In many states, the death penalty is handed down for the most serious crimes, such as murder. This is a list of people who were exonerated after serving time on death row, having been convicted of crimes they didn't commit and given the death penalty. Though this is a list of people who were proven innocent before they were executed, there are hundreds more people in the United States who were proven not guilty of their crimes, and some who have been put to death, before their innocence was discovered.
Many people are wrongfully convicted of crimes due to lack of forensic evidence to conclude that they did not commit the crime. Unfortunately, the justice system is flawed. Though the jury is trained to make decisions on the notion of "beyond all reasonable doubt," sometimes human error can be a costly mistake and send innocent people to prison, and even death row, for many years. Sometimes, a witness even misidentifies the suspect.
Today, advancements in forensic science have helped DNA testing exonerate many convicted murders and release them from prison. Thanks to the tireless work of many organizations, such as the Innocence Project, many previously convicted felons are now receiving the justice they deserve. Which death row inmates have been proved innocent before they were executed? Read through the list below to find out.
30 Innocent People Who Were Almost Executed,
Juan Roberto Melendez-Colon
Melendez was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent more than 17 years on death row in Florida before new evidence entitled him to a new trial. The state of Florida declined to prosecute Melendez for a second time, as many of their key witnesses had either recanted their testimony, or had died. Today, Melendez is a public speaker and human rights activist living in New Mexico.
Kirk Bloodsworth
Bloodsworth was convicted of the murder and rape of a nine-year-old girl in 1985, for which he served eight years in a Maryland prison and two years on death row. Bloodsworth was exonerated by DNA testing in 1993.
Randall Dale Adams
Adams was wrongfully convicted of murdering a police officer and sentenced to death. He was later released when uncovered evidence proved his innocence.
Shareef Cousin
Cousin was sentenced to death in 1996, at the age of 16, becoming one of the youngest people to be put on death row in the United States. He was convicted for the murder and robbery of a 25-year-old male in New Orleans but his sentence was eventually overturned when it was found that the detective on the case had lied in order to get an arrest warrant. He was exonerated of all charges in 1999.
Delbert Tibbs
While hitchhiking in Florida, Tibbs was stopped and questioned by police for the murder of a 27-year-old man and the rape of a 17-year-old female who survived the attack. He didn't match the description of the perpetrator so police did not arrest him.
However, he was later identified by the victim as the attacker, though he still did not match the description. He was found guilty by an all white jury. He was put on death row, but his story became a source of support in the community. Celebrities such as Joan Baez supported his innocence, and ultimately, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his conviction. He was released in 1977 and his charges were dismissed in 1982.
Damon Thibodeaux
After a forced confession, Thibodeaux was sentenced to death for the murder of a young girl. Though his details were inconsistent with the actual crime, two eyewitnesses identified him in court, leading to his conviction. This testimonies would later be thrown out after both witnesses revealed that they had seen Thibodeaux's photo in the news media. He was released in 2012, after 15 years on death row.
Anthony Porter
Porter was a death row inmate who was 50 hours away from execution for the murders of two teenagers on the south side of Chicago. In 1999, Porter's conviction was overturned following the investigation of two professors from the Northwestern University School of Law and students from the Medill School of Journalism.
Clarence Lee Brandley
While Brandley was working as a janitor at a Texas high school, he was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a 16-year-old student. He was held on death row for nine years before the Supreme Court freed him in 1990.
Jay C. Smith
Smith was a high school principal in Pennsylvania who was sentenced to death in 1986 for the murder of a schoolteacher and her two children in 1979. He served six years on death row until his conviction was overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct.
Levon Jones
Jones was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death in North Carolina. The conviction was overturned after a key witness admitted to lying and Jones was released from death row after 15 years.