wrongful convictions

In 2011 a sub-postmaster in Britain, Robin Garbutt, was convicted of the murder of his wife Robin at their home in North Yorkshire in 2010. The alleged motive for the killing, and faking of an armed robbery was that Diana had learned that Robin was stealing money from the post office. The basis...

“The new DNA evidence identifying Jackson’s DNA as the sole male DNA in Mrs. Roberts’ rape kit is powerful evidence that Barbour’s confession is false,” the judge wrote, “and that Mrs. Roberts’ murder did not occur as the prosecution presented it at trial...Barbour’s confession never made much...

I would like to start a discussion of at least four related cases: Birmingham Six, Guildford Four, Maguire Seven, and Judith Ward. There may be others that I missed. My main focus will be on the problems in the forensics, including issues of recording and disclosing data. I will add comments...

15 year old Johnny Small was convicted of murdering a pet store owner with one shot to the back of the head. It looks like we should untangle this story. Were there alternate suspects? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11692015 The hearings continue this week. As...

A Virginia man who spent a decade in prison after pleading guilty to a New York City slaying over 50 years ago was cleared of the crime Monday, the AP reports. At prosecutorial request the conviction of 81-year-old Paul Gatling for the 1963 murder of Lawrence Rothbort has been vacated. The...

Keith Harward was released from prison in the US state of Virginia yesterday after spending 33 years imprisoned for the killing of Jesse Perron and the rape of his wife in Newport News in 1982. The Virginia Supreme Court accepted DNA evidence that exonerated him. His conviction relied on the...

I'm a day late with this, my apologies. On the 9th of March 1950 Albert Pierrepoint and Sydney Dernley killed Timothy Evans at Pentonville Prison in the manner then prescribed in British law, the 'long drop' form of hanging. Evans had been born in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales on 20 November 1924...

I have been following this case from the start. The fix was in, and the jury duly returned a conviction (with a little help from the judge). I have wondered if there would ever be any hope for this guy. Now it looks like maybe there is...

In 1993 Susan May, then aged 48, was convicted of the murder of her aunt, Hilda Marchbank, at the latter's home in Royton. Ms. May was her aunt's principal carer and visited her several times a day; it was she who discovered the body and called the police. Initially the murder was thought to...