DPIC Database: Innocence Database
A Death Penalty Information Center database of every death-row exoneration since 1972.
DPIC Analysis: Causes of Wrongful Convictions
The Most Common Causes of Wrongful Death Penalty Convictions: Official Misconduct and Perjury or False Accusation
Overview
Given the fallibility of human judgment, there has always been the danger that an execution could result in the killing of an innocent person. Nevertheless, when the U.S. Supreme Court held the administration of the death penalty to be unconstitutional in 1972, there was barely any mention of the issue of innocence in the nine opinions issued. Although mistakes were surely made in the past, the assumption prevailed that such cases were few and far between. Almost everyone on death row was surely guilty.
However, as federal courts began to more thoroughly review whether state criminal defendants were afforded their guaranteed rights to due process, errors and official misconduct began to regularly appear, requiring retrials. When defendants were now afforded more experienced counsel, with fairly selected juries, and were granted access to scientific testing, some were acquitted and released. Since 1973, 199 former death-row prisoners have been exonerated of all charges related to the wrongful convictions that had put them on death row.
At Issue
It is now clear that innocent defendants will be convicted and sentenced to death with some regularity as long as the death penalty exists. It is unlikely that the appeals process—which is mainly focused on legal errors and not on factual determinations—will catch all the mistakes. Reforms have been begrudgingly implemented, increasing both the costs and the time that the death penalty consumes, but have not been sufficient to overcome human error. The popularity and use of capital punishment have rapidly declined as the innocence issue has gained attention. The remaining question is how many innocent lives are worth sacrificing to preserve this punishment.
What DPIC Offers
DPIC has led the way in highlighting the issue of innocence. Its list of exonerated individuals is presented in a searchable database, with links to more complete descriptions of each case. DPIC has issued a series of reports on this issue, collecting the latest information on why so many mistakes occur. It also follows the related questions of whether innocent individuals have already been executed and whether some defendants are in fact innocent, despite not being completely exonerated in the eyes of the law.
News & Developments
News
Jun 21, 2024
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Finds Kerry Max Cook “Actually Innocent” 46 Years After His Original Conviction
On June 19, 2024, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set aside 68-year-old Kerry Max Cook’s conviction, finding him to be “actually innocent.” Describing Mr. Cook’s case as “one of the most notable murder cases of the last half-century,” the majority opinion explains that “when it comes to solid support for actual innocence, this case contains it all — uncontroverted Brady violations, proof of false testimony, admissions of perjury, and new scientific evidence.” The Death Penalty Information…
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Jun 20, 2024
Anderson County, Texas District Attorney Requests Execution for Robert Roberson, Despite a Conviction Obtained with Debunked Forensic Science
On June 17, 2024, Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell filed a motion to set an execution date for Texas death row prisoner Robert Roberson, despite his steadfast maintenance of innocence in the death of his two-year-old daughter. Mr. Roberson has spent more than 20 years on death row for a crime that, according to the Innocence Project, “never occurred and a conviction based on the outdated and now debunked shaken baby hypothesis.” New evidence indicates that Mr. Roberson’s…
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Jun 14, 2024
Remembering the Execution of 14-year-old George Stinney, 80 Years Later
June 16, 2024, marks 80 years since South Carolina executed 14-year-old George Stinney Jr. Historical reports indicate that on March 24, 1944, Mr. Stinney and his younger sister, Aime, were playing outside when two white girls approached them, asking where they could find a particular flower. Neither Mr. Stinney nor his sister knew where the young girls could find these flowers and they quickly moved along. That evening, when both young girls failed to return home, a search party was sent to…
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Jun 10, 2024
Missouri Supreme Court Sets Execution Date for Marcellus Williams Despite County Prosecutor’s Pending Motion for Innocence Hearing
On June 4, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court set a September 24, 2024, execution date for death-sentenced prisoner Marcellus Williams (pictured), despite serious doubts that he was not involved in the murder for which he is incarcerated. The announcement came just hours after the state Supreme Court ruled that Governor Mike Parson did not violate any rules when he dissolved a board of inquiry established in June 2023 by his predecessor, Eric Greitens, to investigate Mr. William’s claim of…
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May 31, 2024
Discussions with DPIC Podcast: Lamont Hunter on His Wrongful Conviction and Release
In this month’s episode of Discussions with DPIC, Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Lamont Hunter (pictured), a former Ohio death-sentenced prisoner who was wrongfully convicted of causing the death of his three-year-old son. After nearly 18 years of incarceration, Mr. Hunter was released from Ohio’s death row on June 15, 2023, after pleading guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his freedom. Since his release, Mr. Hunter has spoken widely about his experience with the…
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