Other cases were tainted by inept defense lawyers. Some verdicts hinged on the kinds of evidence that have repeatedly helped convict the innocent, such as jailhouse-informant testimony, hypnotized witnesses and imprecise forensic tests. In others, however, troubling questions of innocence remain. In many of these cases, their guilt was clear.
They admitted their crimes or were convicted with compelling evidence.īut some cases challenge the premise that the criminal justice system has so many safeguards that no innocent person can possibly be executed.Īt least 120 people went to the execution chamber proclaiming their innocence, according to the Tribune analysis. Since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated, 682 people have been executed in the United States, and most of them left behind little or no question of their guilt, according to a Tribune analysis. The cases of these men are bound by a common element-all went to their death accompanied by doubts about the evidence against them, while their claims of innocence received scant public attention. Last June, the State of Florida executed Bennie Demps for killing a prison inmate, even though the defense produced evidence that the sole eyewitness never saw the murder and officials didn’t turn over a key report that could have undercut the prosecution’s case. for murder and rape, even though defense lawyers did virtually nothing to investigate the prosecution’s evidence and the chairman of the state pardon board believed Moore was innocent. In June 1987, the State of Louisiana executed Alvin R.
In July 1998, the State of Arkansas executed Wilburn Henderson for the murder and robbery of a furniture-store owner, even though a federal appeals court once ruled there was “significant doubt” about Henderson’s guilt and powerful evidence that the victim’s husband was the killer. By STEVE MILLS, MAURICE POSSLEY and KEN ARMSTRONG
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