Alle Folgen

Kirk Bloodsworth was the first person to be exonerated and released from death row by DNA evidence. In this film, Kirk describes his experience of being convicted for a crime he did not commit, being on death row and how the discovery of DNA testing led to his release. He also describes the limitations and roadblocks involved in using DNA to exonerate people on death row.

Joe D'Ambrosio spent 22 years on Ohio's death row protesting his innocence before a judge ruled that he had been wrongfully convicted and the charges against him were dropped. Joe describes what life is like as a free man after losing decades to prison.

Delbert Tibbs was sentenced to death for murder and rape in 1974, based on the testimony of the rape victim Cynthia Nadeau. Tibbs was convicted on this evidence, despite the fact that the description the police were given by Cynthia did not match him. After two years on death row, he was freed by the Florida Supreme Court.

Damon Thibodeaux spent 15 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. He was questioned in 1996 after the disappearance of his cousin, and after 36 hours with no sleep and a 9-hour interrogation, Damon falsely confessed to the crime. After 15 years on Louisiana's death row, Damon was proved innocent by DNA evidence.

Randy Steidl spent 17 years in prison, 12 on death row for a murder he didn't commit. Here he explains how that happened and what it feels like.

Gary Drinkard spent 6 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. He received two court appointed lawyers who had never worked on a capital murder case. Here he tells how that affected his chances and going away to death row.

Sabrina Butler is the only woman to have been exonerated from death row in the United States. She spent two and a half years on Mississippi's death row after being accused of her baby sons murder. It was later found out that her son had likely died of natural causes and that the bruises on his body were from her attempts at CPR.

John Thompson spent 18 years in prison, 14 of which were on death row despite being innocent. He was released after it was discovered that the prosecutors in his case had deliberately hidden evidence that would have proven that John was innocent of a robbery which they used to seek the death penalty in a murder trial. After it was discovered, he was given a retrial and the jury took just 30 mins to find him not guilty. Here he talks about prosecutorial misconduct.

On the 23rd of August 1980, 16 year old Cheryl Dee Fergeson was raped and murdered during a volleyball tournament in Conroe, Texas. Clarence Brandley, the schools janitor found her naked body in the schools loft. After evidence was destroyed and police pressured witnesses in to testifying against him, he was sentenced to death. He was later released and the judge in his new trial said that it was one of the most blatant cases of racism and perjured testimony in history.

Juan Melendez spent 17 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. He was accused of murder by a police informant who allegedly received $5000 for his testimony. After 17 years on Florida's death row, a tape recorded confession from another man was found which helped Juan get a new trial and he was released in 2002.