Miscarriages of justice and the conviction of the innocent
Archive theme
The death penalty is the only punishment that admits no correction. Every case of a person sentenced to death and later found innocent — through DNA evidence, a retracted testimony, a retrial — says something about all the cases in which the review did not arrive in time.
This page collects the news on miscarriages of justice, retrials and people cleared after a death sentence.
Latest news
JULY 1, 2024United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - California. Larry Roberts Becomes the 200th Person Exonerated from Death Row
JUNE 19, 2024TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Kerry Max Cook exonerated
198th person exonerated (since 1973) after being sentenced to death
FEBRUARY 28, 2024PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Pennsylvania. Daniel Gwynn exonerated and released after 30 years on death row
FEBRUARY 1, 2024MissouriDEATH PENALTYUSA - Missouri. Prosecutor Files Motion to Vacate Marcellus Williams’ Death Sentence
DECEMBER 22, 2023OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Glynn Simmons formally exonerated
After 48 years in prison
DECEMBER 4, 2023United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - The Innocence Project helped exonerate 9 people in 2023
A list of these cases
NOVEMBER 14, 2023PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Pennsylvania. $9.1 million settlement for death row exoneree Walter Ogrod
Ogrod was released in 2020
NOVEMBER 8, 2023New YorkDEATH PENALTYUSA - ‘Exonerated 5’ member Yusef Salaam wins council seat in NYC
SEPTEMBER 21, 2023OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Anthony Sanchez, 44, Hispanic, was executed
18 executions in the US in 2023
SEPTEMBER 5, 2023OregonDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oregon. Jesse Johnson released from Jail
After 25 years
APRIL 27, 2023KenyaDEATH PENALTYKENYA: SENTENCE OF MAN CONVICTED OF ROLE IN BRITON’S MURDER IS QUASHED
A man found guilty of being part of a gang of pirates who murdered a British tourist 12 years ago has had his conviction quashed by Kenya’s high court.
APRIL 26, 2023OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Board denies clemency for Glossip
Against the advice of the Attorney General
MARCH 15, 2023JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: HIGH COURT ORDERS RETRIAL OF LONGEST-SERVING DEATH ROW CONVICT OVER 1966 MURDER CASE
The world’s longest-serving death row convict was on 13 March 2023 granted a retrial by a Japanese court in the latest twist in a legal saga dating back to the 1960s.
FEBRUARY 22, 2023MarylandDEATH PENALTYUSA - Maryland. John Huffington, Former Death Row Prisoner, Exonerated After 40 Years
NOVEMBER 7, 2022SingaporeDEATH PENALTYSINGAPORE: INDIAN-ORIGIN MAN ACQUITTED AFTER GETTING DEATH PENALTY VIA ZOOM
A 39-year-old Indian-origin Malaysian who was sentenced to death via Zoom for drug trafficking in May 2020 was on 31 October 2022 acquitted by Singapore's Court of Appeal, saying the prosecution did not prove its case.
OCTOBER 19, 2022MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: PARALYSED MECHANIC ESCAPES DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A mechanic who became paralysed from the waist down while in prison has escaped the gallows for drug trafficking committed in Malaysia three years ago, Free Malaysia Today reported on 19 October 2022.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2022Vatican CityDEATH PENALTYPOPE FRANCIS CALLS FOR WORLDWIDE END TO DEATH PENALTY
Pope Francis called for a worldwide end to the death penalty in a video released on 31 August 2022 announcing his prayer intention for September.
JUNE 13, 2022PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Pennsylvania. Alexander McClay Williams Exonerated 91 Years After Execution
He was 16
APRIL 25, 2022TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Melissa Lucio granted temporary stay of execution
But no clemency
FEBRUARY 6, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Babak Rezaei wrongly executed in 2018
For murders Behzad Tahmtan received the death penalty for
OCTOBER 6, 2021OregonDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oregon. New trial for Jesse Lee Johnson
Who has been on death row since 2004
FEBRUARY 9, 2021United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Pennsylvania. Christopher Williams Released From Prison After Being Cleared of Another Murder
In 1989 he was charged with 6 murders, none of which he committed
- OCTOBER 19, 2020SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
SINGAPORE: MALAYSIAN ESCAPES GALLOWS AFTER COURT OF APPEAL REVERSES DEATH SENTENCE
Singapore’s Court of Appeal on 19 October 2020 set aside a previous death sentence it meted out to Gobi Avedian, a Malaysian who was convicted of drug trafficking.
AUGUST 5, 2020IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Political prisoner Mostafa Salehi was hanged on August 5 in Isfahan prison.
IRAN - Political prisoner Mostafa Salehi was hanged on August 5 in Isfahan prison.
- AUGUST 5, 2020IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN: POLITICAL PRISONER MOSTAFA SALEHI HANGED IN ISFAHAN PRISON
Political prisoner Mostafa Salehi was hanged at dawn on 5 August 2020 in a prison in Isfahan.
- JUNE 10, 2020PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pennsylvania. Judge exonerates Walter Ogrod, making him number 169 of the "Innocence List".
USA - Pennsylvania. Judge exonerates Walter Ogrod, making him number 169 of the "Innocence List".
JUNE 9, 2020United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Compensation for Death-Row Exoneree Clifford Williams.
USA - Florida. Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Compensation for Death-Row Exoneree Clifford Williams.
- JUNE 5, 2020United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA - Pennsylvania. Walter Ogrod leaves prison after 28 years.
USA - Pennsylvania. Walter Ogrod leaves prison after 28 years.
- JUNE 3, 2020IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: ALLAHABAD HC ACQUITS MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY LOWER COURT
The Allahabad High Court on 2nd June 2020 acquitted a man, who was awarded death penalty by a local court for murdering his mother, wife and a four-year-old son in Tanda, Ambedkar Nagar, in 2013.
JUNE 1, 2020DEATH PENALTYPENNSYLVANIA (USA): FEDERAL JUDGE CHRISTOPHER CONNER OVERTURNED THE MURDER CONVICTION OF SAMUEL RANDOLPH
U.S. Middle District Chief Judge Christopher Conner on 27 May 2020 overturned the murder convictions of Samuel Randolph, now 48, Black.