The National
Registry of
Exonerations
Explore data and read stories about exonerations in the United States.
Exonerations by State
Newly Published Exonerations
At around 12:30 a.m. on March 10, 2012, 39-year-old Robert "Rebo" Alvin and 46-year-old Michael Butler were shot to death outside the Tex III lounge on Susquehanna Avenue in Philadelphia,…
On July 25, 2011, Officer Gerald Goines of the Houston Police Department in Texas arrested 44-year-old Melissa Clark and charged her with delivery of a controlled substance. In court papers,…
On October 3, 2023, the manager of a Safeway store in Arlington, Virginia reported that a woman had placed Tide pods in her backpack and left the store without paying. Police officer Carly Whisner…
On February 19, 2024, a 16-year-old student at Indian Trail High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, accused a fellow classmate, 16-year-old Martel Lee, of sexual assault. The complainant said that Lee…
On June 24, 2020, police in Grand Prairie, Texas arrested 34-year-old Richard Jereidiah Escamilla on a charge of public intoxication. Officer Matthew Huber wrote a citation and mistakenly identified…
At about 5:30 p.m. on May 14, 1992, the body of 22-year-old Antonio "Tone" Knight was found in an alley behind a carwash in northeast Detroit, Michigan. Knight's autopsy said he died from a single…
At 10:20 p.m. on March 28, 2007, 42-year-old Hector Flores was shot to death in the parking lot of a dollar store in the West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His fiancée, 45-year-…
At 10:20 p.m. on March 28, 2007, 42-year-old Hector Flores was shot to death in the parking lot of a dollar store in the West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His fiancée, 45-year-…
EVERY STORY COUNTS.
The Registry is a living archive of injustice. We collect, analyze, and publish comprehensive information on all known exonerations of criminal defendants in the United States.
We study the frequency and distribution of exonerations, and the causes, costs, and consequences of wrongful convictions. We make our data, research, and stories broadly accessible. Our goal is to be a resource for those who want to improve the criminal legal system and make it more accountable.
The Registry is a project of the Michigan State University College of Law, the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at the University of California—Irvine, and the University of Michigan Law School.
Dynamic Graphs
Reports
In the Press
ABA Journal"Even a wrongful misdemeanor conviction can change someone’s life forever." (10/1/24)
The Associated PressIn many states, compensation for the wrongfully convicted is a hard sell.
The Hill"Marcellus Williams’s execution was a tragedy — hopefully the last of its kind." (9/27/24)