Since 1973, 135 people have been released from death row after being exonerated of the crime which put them there. This list, compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center, includes only those people:

• whose conviction was overturned and who were acquitted at re-trial, or
• whose conviction was overturned and subsequently all charges were dropped, or
• who were given an absolute pardon by the governor based on new evidence of innocence.

We believe there are others still on death row who are also innocent. We also believe that a number of innocent people have been executed. The latest in that number is Cameron Todd Willingham, who the state of Texas executed for the arson murder of his three small children. A special commission, appointed by the Texas legislature to investigate errors and misconduct in forensic investigations, has recently determined that there was not a shred of evidence to suggest that the fire was deliberately lit. The children’s deaths were accidental. (Read Questions About an Execution and Innocent but Dead.)

You can find much more information about these exonerees on the Death Penalty Information Center’s site. Some of the people who have been exonerated work actively to end the death penalty. If you’re interested in hearing their stories, Witness To Innocence provides a speakers’ bureau of exonerees.