Wrongful Conviction
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After nearly three decades behind bars, Bryan Hooper Sr. walked free from a Minnesota prison Thursday — exonerated of a murder he did not commit after the witness whose testimony secured his conviction confessed to being the real killer. Hooper’s release followed a decision by State District Court Judge Marta Chou, who vacated his 1998…
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After more than three decades behind bars, 74-year-old Mary Virginia Jones has finally walked free, her wrongful conviction overturned after a long fight for justice. Jones, often affectionately called “Mother Mary” by family and friends, was convicted in 1982 in connection with the fatal shooting of two drug dealers. The tragedy that bound her to…
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From a $10 Check to a Law Degree: How Calvin Duncan Turned a Wrongful Conviction Into a Legal Legacy
When Calvin Duncan walked out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in 2011 after nearly three decades behind bars for a crime he did not commit, the state handed him a $10 release check. That was all. No reparations. No apology beyond a judge’s words. But for Duncan, now 62, freedom was only the beginning of…
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Chris Dunn, a Missouri man who spent nearly 35 years behind bars for a murder he has always maintained he did not commit, was officially declared innocent by a judge and released from prison on July 30 of last year. Dunn’s case has become emblematic of the failures within the U.S. criminal justice system and…
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Shaurn Thomas went from a wrongly convicted teen serving life in prison to a millionaire walking free. But instead of building a peaceful life, he threw it all away in a stunning twist that has shocked even seasoned followers of true crime. At 16 years old, Thomas was arrested for a 1990 Philadelphia murder he…
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A federal judge in Philadelphia has denied President Donald J. Trump’s motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought against him by the five men wrongly convicted in the notorious 1989 Central Park jogger case. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone ruled that the lawsuit filed by Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey…
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The case of Vincent Simmons, a Black man who spent 44 years in prison for a crime he maintains he did not commit, has drawn national attention to the deep flaws within the American criminal justice system. Simmons’ conviction in 1977 was overturned in 2022 by a Louisiana judge, yet his fight for justice continues…
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering a clemency application for Andre Brown, a Bronx man whose conviction was vacated in 2022 after serving 23 years in prison for attempted murder. But recently, the ruling was overturned, placing him at risk of returning to prison for another 18 years. Brown, who has maintained his innocence,…
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Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Robin “Rocky” Myers, 63, to life in prison without parole, citing concerns about his guilt. According to the Associated Press, the decision halts the planned execution of Myers, who was convicted in 1994 for the 1991 murder of 69-year-old Ludie Mae Tucker in Decatur, Alabama.…
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After spending over a decade in prison for a crime she did not commit, India Spellman walked free on February 9, 2023, becoming the first woman in more than a generation to be exonerated in Philadelphia. Her release marks yet another case of wrongful conviction fueled by coerced confessions, prosecutorial misconduct, and systemic failures in…
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