Wrongful Conviction

Grant Williams spent 23 years behind bars. At his trial, prosecutors tried to draw a connection between a hat left at the scene bearing the logo of Wu-Tang Clan though it was never tested for DNA.

A Massachusetts man who spent over two decades in prison for what a court is calling a wrongful murder and armed robbery conviction has been released from prison. The Boston Globe reports that James Lucien, 48, was serving a life sentence in connection to the 1994 fatal shooting of Ryan Edwards, 23. “I’ve been waiting for a whole 27 years for…

More than $1.4 million has been raised for a man who spent 43 years behind bars before a judge overturned his conviction in a triple killing

A jury in a North Carolina federal civil rights case has awarded $75 million to two Black, intellectually disabled half brothers who spent decades behind bars after being wrongfully convicted in the 1983 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl

A judge has ordered a new trial for Sean Ellis, whose conviction for killing a Boston police officer was overturned over evidence of corruption.

A Michigan man is suing a car rental company for failing to produce in a timely manner a receipt that would have proved his innocence long before he was convicted of a 2011 murder

A judge is ordering Mississippi to pay $500,000 to a Black man who was wrongfully imprisoned more than 22 years.

Booking photos taken by police when a person is arrested are often made public, but some experts say releasing someone’s mug shot can undermine the presumption of innocence, perpetuate racial stereotypes and leave an indelible stain on a person’s life

A Massachusetts man who was wrongly convicted of killing a Boston cab driver in 1979 had his conviction vacated earlier this week and is now speaking out. After 41 years behind bars, James Watson, of Boston, is still getting used to his new life. “I know I am not dreaming, I hope I am not dreaming, wake up from a…

A Massachusetts man who spent 34 years behind bars for a killing he maintains he did not commit has been freed while the courts determine whether he should get a new trial.

More than 1,000 tainted cases were tallied in a new nationwide study by the registry that measures the role of government misconduct in wrongful convictions — and how that misconduct falls heaviest on Black exonerees. The study, published Tuesday, examined 2,400 cases from 1989 through February 2019 in which people were absolved of criminal convictions, and it found that 54...

For Terrance Lewis, the last year has been “breathtaking,” but also a bit bittersweet.

A Kansas man who spent 23 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit was granted more than $1.5 million in compensation under the state’s mistaken-conviction statute.

Fred Clay spent 38 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. After being released, he is looking to educate others. Clay was wrongfully convicted in the 1979 murder of a cab driver in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood. Wednesday, the AMC Boston Common showcased much more than a film. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins joined Clay for a public…

The city of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $4.15 million to a man who spent 24 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, one of the largest such payouts in city history. City officials agreed last week to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Shaurn Thomas, who was 20 when he was convicted of second-degree murder in…

A man who spent 27 years behind bars for the deadly stabbing of a New York City woman was cleared Monday, after prosecutors concluded that evidence that could have helped him was kept from his lawyers.