement[2] in the Burleson County jail awaiting retrial until October 27, 2010, when he was released after all charges were dismissed by Burleson County Special Prosecutor Kelly Siegler, who concluded, "He’s an innocent man. There is nothing that connects Anthony Graves to this crime."[4]
Graves was awarded $1.4 million dollars by the State of Texas in June of 2011 for his wrongful conviction.[5]
Randall Dale Adams was sentenced to death for of the 1976 murder of a police officer. He was exonerated in 1989.
Cornelius Dupree was convicted of aggravated robbery, which was alleged to have been committed during a rape in 1979. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison and paroled during the summer of 2010. After DNA evidence cleared him of the crime, he was declared innocent in January 2011. His 30 years of imprisonment is the longest of any exonerated inmate in Texas.[6]
Clarence Brandley was sentenced to death for the 1980 rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl. He was exonerated in 1990.
Kerry Max Cook was sentenced to death for the 1977 murder of a 21-year-old secretary. He was freed in 1997.
Danziger and Ochoa were convicted of a 1988 rape and murder. DNA tests exonerated the pair in 2001.
Michael Morton was convicted of the 1986 murder of his wife and spent 25 years in prison. Morton was exonerated in 2011.
Virginia
Earl Washington Jr. was sentenced to death for a 1982 rape and murder. He was pardoned in 2000.
Wisconsin
Sherman Booth was convicted in January 1855 of violating the Fugitive Slave Act. The Wisconsin Supreme Court declared the Federal law unconstitutional and ordered Booth freed. In 1859, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Wisconsin court's decision, Ableman v. Booth, ordering Booth arrested and confined.
Lawrencia Bembenek was convicted of the 1981 murder of her husband's ex-wife. She was exonerated in 1992.
References
- ^ http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/dr_info/carterrobertearllast.html. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b Colloff, Pamela (Oct 2010). "Innocence Lost". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ^ "Students help free wrongfully convicted man". CBS News: 48 Hours Mystery. March 18, 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ^ Rogers, Brian "Prisoner ordered free from Texas' death row", The Houston Chronicle, Oct. 27, 2010.
- ^ "Wrongfully convicted Texas man to get $1.4M". CBS News: 48 hours Mystery. June 22, 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ^ "DNA Clears Texas Man Who Spent 30 Years In Prison". National Public Radio. Associated Press. January 3, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2011.