Random Innocent Death Row Inmates Who Were Eventually Exonerated (17 items)

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  (#8) A Dog Put Juan Ramos In Prison

  Juan Ramos, an immigrant from Cuba, was sentenced to death after being accused of raping and murdering a woman in 1982. The evidence came from a bloodhound, who, after being exposed to Ramos's scent, seemed to identify the same scent on the blouse and knife that belonged to the victim. However, these were the only two items with blood on them. The bloodhound was likely identifying the scent of the blood, rather than Ramos's scent.

  Still, Ramos was sentenced to death. But some investigative reporting by 20/20 eventually exposed the unreliability of dog-scent evidence. Ramos's sentence was overturned, and he was released in 1987. Other than the dog's response, there was no evidence linking Ramos to the crime.
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  (#3) Sabrina Butler Was Forced To Confess To Killing Her Son

  Sabrina Butler was 18 years old when she was sentenced to death for the murder of her 9-month-old son in 1989. Butler said that her son had stopped breathing and that she had attempted to resuscitate him, leaving bruises on his chest that were later used as evidence of abuse. According to Butler, police yelled that she had murdered her son for three hours, rather than letting her describe what had happened.

  It took seven years before Butler was cleared of the charges. Her son had died from a kidney condition, not murder or abuse, meaning Butler had spent years in isolation on death row for a crime that had not taken place at all.
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  (#9) The Ford Heights Four Led To The Abolition Of The Death Penalty In Illinois

  Due to terrible testimony, falsified information, and other coercion, the Ford Heights Four were falsely accused of the murder and rape of a couple in Chicago in 1978. Witnesses claimed to have seen the four men - Dennis Williams, Kenneth Adams, Verneal Jimerson, and Willie Rainge - in the area where the crimes occurred, and testimony from a state expert said that hairs found at the scene matched those of the accused. Adams was sentenced to death, while the other men were sentenced to life or lengthy prison sentences.

  Three unpaid journalism students eventually uncovered the faulty testimony and took it upon themselves to do DNA testing. Their investigation cleared the Ford Heights Four in 1996, and their case was later used as an example of why Illinois should do away with the death penalty.
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  (#15) A Misleading Accusation Put Michael Linder On Death Row

  Michael Linder spent two years on death row after being accused of murdering a police officer in 1979. Linder claimed that he'd killed the officer in self-defense after he had chased down Linder's motorcycle in his patrol car and fired six shots. Evidence showed that six shots had in fact been fired from the officer's pistol, but that evidence wasn't submitted. Instead, jurors were led to believe that murder was the only charge rather than the alternative voluntary manslaughter.

  A retrial in 1981 led to Linder's release. Linder is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and assault in an unrelated incident.
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  (#2) Anthony Hinton Served 30 Years For A Crime He Didn't Commit

  Anthony Hinton was one of the longest-serving prisoners on death row, having served 30 years for a crime he didn't commit. He was sentenced for the 1985 murders of two local fast food restaurant managers in Birmingham, AL. Hinton was charged with the two killings because the weapon supposedly used to commit them belonged to his mother, but firearms examiners could not verify that claim. His lawyer also hired an examiner without qualifications, setting Hinton's case back even further.

  Thankfully, Hinton's sentence was overturned in light of all that went wrong with his trial. He was subsequently freed in 2015.
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  (#17) Willie Manning Remains On Death Row Despite One Exoneration

  The case of Willie Manning is particularly complicated. Though he's been exonerated from the death sentence for one pair of murders, he's still sentenced to death for another.

  The first murders were committed in December of 1992. Manning was accused of killing two college students, and sentenced to death. However, charges were dropped after the only major witness recanted his testimony, and it was revealed that the prosecution withheld evidence.

  However, Manning was also accused of committing two more murders just weeks later. He's still sentenced to death for the crimes, despite some similarly shaky evidence implicating him.

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