10 Notorious Criminals Proven Innocent After Execution
The force of justice is designed to protect the innocent and punish the guilty, providing a fair framework around which to live our lives. Yet, what happens when justice itself goes wrong and turns to injustice? Over the years countless individuals have been put to death for crimes against society, but we’d be naïve to assume they were all as guilty as their punishment suggests. Some have later been found innocent and pardoned, others await fair reconsideration from authorities unwilling to admit to their mistakes. As the old saying goes: ‘Who shall police the police?’
10. Colin Campbell Ross – executed 1922, pardoned 2008
The 1921 rape and murder of 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke in Melbourne, Australia, would go down in history as the infamous Gun Alley Murder. A year later 30-year-old known robber, Colin Campbell Ross, was arrested and charged despite the testimony of several witnesses who placed him in his saloon while the crime was being committed. Despite this evidence Campbell was executed in 1922, in gruesome fashion – the new four-strand noose succeeded only in prolonging his death as he slowly strangled for minutes on the gallows. Years later a schoolteacher took up Campbell’s cause and demanded the case be reopened. In 2006 forensic analysis was done on hair found at the crime scene and in 2008, 86 years after his execution, Campbell was pardoned.
9. Timothy Evans – executed 1950, pardoned 1966
On 9 March 1950, Timothy Evans was hanged at London’s Pentonville prison for the murder of his wife, Beryl, and daughter, Geraldine. In what would become a landmark case for the abolition of capital punishment in Britain, Evans was later found innocent and posthumously pardoned – the reason: only years after Evans’ execution did it emerge that a lodger in the house was none other than notorious serial killer, John Christie. Christie confessed to the killings and after becoming a cause célèbre for death penalty abolitionists, Evans was eventually granted a posthumous pardon. His relatives later claimed it wasn’t enough.
8. Mahmood Hussein Mattan – executed 1952, overturned 1998
On the morning of September 3, 1952, young Somali sailor Mahmood Mattan was taken from his cell at Cardiff prison, marched to the gallows and hanged. Seven weeks earlier he had been found guilty of slitting the throat of shopkeeper Lily Volpert. Despite having several alibis supported by witnesses, Mattan was convicted due to flecks of blood on his shoes and the testimony of Harold Cover. Only later did it emerge that the shoes he wore were secondhand and Cover was a violent criminal who would later be jailed for life for the attempted murder of his own daughter. In 1998 the case was reopened and new evidence examined, resulting in Mattan’s conviction being overturned and his family being awarded £700,000 compensation – the first compensation award to the family of a person wrongfully executed in the UK.
7. Ellis Wayne Felker – executed 1996, conviction inconclusive 2000
When Georgian student, Evelyn Joy Ludlum, disappeared in 1981, convicted sex offender, Ellis Wayne Ludlum, was immediately put under surveillance – during which time Ludlum’s mutilated body was found, raped, in a creek. An autopsy subsequently revealed that Evelyn had been dead for five days, information that was later changed when police realised it would rule out Felker from the investigation. During the trial, attorneys discovered boxes of withheld evidence, including DNA evidence and a signed confession by another man, but the Georgia Supreme Court denied the admissibility of this evidence and refused to give Felker more time. He was executed by electric chair on November 15, 1996. In 2000, a Georgia judge ruled that DNA testing would be performed in the first-ever attempt by a court to exonerate an executed person in the United States. The results were ruled as inconclusive, but failed to confirm Felker’s guilt beyond doubt – scientific consensus now judges him to have been innocent.
6. William Marion – executed 1887, pardoned 1986
William Marion met Jack Cameron at a boarding house in Kansas in 1872, and the two quickly became firm friends, travelling and working together across the mid-west. During their travels they journeyed to Beatrice, Nebraska, to visit Marion’s in-laws – Marion returned alone a few days later wearing Cameron’s clothes and riding Cameron’s horses, before vanishing. A week later the body of a man was discovered with three bullet wounds to the head. Marion immediately became the prime suspect in the murder and after a ten-year manhunt was eventually apprehended in Kansas, convicted and hanged. Four years later alleged ‘victim’, Cameron, miraculously re-appeared looking for his friend and explaining he had ditched his clothes and horses with Marion and escaped to Mexico to avoid a shotgun marriage. 100 years after his execution Marion’s grandson, Elbert Marion, successfully petitioned the governor of Nebraska to pardon William Marion – making Marion one of several ‘murderers’ whose ‘victims’ have survived them.
5. Cameron Todd Willingham – executed 2004, conviction unsustainable 2009
On the night of December 23, 1991, an uncontrollable blaze engulfed the Willingham’s house in Corsicana, Texas, claiming the lives of one-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron Willingham, as well as two-year-old Amber Louise Kuykendall Willingham. Subsequently, Willingham was arrested and charged with the murder of his three daughters. The trial hinged on whether the fire had been deliberately started using some form of liquid accelerant – a claim police supported with evidence including char patterns in the floor in the shape of ‘puddles’, multiple starting points for the fire, and the fact that the fire had burned ‘fast and hot’. Willingham was found guilty – despite expert objections from scientists who rebutted all twenty of the police’s indications that an accelerant had been used – and rejected a life term in exchange for a guilty plea, insisting he was innocent. Since Willingham’s death, persistent doubts have arisen, and general scientific consensus has been that the fire was not an act of arson. The Texas Forensic Science Commission was scheduled to discuss the case in 2009, but two days before the meeting Texas Governor Rick Perry mysteriously replaced the chair of the commission and two other members.
4. George Kelly – executed 1950, quashed 2003
In March 1950 out of work laborer, George Kelly, was convicted of shooting dead 44-year-old Leonard Thomas during a robbery at the Cameo Cinema in Liverpool, UK. The crime would become the focus of one of the most intense police investigations in English history, with over 65,000 people questioned. There were, however, no suspects until the police received a letter from an anonymous writer offering to name those involved in exchange for immunity. The informant named Kelly as the robber and an accomplice, Charles Connolly, as the lookout. With the eyes of the nation upon him, Connolly admitted his guilt and was sentenced to 10 years in prison; Kelly denied any wrongdoing and, after the then longest criminal trial in English history, was convicted and executed. In 2003 the Court of Criminal Appeal quashed Kelly’s conviction, ruling that it was based on the prosecution’s concealment of a statement that another man, Donald Johnson, had confessed to the crime months before. In 2004, Mr. Kelly’s daughter, Catherine, finally oversaw his reburial alongside other family members.
3. Charles Hudspeth – executed 1892, victim ‘found’ 1893
In 1886, George Watkins and his wife, Rebecca, moved from Kansas to Marion County, Arkansas, where Rebecca subsequently became romantically involved with a local man, Charles Hudspeth. Nearly a year later, George Watkins disappeared and Hudspeth was arrested and charged with his murder. Based on Rebecca’s testimony that Hudspeth had murdered Watkins in order to clear the way for them to be married, he was convicted and sentenced to death by Arkansas’ Supreme Court, and was hanged at Harrison, Arkansas, on December 30, 1892. Yet in another case of a ‘victim’ mysteriously reappearing after their ‘murder’, Watkins’s lawyer found him alive and well a year later, living in Kansas – a clear case of wrongful execution the US government has failed to address.
2. Derek Bentley – executed 1953, quashed 1998
On Sunday 2 November 1952, Derek Bentley and his friend 16 year-old Christopher Craig, prowled the streets of London intending to commit a burglary. After two unsuccessful attempts they climbed on to the roof of a warehouse in Croydon, only to be seen by a young girl, whose mother immediately phoned for the police. Bentley was immediately detained, without resisting arrest, but Craig made off discharging his pistol at the police. At some point Bentley, standing by in cuffs, uttered the now infamous words, ‘let him have it, Craig!’ – moments later Craig shot PC Sidney Miles through the head, killing him. The pair were tried for murder under the principle of ‘joint enterprise’ and found guilty; Craig was sentenced to jail, being a minor, but Bentley, who hadn’t possessed or fired a gun, was sentenced to death – his conviction resting on whether or not ‘let him have it’ was an instruction to shoot or to hand over the weapon. Bentley was hanged in January, 1953. Following the execution there a wave of public outrage resulted in a long campaign, led by Bentley’s sister Iris, to secure a posthumous pardon for him – a campaign which proved partially successful in 1993, with a Royal pardon, and fully succeeded in 1998 as a panel quashed Bentley’s conviction.
1. Thomas & Meeks Griffin, executed 1915, pardoned 2009
Thomas and Meeks Griffin were executed in 1915 for the murder of 73-year-old John Q Lewis, a Confederate veteran living in Blackstock, South Carolina. Prominent and respected black farmers in Chester County, they doggedly denied the accusations, forcing a wave of prominent figures to come to their defense including Blackstock’s mayor, a sheriff, two trial jurors and the grand jury foreman. Despite their popular support the pair were found guilty of murder based on the accusations of another man, John ‘Monk’ Stevenson, who was known to be a small-time thief. Stevenson, who had been found in possession of the victim’s pistol, was sentenced to life in prison in exchange for testifying against the brothers. Over 90 years later the brothers’ great-nephew, talk-show host Tom Joyner, petitioned the state for a pardon, which was successfully passed by a vote of 7-0, finally clearing their names in 2009. Todd Shaw, political science and African American studies professor at the University of South Carolina, summed up the case succinctly when he stated: “There are more stories out there to be told, and possibly many more injustices to be righted.”
Written by Julian on August 3rd, 2010 | Tagged as: Popular Culture
On August 3rd 2010, Joe wrote:
hmmm…these people were exonerated loooooong after they would’ve died even just having been incarcerated for life. Problem here is not death penalty, as they would’ve died anyways in jail of old age…problem is that justice system is imperfect….what a revelation! Lets not imprison anybody!!! What a bunch of idiots.
On August 3rd 2010, Steven I wrote:
85 years later.. OJ Simpson found guilty of murder.
On August 3rd 2010, Fr33dan wrote:
On 7 when you gave your false criminal his supposed victim’s last name. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to Ellis Wayne Felker not Ellis Wayne Ludlum.
On August 3rd 2010, Catherine wrote:
um O.o There’s a typo on #7′s first sentence: “sex offender’s” last name. just saying
On August 3rd 2010, Dag wrote:
Or, we could, y’know, get rid of the death penalty. Simply read the article. Willingham, Hudspeth and Evans would have still been alive, and not have spent the majority of their lives in prison.
Or, in other words: How many people do you think it’s “okay” to kill for the wrong reason, Joe?
On August 3rd 2010, Aaron wrote:
Joe: The justice system is not only imperfect, it’s inept. How much sense does it make to take 12 people who have no training, no legal experience? Some of these people couldn’t care less about laws. How can anyone expect them to find people innocent or guilty? We are playing Russian roulette with people’s future.
These days there are people who have training in detecting lies. There are people who have training in laws. Here’s an idea: use the people who have training in juries. How often do judges disagree with the choices of the jury? Perfection might not be attainable but how about improvement? Has the OJ trial taught us nothing?
On August 3rd 2010, Jason Dittmer wrote:
Some these just don’t make sence. How can you sentence a guy to death just for saying “give it to him”.
On August 3rd 2010, ray williams wrote:
DOLLY RUTIER DID NOT KILL HER KIDS!!!!
PLEASE DON’T KILL ANOTHER INNOCENT PERSON. OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM MAKES TOO MANY MISTAKES
On August 3rd 2010, stanley wrote:
Those who accused the person during actual year of conviction should be purnished.
On August 4th 2010, binkley wrote:
unfortunetly a few must die for the over all good. granted i would like it no more then anyone else if it was my family member but this era is full of sick criminals murdering children and raping wives. you really would rather them loosen up on everyone and catch less people? would you let your kids spend one day with one of these so called “innocent” people. i didnt think so. and therefore you dont actually believe hey are al innocent either. if you can figure out the justice system to were there are no falsifications why not just move onto world peace and save the world.
On August 4th 2010, binkley wrote:
oh and btw the Darlie Routier case is exactly what i am talking about. that woman is so guilty its ridiculous. whoever wrote that she was “innocent” should problly be sent up with her, or should i saw down depending on wether we are talking about sending the person to prison or to hell. god bless those boys. rest in peace.
On August 4th 2010, ossyjossy wrote:
The heart of man is wicked. May God help us all.
On August 4th 2010, Kelly wrote:
To err is human. We are not perfect if we were there would be no crime. But we do have crime. So we need a system of justice for the victims. I do believe that our biggest problem is that instead of being innocent until proven guilty we automatically assume their guilty and make them prove it to us that they are not and when you are innocent why would you think that you would need to have a witness of your where abouts so you have an air tight alibi it’s the innocent that get screwed a lot of the times because of this fact and how sad is that…..
On August 4th 2010, Yomi al-fuad wrote:
Our judiciary sometime adjudicate their judgement on hear say and is wrong many innocent people have been kill by legal means and this is very bad to our society
On August 4th 2010, CRIS A. DIGAMO wrote:
They all have to answer to god of their wrong doing…..Man law is nothing compare to God’s law.
On August 4th 2010, Dee wrote:
We’ve become so fearful of convicting the wrong person that the criminals have more protected rights than the victims. Innocent people being executed is a terrible thing ~ so is allowing a known criminal to walk the streets continuing to commit numerous crimes due to loopholes in the law. As for ‘jury of peers’? I’ve been told by a prosecuting county attorney that a jury is basically 12 people picked out of Wal-mart. I’m all for the death penalty for violent crimes; no ‘life in jail’ at the taxpayers expense. Make crimes as punishable as possible and maybe, just MAYBE we can get rid of the cesspool of criminals in this country.
On August 4th 2010, Kat wrote:
We as a society are to easy to jump to blame and that is why I am against the death penalty.
On August 4th 2010, VanGogh wrote:
I think all but one of these is due to “guilty before proven innocent” style of justice from the “olden” days when common sense and reason was just plain ignored to satisfy a call for justice. Most of the examples took place in foreign countries as well. As far as I’m concerned the dealth penalty is under-utilized. Child molesters and rapists need to be added to the list.
On August 4th 2010, Aubrey Young wrote:
No system of justice is perfect and I wouldn’t want to be held responsible for some act of wrong doing as well. Having said that, all legal system do the best they can and errors will happen. The Justice System must continue to do the best they can and right any wrongs they make.
As for the Death Penalty. It is a valuable tool to hinder those that without the threat of death for their actions, would commit more harm and death to society.
That simply is the reality of the situation.
Aubrey.
The need for a death penalty is always needed in a society that has criminals that will kill and continue to harm the innocence of our society.
On August 4th 2010, Keith wrote:
“Joe wrote:
hmmm…these people were exonerated loooooong after they would’ve died even just having been incarcerated for life”
Really? Numbers 9, 7, 5 and 3 were “exonerated” only a few years (1 – 16) after their execution. They could have lived long, peaceful and productive lives. Even 8, 4, and 2 could have been alive at the time they were cleared, even if they would have been old men.
But your right, our justice system is imperfect…all the more reason to end the death penalty.
“better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer” -William Blackstone
On August 4th 2010, Nancy wrote:
The Willingham fire was made into a Cold Case episode. They showed an alternate way the fire could have happened and exonerated the character.
On August 4th 2010, C wrote:
One wrong execution is one too many.. There should be absolutely no doubt that the accused is guilty of murdered before that person should be considered or charged with murder. To many times prosecutors and police lie and cheat the justice system they are supposed to fairly represent and they should pay the same price that the accused had to pay. Maybe if they were more accountable the system would work properly. If it is found that racism played a role by the police and prosecution then those folks should be jailed for life.
On August 4th 2010, Research Hound wrote:
This is a poorly researched story. If you go to http://www.crimelibrary.com and look up the story on John Christie, you will see that Timothy Evans deserved to die for his involvement in his wife and baby’s death. Timothy Evans was also borderline mentally retarded so maybe today’s courts would excuse his behavior if you believe that decency has to do with intelligence quotient.
On August 4th 2010, DonR wrote:
As great as our criminal and justice system is, it’s
sad to hear that any innocent person would be exonerated after their death. Some cases of lifetime behind bars are justified such as pedifiles and rapists. If they can’t be rehabilitated, they should never be turned loose on society again. A death sentence should be the very last resort in any case. I know how expensive it is to incarserate a person for life, but what is the price of innocent victims verses
a criminals freedom to repeat such a crime again.
On August 4th 2010, Atelier2 wrote:
Funny.. how the majority of most notorious criminals are WHITES….
On August 4th 2010, WILLIAM COLFAX wrote:
THEY MOST LIKELY WERE BAD PEOPLE ANYWAY.
On August 4th 2010, ginger brown-salle wrote:
This is such a sad sad, sad world we live in. May GOD forgive us all. Do we not commit murder in our hearts every day,,,,,,,,,,, STOP before its too late people,,,,,,,,,luv
On August 4th 2010, hallie wrote:
I think that’s a pretty sweet amount of money to be given if your family member was wrongfully executed..
On August 4th 2010, Eva wrote:
It seems most of these cases would have been corrected if they had only bothered to wait a little longer..
It would appear most cases are rushed, it doesn’t matter if they’re innocent or not, just find someone to blame quickly and hope you get it right.
On August 4th 2010, Buddy Bee wrote:
Ok, then,
let’s not put anyone in jail. Maybe everyone would have to deal with life on life’s terms..
On August 4th 2010, Belinda wrote:
I spent many years incarcerated for a crime i did not commit. I was not cleared of my charges due to the fact that my accuser is not mentally competent to do so at this time. I served 12 years and have 8 remaining on parole. When you have no money and no influence in the city where you live you are guilty until proven innocent, not as the law states, innocent until proven guilty. We do not have the right to judge to take a persons life only GOD has that right. I am for prison sentences but only if the entire situation is assessed and there is NO other alternatives due to the irrevocable proof of guilt !
On August 4th 2010, mike lindler wrote:
And you know what? These same Mother””””s are the ones that when one of them get’s killed in the line of duty everybody want’s to weep and cry! face it people, cops are the dirtiest ass holes I’ve ever met, and they should be falsely convicted and suffer the same thing’s they put these people through, If you take an innocent man’s life, you should be held accountable for it, that includes judges,lawyer’s, and anyone involved in it, especially the D.A.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On August 4th 2010, KingofthePaupers wrote:
Jct: I’ve waited a long time for someone to list the people who were executed and were innocent. Thank you. The only good think about it is that there’s none of them can sue.
On August 4th 2010, Leslie wrote:
Correction #7:
“When Georgian student, Evelyn Joy Ludlum, disappeared in 1981, convicted sex offender, Ellis Wayne Ludlum, (should be FELKER) was immediately put under surveillance . . .”
On August 4th 2010, Kizzy wrote:
“better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer” -William Blackstone
What about the innocent people that the 10 guilty escapees hurt? Does their suffering not count? What about their families? This saying may be true for a crime in which no physical harm is done to a person but a rapist, pedophile, murderer, etc…no way. I am sorry for the one innocent but better the one than the many who these ten will hurt after already having hurt someone. I do agree with the one who said most of it was from a time when someone had to pay ..guilt or innocence be damned.
On August 4th 2010, Holocaust Gaza wrote:
America is neither a free country not a country with a justice system.
Ridiculous if the “great” Americans accusing other countries of human rights abuses.
Funny that stupid people think one murder can be wiped out by committing another murder.
On August 4th 2010, Kizzy wrote:
Holocaust Gaza….our country is by no means perfect but it is still better than a lot of other countries. You have more freedoms (especially women) than people in the middle east and you have a better standard of living than in the third world countries. You don’t yet have a despot taking everything from you for themselves. More people should appreciate what they have because it can always be worse! Oh and one murder does not wipe out another murder but it does stop the first murderer from murdering again.
On August 5th 2010, TJ MAX wrote:
I think you need to pack your bags, and say goodbye to the freedom you take for granted, the lifestyle you forget to be thankful for, and get sent to IRAN or SOMALIA, or Norther Pakistan where the TALIBAN rule, and join their cause. I’m sure they would love to have an idiot moron to sing their praises!! NOT!! The first thing they would do to you is strap some bombs under your coat and say “Go kill yourself for our cause”!! Yeah, that’s what you need, you moron.
On August 6th 2010, Taiwo Adepoju wrote:
Clearly – two wrongs can’t make a right. What i have read shows the injustice and imperfection of the legal system where it’s all about superior argument and presentation/distortion of facts to suit the rich, influential or desperate.
The truth will always prevail…………………………
On August 25th 2010, tom morgan wrote:
after dealing with police at the most elementary level I think police department need to rasie their standards and bar the officers fom watching cop shows on tv
On September 3rd 2010, marvin nubwaxer wrote:
When Georgian student? georgia usa or georgia the country? sloppy
On September 4th 2010, social news wrote:
man, this just sad.
On September 29th 2010, getreal13 wrote:
Anyone who says that some have to suffer for the greater good is foolish. You would not be saying that if it was you, or your family members at the end of that rope. There have been a lot of men put to death, not because of negligence, but because of narcissistic prosecutors that can’t admit when they are wrong. I believe those prosecutors should be hanged.
On November 11th 2010, Zoso wrote:
Sad but great article.
On January 6th 2011, Kevin Craigie wrote:
In 1991 along with the sole perpetrator I was convicted under Joint Enterprise of murder. The Jury twice requested to acquit me, and convict him. Twenty years later, I am still pursuing “Justice”. It has consumed my entire life, and I accept that as I shall never cease from having the truth established, and consequently acquitted
On January 7th 2011, mattcordtwist wrote:
We like to kill people who kill people to teach people that killing people is wrong! ~“Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer” -William Blackstone
True but maybe not so much if they esape from death row! Prosecuters who do not showforth known evidence should be prosecuted! Texas governor Rick Perry in Williangham’s case should do plenty of time for firing key folks to be re-elected. Of course, murder is the ultimate act but some healthcare politicians can destroy and even kill millions for self advancement!
On January 24th 2011, Dorkus wrote:
The Derek Bentley story was make into a movie called “Let Him Have It”. Wiki has more on the case.
On January 24th 2011, Malaguy wrote:
I am not convinced with the system that we have. It is a democratic country but the rules and regulations should be strict enough to stop crimes and criminals.
On January 27th 2011, mattcordtwist wrote:
well malaguy, i think you know that no rules and regulations can stop crime and criminals. capital punishment only stops the ones that are executed but the folks commiting spur of the moment murder for example are certainly not detered by punishment as it happens. in the u.s. , there were roughly 16,000 murders in the year 2010. there was 52 executions in 2009. have a good day.