USA | 2019 Exoneration Report: Official Misconduct and Perjury Remain Leading Causes of Wrongful Homicide Convictions

Official misconduct and perjury or false accusation continue to be the main reasons innocent men and women are wrongfully convicted in America, according to the 2019 annual report by the National Registry of Exonerations. That misconduct, the report indicates, is most prevalent in cases involving the most serious criminal charges.

The registry reported on March 31, 2020 that 143 men and women were exonerated in 2019 following wrongful convictions across the United States. More than half (76) involved wrongful convictions for homicide, including three people who had been sentenced to death, and other cases in which innocent defendants had been capitally tried, defendants threatened with the death penalty had falsely confessed, or witnesses threatened with the death penalty had provided testimony falsely implicating innocent defendants.

Perjury or false accusation was present in 101 of the 143 exonerations (70.6%), making it the most prevalent factor in the 2019 exonerations, largely because of 14 exonerations in which a Chicago police sergeant had planted drugs on suspects he had arrested. Even then, perjury or false accusation was more pronounced in homicide cases, where it was present 76.3% of the time (58 of 76 cases), as compared with 43 of 67 (64.2%) non-homicide cases.

Official misconduct by police, prosecutors, or other government actors — most commonly in the form of withholding exculpatory evidence — was the next most frequent contributing factor in the 2019 exonerations, occurring in nearly 2/3 of all exonerations (93 of 143). Again, misconduct was more pronounced in the wrongful homicide convictions, in which it was 1.4 times more likely to occur. Misconduct was present in 3/4 of homicide exonerations (57 of 76 cases), compared to slightly more than half (36 of the 67, 53.7%) of the wrongful conviction for crimes other than homicide.

The report noted that exonerations in 2019 involved a record number of years lost to incarceration – the 143 exonerees spent a total of 1,908 years in prison. This pattern was reflected in the death-row exonerations that took place last year, which included two prisoners who each spent more than 40 years wrongfully incarcerated and a third who was on death row for 26 years.

Barbara O’Brien, the report’s author, emphasized the prevalence of wrongful convictions throughout the legal system, and the importance the issue has taken on during the current pandemic. “Right now, there are likely thousands of innocent people in U.S. jails and prisons as a result of wrongful convictions. It is hard to imagine the horror of being incarcerated today — innocent or guilty — as the COVID-19 virus is spreading through these closed spaces and threatening lives,” she said.

The report spotlighted several 2019 exonerations linked to the misuse of the death penalty. Clifford Williams, Jr. was sentenced to death in Florida in 1976 and spent 42 years in prison before the Duval County Conviction Integrity Unit reinvestigated his case and found “no credible evidence of guilt and … credible evidence of innocence.” No physical evidence linked Williams to the crime, and witness accounts contradicted the ballistics evidence in the case. Williams’ defense counsel had presented no witnesses, ignoring 40 alibi witnesses who could have testified that Williams was at a birthday party at the time of the crime. Like the vast majority of Florida death-row exonerees, Williams’ jury had not voted unanimously for death; in fact, his trial judge overrode a jury recommendation of a life sentence.

Charles Ray Finch also was sentenced to death in 1976. Finch’s case involved both leading causes of wrongful convictions: official misconduct and perjury. Police in Wilson County, North Carolina obtained witness identification of Finch through suggestive lineups and the prosecution presented false testimony linking Finch to a weapon that did not actually match the one used in the murder. Several prosecution witnesses later testified that they had been pressured into giving false testimony.

The year’s 3rd death-row exoneration, that of Christopher Williams in Pennsylvania, was the result of official misconduct and false accusation by a self-interested informant. Philadelphia prosecutors deliberately withheld exculpatory evidence. The key prosecution witness cooperated with prosecutors in exchange for avoiding capital prosecution for 6 different murders. Williams’ case was one of thirteen homicide exonerations in Philadelphia in 2019, and 1 of 9 aided by investigations by the DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit.

Other cases referenced in the report involved the use or threat of the death penalty. Robert Yell was exonerated in Kentucky of the arson-related murder of his son. In mid-March 2020, he filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging that law enforcement framed him. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty in the case but withdrew it at the start of Yell’s trial. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 52 years, but his attorneys say the evidence against him was fabricated and that law enforcement hid evidence that the fire was caused by a faulty electrical outlet. Christopher Tapp was exonerated in Idaho after a recording came to light that revealed police had told Tapp he faced the death penalty if he didn’t confess, lied to him that he had failed polygraph tests, suggested he had repressed memories of the killing, and offered him leniency — including possible immunity — for implicating others. Florida exoneree Ronald Stewart was posthumously cleared of the murder of Regina Harrison, which he had confessed to under threat of a death sentence. His case was re-examined after Jack Jones, who was executed in Arkansas in 2017, sent a letter to his sister confessing to Harrison’s murder. After Florida police deemed Harrison’s case closed, Jones went on to commit an additional rape and murder.

DPIC is conducting a deeper analysis of the 2019 exonerations to determine the extent to which the death penalty is implicated in obtaining false confessions or false witness testimony. The DPIC exoneration analysis is expected to be released before April 10.

Source: Death Penalty Information Center, Staff, April 3, 2020

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Oklahoma executes Kendrick Antonio Simpson

McALESTER, Okla. (DPN) — Oklahoma executed Kendrick Antonio Simpson on Thursday for the 2006 drive-by shooting deaths of two men following a dispute at an Oklahoma City nightclub, marking the state's first lethal injection of the year and the nation's third. Simpson, 45, was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary after receiving a three-drug cocktail, prison officials said. He had been convicted of first-degree murder in the killings of Anthony Jones, 19, and Glen Palmer, 20, who were shot while sitting in a car outside the club. Simpson admitted to firing into the vehicle, later telling authorities he was "compelled by paranoia."

Japan | High court rejects retrial appeal over 1992 Fukuoka child murder

The Fukuoka High Court rejected an appeal on Monday for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two 7-year-old girls in the city of Iizuka in Fukuoka Prefecture, for which a death row convict was executed. The defense plans to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision. In what's known as the Iizuka incident, despite the assertion of his innocence, Michitoshi Kuma's death sentence became final in 2006 based on DNA test results and eyewitness accounts. He was executed at the age of 70 in 2008. The defendant's side submitted in the second round of its retrial request a woman's testimony as new evidence.

Oklahoma | Judge weighs Richard Glossip's second request for bond

Attorneys for former death row inmate Richard Glossip are again asking an Oklahoma County judge to release him on bond while he awaits a third trial in a high-profile murder case that has stretched nearly three decades. District Judge Natalie Mai heard arguments for and against Glossip’s release in her courtroom Thursday, Feb. 12. Glossip, 63, has been twice convicted and sentenced to death for the 1997 killing of Oklahoma City hotel owner Barry Van Treese. Prosecutors claim Glossip paid another employee, Justin Sneed, to kill Van Treese, and helped cover up the murder.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Iran | Teenage Protester Saleh Mohammadi Sentenced to Public Hanging

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 12 February 2026: Saleh Mohammadi, a teenage protester and wrestler, has been sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of a policeman during the 8 January protest in Qom. The court rejected Saleh’s testimony that his confessions were obtained under torture, and ordered for his execution to be carried out publicly at the scene of the alleged crime. On 4 February, IHRNGO issued a warning that, given the authorities’ systematic use of lethal force, reliance on torture-tainted confessions, disregard for due process and history of hasty and secret executions, detainees faced an escalating risk of mass death sentences, executions and extrajudicial killings.

Somalia Executes Two Al-Shabaab Convicts Over Deadly Mogadishu Attacks

MOGADISHU, Feb 16, 2026 – The Somali federal government on Monday executed two men convicted of orchestrating a series of deadly assassinations and bombings in the capital, judicial officials confirmed. The executions, carried out by a firing squad following sentences handed down by the Armed Forces Court, took place early Monday morning in Mogadishu. The two individuals were identified as Hassan Ali Iftin Buule (known as Gacmey) and Hassan Ali Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed (known by the aliases Baari, Biibaaye, and Sa’ad). Both had been found guilty of participating in terror attacks that resulted in the death and injury of numerous Somali civilians.

Idaho death row inmate convicted of two separate rapes and murders dies in hospital

Idaho – Erick Hall, a long-time death row inmate convicted of the rapes and murders of two women in separate incidents in the Boise area, has died at the age of 54. The Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) announced on February 10, 2026, that Hall passed away from natural causes at approximately 9:58 p.m. on February 9, 2026, while receiving care at a local hospital in the Boise region. Hall had been serving two death sentences for first-degree murder convictions stemming from crimes committed in the early 2000s. He was housed at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution (IMSI) in Kuna, where Idaho's death row is located. The first conviction came in October 2004 for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 38-year-old Lynn Henneman. Henneman, a flight attendant, disappeared in October 2000 after leaving a Boise restaurant. Her body was later discovered, and the case went cold for several years until DNA evidence linked Hall to the crime. A jury sentenced him to death following a trial t...

Israel | Netanyahu pushes to water down terrorist death penalty bill over fear of global fallout

Prime minister presses Itamar Ben-Gvir to amend proposed law mandating execution for terrorists, citing international and legal concerns as security agencies and opposition lawmakers push back. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to soften a proposed bill mandating the death penalty for terrorists, citing concerns over potential international fallout, officials familiar with the matter told ynet on Saturday. Netanyahu’s aides approached Ben-Gvir, who opposes changes to the legislation, arguing that Israel cannot enact a death penalty law harsher than the standard applied in the United States. Sources said the prime minister and coalition leaders would not allow the bill to pass in its current form.

Singapore executes 33-year-old Malaysian drug trafficker

Lingkesvaran was sentenced to death in 2018. A Malaysian man convicted of trafficking a significant quantity of heroin was executed in Singapore on Feb. 11, 2026, according to an official statement issued by the Singapore authorities. Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, 33, had been found guilty of trafficking not less than 52.77 grammes of diamorphine, also known as pure heroin. Singapore law mandates the death penalty for cases involving more than 15 grams of the drug. The authorities said the amount involved was enough to sustain the addiction of approximately 630 abusers for a week, highlighting the harm caused by large-scale drug trafficking.

Sudanese Courts Sentence 2 Women to Death by Stoning for Adultery Despite International Obligations

Two Sudanese women have been sentenced to death by stoning in separate cases in Sudan, raising serious concerns about Sudan’s compliance with its international human rights obligations, particularly following its ratification of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog