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
- AUGUST 31, 2009DEATH PENALTY
TEXAS: NEW INVESTIGATION CONFIRMS EXECUTION OF AN INNOCENT MAN
Broad body of evidence points to wrongful execution of texan Cameron Todd Willingham white, 36 at the
- AUGUST 31, 2009TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. New Investigation Confirms Execution of an Innocent Man, Cameron Todd Willingham
USA - Texas. New Investigation Confirms Execution of an Innocent Man, Cameron Todd Willingham
- APRIL 17, 2009DEATH PENALTY
USA - Georgia. Troy Davis Appeal Rejected.
USA - Georgia. Troy Davis Appeal Rejected.
- OCTOBER 14, 2008TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. James A. Fry, who prosecuted Dallas County exoneree Charles Chatman, said he is
USA - Texas. James A. Fry, who prosecuted Dallas County exoneree Charles Chatman, said he is "shaken to the core" because of the number of exonerations throughout the country
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2008TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA - Texas. A Texas prosecutor plans to review some 40 pending death penalty cases, after several recent instances in which capital convictions were overturned, by DNA testing.
USA - Texas. A Texas prosecutor plans to review some 40 pending death penalty cases, after several recent instances in which capital convictions were overturned, by DNA testing.
- JUNE 25, 2008TexasDEATH PENALTY
The Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the conviction of Michael Blair, upholding a lower-court ruling made last month.
The Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the conviction of Michael Blair, upholding a lower-court ruling made last month.
- MAY 27, 2008AustraliaDEATH PENALTY
AUSTRALIA: MAN EXECUTED FOR MURDER 90 YEARS AGO PARDONED
the Victorian State Government in Australia created legal history when it announced a posthumous pardon for a man wrongly executed 86 years ago in the notorious Gun Alley murder case
- MAY 18, 2008AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN. REPORTER FACING DEATH SENTENCE DENIES BLASPHEMY
an Afghan journalist sentenced to death on blasphemy charges pleaded not guilty during his appeal hearing that started in the capital Kabul.
- FEBRUARY 9, 2008IranDEATH PENALTY
the Iranian judiciary acquitted a young man, identified only by his first name
the Iranian judiciary acquitted a young man, identified only by his first name
- JANUARY 16, 2008ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA PAYS $11.56 A DAY TO WOMAN WRONGLY JAILED
China has awarded exactly 66,593.36 yuan ($9,200)
- JANUARY 3, 2008NepalDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT: NEPALI WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN KUWAIT
a female Nepali domestic helper who claims to be innocent was sentenced to death in Kuwait.
- DECEMBER 2, 2007IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. GAY YOUTH SENTENCED TO DEATH
a gay Iranian youth was sentenced to death for the crime of "lavat" (literally, sodomy), for having sex at 1
- JULY 10, 2007CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
Chester Dewayne Turner, 40, a convicted serial killer...
Chester Dewayne Turner, 40, a convicted serial killer...
- JANUARY 22, 2007IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. YOUNG WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH ATTEMPTS SUICIDE
Delara Darabi, a 20-year-old Iranian woman sentenced to death on charges she killed a cousin when she was 17, tried to kill herself at Tehran's Evin prison. Her mother told Tehran daily Etemad that her daughter is clinically depressed and only weighs 35 k
- MAY 2, 2006TexasDEATH PENALTY
USA. ARSON EXPERTS DISMISS EVIDENCE THAT LED TO TEXAS EXECUTION
4 of the nation's top arson experts have concluded that the state of Texas executed a man based on scientifically invalid evidence, and they called for an official re-investigation of the case.
- NOVEMBER 20, 2005TexasDEATH PENALTY
TEXAS, USA. INVESTIGATION SUGGESTS WRONG MAN EXECUTED , HOUSTON CHRONICLE
a decade after Ruben Cantu was executed for capital murder, the only witness to the crime is recanting and his co-defendant says Cantu, then 17, wasn't even with him that night.
- NOVEMBER 15, 2005MassachusettsDEATH PENALTY
MASSACHUSETTS, USA. LAWMAKERS REJECT BILL TO RESTORE DEATH PENALTY
Massachusetts lawmakers rejected a bill that would have revived capital punishment in a liberal US state that has not put anyone to death since 1947, defeating a proposal by its Republican governor.
- MAY 13, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
THE PHILIPPINES. FAMILY OF DEATH ROW SPANIARD PLEADS FOR RETRIAL
for the last eight years Paco Larrañaga has been in a Philippine jail, and on February 4, 2004 the Supreme Court sentenced him to death by lethal injection for kidnapping and murdering two young sisters on the island of Cebu.
- MARCH 23, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DEATH PENALTY DEBATE 10 YEARS TOO LATE FOR NIE SHUBIN, EDITORIAL
- DECEMBER 10, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
hundreds of Tibetans took to the streets of New Delhi in a silent protest march
hundreds of Tibetans took to the streets of New Delhi in a silent protest march
- JULY 8, 2004ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
The following are extracts from an editorial entitled...
The following are extracts from an editorial entitled "Why Death Penalty Should Be Abolished?" by John Dzvinamurungu, vice-chairman of Amnesty International Zimbabwe
- JUNE 5, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Hiromoto Haruyama, a death row inmate who spent more...
Hiromoto Haruyama, a death row inmate who spent more than a decade fighting his conviction for the brutal rape, murder or injury inflicting of three women, died from in Sapporo Prison, police said
- MAY 28, 2004IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Gordon Steidl was freed from an Illinois prison May...
Gordon Steidl was freed from an Illinois prison May 28th, 2004, 17 years after he was wrongly convicted and sentenced to die for a 1986 dual murder
- MAY 11, 2004ZambiaDEATH PENALTY
Zambian lawyer Kelvin Hang'andu was seeking to abolish...
Zambian lawyer Kelvin Hang'andu was seeking to abolish the death penalty in Zambia
- JANUARY 30, 2003MarylandDEATH PENALTY
Maryland Attorney General J
Maryland Attorney General J
- JANUARY 10, 2003IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
On January 31, 2000, Illinois Governor George Ryan...
On January 31, 2000, Illinois Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in his state, pending an investigation into the state's capital punishment system
- DECEMBER 20, 2002IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Aaron Patterson, an Illinois death row inmate with...
Aaron Patterson, an Illinois death row inmate with a strong claim of innocence went on hunger strike to ask Illinois Governor George Ryan for a pardon, rather than a commutation of his death sentence
- OCTOBER 14, 2002IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
At 9 a
At 9 a
- MAY 10, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Britain's Court of Appeal dismissed a bid to clear...
Britain's Court of Appeal dismissed a bid to clear the name of James Hanratty, one of the last men hanged in Britain, saying 40 years after his execution that DNA evidence had proven his guilt
- MARCH 1, 2002ThailandDEATH PENALTY
In Thailand a woman on trial for nearly a year on a...
In Thailand a woman on trial for nearly a year on a drug trafficking charge died of heart failure minutes before she was acquitted