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Since the first time DNA evidence helped overturn a conviction in 1989, more than 300 people have been cleared of crimes they did not commit with the help of such evidence. Here is a look at cases where DNA evidence has helped overturn convictions of those awaiting execution on Death Row.
The Numbers
- 301 - Post-conviction DNA exonerations in the U.S.
- 4,036 - Total number of years in prison served by people since exonerated through DNA
- 13.6 years - Average length of time served
- 18 - People exonerated through DNA who served time on Death Row
Nicholas Yarris
Where: Pennsylvania
Crime: Dec. 16, 1981, abduction and murder of 33-year-old woman
Convicted: 1982
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification, informants
Exonerated: 2003
Years between: 21
Reason: Charges dismissed after DNA testing revealed body fluids found at the scene were not Yarris'
Curtis McCarty
Where: Oklahoma
Crime: Dec. 10, 1982, stabbing and strangling of an 18-year-old woman
Convicted: 1986
Conviction based on: Alleged misconduct; invalidated or improper forensic science, specifically dubious hair testing
Exonerated: 2007
Years between: 21
Reason: Charges dismissed after modern DNA showed that evidence recovered from scrapings of the victim's fingernails did not match McCarty
Charles Fain
Where: Idaho
Crime: Feb. 24, 1982, rape and drowning of 9-year-old girl
Convicted: 1983
Conviction based on: Faulty forensic evidence based on matching hairs
Exonerated: 2001
Years between: 18
Reason: Charges dismissed
Dennis Williams
Where: Illinois
Crime: May 11, 1978, abduction and killing of a young couple and rape of the woman
Convicted: 1979, along with three other men
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification; false confessions; insufficient or improper forensic science; inadequacy of counsel
Exonerated: 1996
Years between: 17
Reason: Charges dismissed when DNA evidence exonerated Williams and the others, including Verneal Jimerson, who'd also been sentenced to death
Earl Washington
Where: Virginia
Crime: June 1982 rape and murder of 19-year-old mother of three
Convicted: 1984
Conviction based on: False confessions/admissions; insufficient or improper forensic science
Exonerated: 2000
Years between: 16
Reason: Pardoned
Damon Thibodeaux
Where: Louisiana
Crime: July 1996 rape and murder of Thibodeaux's 14-year-old cousin
Convicted: 1997
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification; false confessions/admissions
Exonerated: 2012
Years between: 15
Reason: Charges dismissed
Frank Lee Smith
Where: Florida
Crime: April 15, 1985, rape and murder of 8-year-old girl inside her home
Convicted: 1986
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification
Exonerated: 2000 (Smith died in prison before his name was cleared)
Years between: 14
Reason: Charges dismissed; DNA evidence eventually led to conviction of another man
Michael Blair
Where: Texas
Crime: Sept. 4, 1993, strangling death of 7-year-old girl
Convicted: 1994
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification; insufficient or improper forensic science
Exonerated: 2008
Years between: 14
Reason: Charges dismissed
Kennedy Brewer
Where: Mississippi
Crime: May 1992, abduction, rape and murder of his girlfriend's daughter
Convicted: 1995
Conviction based on: Highly questionable bite-mark evidence from discredited analyst
Exonerated: 2008
Years between: 13
Reason: Charges dismissed after DNA implicated another man, who eventually was convicted of the killing and another killing of a young girl
Verneal Jimerson
Where: Illinois
Crime: May 11, 1978, abduction and killing of a young couple and rape of the woman
Convicted: 1985, initially cleared by recanted testimony, then convicted by reinstated testimony
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification; false confessions; insufficient or improper forensic science
Exonerated: 1996
Years between: 11
Reason: Charges dismissed when DNA evidence exonerated Jimerson and the others, including Dennis Williams, who'd also been sentenced to death
Ronald Williamson
Where: Oklahoma
Crime: Dec. 8, 1982, murder of 21-year-old woman
Convicted: 1988
Conviction based on: False confessions/admissions; alleged government misconduct; informants; inept counsel; insufficient or improper forensic science
Exonerated: 1999
Years between: 11
Reason: Charges dismissed after another man, who had testified against Williamson, was identified by DNA
Rolando Cruz
Where: Illinois
Crime: Feb. 23, 1983, abduction rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl
Convicted: 1985, along with co-defendant Alejandro Hernandez
Conviction based on: False confessions/admissions; government misconduct
Exonerated: 1995
Years between: 10
Reason: Acquitted
Alejandro Hernandez
Where: Illinois
Crime: Feb. 23, 1983, abduction rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl
Convicted: 1985, along with co-defendant Rolando Cruz
Conviction based on: False confessions/admissions; government misconduct
Exonerated: 1995
Years between: 10
Reason: Charges dismissed
Robert Lee Miller Jr.
Where: Oklahoma
Crime: Separate 1986 rapes and murder of two elderly women
Convicted: 1988
Conviction based on: False confessions/admissions; alleged government misconduct; insufficient or improper forensic science
Exonerated: 1998
Years between: 10
Reason: Charges dismissed after DNA cleared him and another man confessed to both crimes
Ronald Jones
Where: Illinois
Crime: March 10, 1985, murder of a woman
Convicted: 1989
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification; false confessions/admissions; alleged government misconduct; insufficient or improper forensic science
Exonerated: 1999
Years between: 10
Reason: Charges dismissed
Ray Krone
Where: Arizona
Crime: Dec. 29, 1991, murder of a 36-year-old woman in the bar where she worked
Convicted: 1992
Conviction based on: Alleged government misconduct; insufficient or improper forensic science (bite-mark evidence)
Exonerated: 2002
Years between: 10
Reason: Charges dismissed after DNA evidence found on the victim was connected to another man
Kirk Bloodsworth
Where: Maryland
Crime: July 1984 rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl
Convicted: 1984
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification; alleged government misconduct
Exonerated: 1993
Years between: 9
Reason: Charges dismissed and pardoned after DNA testing ruled him out as the killer; Innocence Protection Act of 2003 established the Kirk Bloodsworth Postconviction DNA Testing Program
Ryan Matthews
Where: Louisiana
Crime: April 1997 shooting death of convenience store owner
Convicted: 1999
Conviction based on: Eyewitness misidentification; false confessions/admissions
Exonerated: 2004
Years between: 5
Reason: Charges dismissed after DNA exonerated him and led to another suspect
SOURCE
The Innocence Project
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