Top 10 Cases of Wrongful Imprisonment

Les Listes is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

The legal system is supposed figure out who committed crimes and give them the proper punishment. In many cases, the courts may throw people in prison for a long period of time. People may go to prison for a wide range of crimes including theft and murder. However, the court system isn’t always right. The courts may make the wrong judgement due to factors such as police corruption, racial discrimination, or lack of proper scientific techniques. In many cases, some people stayed in prison for a majority of their adult lives for something they never did. Check out below for the top 10 cases of wrongful imprisonment.

#10: James Richardson

In 1967, James Richardson experienced one of the worst cases of wrongful imprisonment. The courts convicted him for the poisoning death of his 7 children. The trial was quick and no one asked any questions. Richardson spent 21 years in prison and 5 of those years were on death row. However, after spending so many years in prison, a special investigation found him innocent and released him from prison. This was common at the time in the South.

A racially motivated police and the judicial system easily looked the other way. Unfortunately, for James Richardson, he had to loose a lot of his life. If fact, he was not even able to go to his own children’s graves. To make it even worse, the state let Richardson go without saying sorry. In fact, they didn’t even give him any compensation. Currently, he is legally fighting with the State of Florida over this.

#9: William Dillon

The wrongful imprisonment of William Dillon is another example of Florida destroying someone’s life. At the time of his wrongful imprisonment, Dillon was only 21 years old with a bright future. In fact, he was actually trying out for the Detroit Tigers professional baseball team as a pitcher. However, before he had a chance to try out, the courts convicted him for the bludgeoning death of a James Dvorak on a Florida beach.^[1]Oddee – 10 of the Worst Wrongful Imprisonments Cases As a result of his wrongful imprisonment, he spent 27 years of his life in prison.

Unfortunately, he never realize his dream to play professional baseball. In 2008, DNA evidence cleared him of the crime. Despite his long prison sentence, Dillon didn’t hold any grudge against the government. In fact, he went so far as to say that he loves his country. Additionally, he has gone on to use his experience to teach other people.

#8: Kirk Bloodsworth

Kirk Bloodsworth is a great example for rethinking about the death sentence. In 1985, the courts convicted him for the unsolved murder of a 9 year old girl in Baltimore, Maryland. He spent 9 years in prison. Additionally, two of those years were on death row. Unfortunately, he was victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The ‘evidence’ that put it him in jail was that a neighbor said he looked like the person who committed the murder. However, he did not even resemble the sketch that a police artist had drawn.

#7: Robert Dewey

Robert Dewey is an unfortunate victim of wrongful imprisonment. Dewey was just a regular man who liked motorcycles. However, in 1994, the courts convicted him for the murder of 19 year old Jacie Taylor in Colorado. He spent 17 years in prison. However, he maintained his innocence throughout his wrongful imprisonment.

Due to advances in DNA technology, the courts released him from prison. The state of Colorado had compensate Dewey for his wrongful imprisonment. In fact, Robert Dewey helped put in place a law that required the government to compensate wrongfully committed people. Colorado had to give him $70,000 for each year of his wrongful imprisonment. In total, they paid him $1.2 million. While this was a step, money can’t fix everything. For example, the compensation could never give Dewey the chance to go to his own son’s funeral.

#6: Anthony Porter

The government convicted Anthony Porter for killing two teenagers in the South Side of Chicago. For this, the courts put him on death row. During his wrongful imprisonment, Porter used up all of his appeals. However, only 50 hours before his execution by lethal injection, the government stopped it. They cited evidence new key witness testimony and video tape evidence which proved he did not commit the murders. Only two days later, they set him free.

#5: Gerard Richardson

In 1995, the courts convicted Gerard Richardson for the murder of 19 year old Monica Reyes.^[2]Daily Mail – Man freed after nearly two decades in jail after DNA test proves bite mark on the murder victim wasn’t him As such he had nearly 20 years of wrongful imprisonment. However, new DNA evidence from a bite mark at the murder scene freed him.

#4: James Bain

James Bain has the unfortunate distinction for serving the longest wrongful imprisonment sentence. He spent 35 years in a Florida prison for a crime he didn’t even commit.^[3]Business Insider – Innocent Man Freed After 35 Years Has An Incredible Outlook On Life The courts found his guilty for the rape of a local 9 year old boy. However, the the Florida court’s case had many holes. First, the boy only used Bain’s name when the uncle of the boy, a principal at the local high school, gave him the name first. Furthermore, in a lineup of potential suspects, the police made Bain look more suspicious. Lastly, in court, the 9 year old boy pointed out Bain during his testimony while crying. This emotional ‘evidence’ was enough to turn the jury against him.

#3: Juan Rivera, Jr.

In 1992, the courts convicted Juan Rivera, Jr. for the killing of 11 year old Holly Staker.^[4]Chicago Tribune – Wrongful convictions: Exonerated inmate wins early round in suit against Lake County officials It seemed like, Rivera was guilty, especially since he committed to the crime. However, evidence later showed that the police made Rivera confess to the crime after psychologically interrogating him for 4 days. In fact, later, DNA evidence found him innocent. However, the State refused to let him free citing Rivera’s confession. The State also said that Rivera only knew evidence that only the murderer could know.

#2: Darryl Burton

In 1984, the courts convicted Darryl Burton for the shooting death of Donald Ball in St. Louis, Missouri.^[5]The National Registry of Exonerations – DARRYL BURTON The police said that the shooting was between two different drug dealers. Ironically, Darryl Burton didn’t have any connection to drugs. However, the courts found him guilty of killing one of the drug dealers. Afterwards, investigators found that one of the witnesses, Claude Simmons, had lied about seeing Burton shooting Donald Ball. He had only given this evidence in order to get a more lenient sentence for himself. Unfortunately for Burton, he spent nearly 2 decades in wrongful imprisonment.

#1: Darryl Hunt

In 1984, the courts convicted Darryl Hunt for the rape and murder of Deborah Sykes in North Carolina.^[6]NPR – Darryl Hunt’s Fight for Freedom Hunt spent 19 years of wrongful imprisonment. Unfortunately for Hunt, he is an African American man and Deborah Sykes was a white women. This put him in a bad position to begin with. In many cases, juries, judges, and even the public have a hard time seeing past the color of someone’s skin. Fortunately, DNA testing later showed, with conclusive results of one in a million that someone else was in fact the killer.