As many as 300 U.S. inmates sentenced to death over a 30-year period were probably innocent, according to a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The courts converted many of their death sentences to life, the study found. The U.S. judicial system, however, has actually killed innocent people.
While doubt exists in many past executions, seven people have received official pardons after their executions in prison. Read their stories below.
Joe Arridy
Executed for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old Colorado girl, Joe Arridy died by lethal gas in 1939. As his last request, the 23-year-old asked for lots of ice cream and his toy train, the Denver Westward reported. With an IQ of 46, Arridy couldn't quite grasp the concept of death.
Arridy confessed to attacking Dorothy Drain and her 12-year-old sister, Barbara, with a hatchet in 1936. (Barbara survived the attack.) Decades later, overwhelming evidence proved his innocence. He wasn't in town at the time of the killing, and someone else even admitted to the crime.
Police coerced Arridy's confession, the state said when it finally pardoned him. Aside from the fact that he was innocent, imposing the death penalty on someone as intellectually disabled as Arridy would also be considered unconstitutional today.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter officially pardoned Arridy in 2011. "Pardoning Mr. Arridy cannot undo this tragic event in Colorado history," Ritter said. "It is in the interest of justice and simple decency, however, to restore his good name."
The courts converted many of their death sentences to life, the study found. The U.S. judicial system, however, has actually killed innocent people.
While doubt exists in many past executions, seven people have received official pardons after their executions in prison. Read their stories below.
Joe Arridy
Executed for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old Colorado girl, Joe Arridy died by lethal gas in 1939. As his last request, the 23-year-old asked for lots of ice cream and his toy train, the Denver Westward reported. With an IQ of 46, Arridy couldn't quite grasp the concept of death.
Arridy confessed to attacking Dorothy Drain and her 12-year-old sister, Barbara, with a hatchet in 1936. (Barbara survived the attack.) Decades later, overwhelming evidence proved his innocence. He wasn't in town at the time of the killing, and someone else even admitted to the crime.
Police coerced Arridy's confession, the state said when it finally pardoned him. Aside from the fact that he was innocent, imposing the death penalty on someone as intellectually disabled as Arridy would also be considered unconstitutional today.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter officially pardoned Arridy in 2011. "Pardoning Mr. Arridy cannot undo this tragic event in Colorado history," Ritter said. "It is in the interest of justice and simple decency, however, to restore his good name."
Source: Business Insider, Christina Sterbenz, May 19, 2014