The National Registry of Exonerations

A Project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society,
University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law

3,506 exonerations since 1989
More than 31,900 Years Lost

Alphonso Davis

In 2003, Alphonso Davis was sentenced to 50 years in prison for a shooting that killed one teen and wounded another in Albany, New York. He was exonerated in 2024 based on evidence that the two men who implicated him had recanted their accusations and evidence that the lead detective had coerced a false confession from Davis. Davis (center) with defense attorneys Joshua Kelner (left) and Don Savatta. (Photo: Wil Waldron-Albany Times Union)

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Jerry Gillespie

In 1994, Jerry Gillespie was sentenced to 40 years in prison after he falsely confessed to a murder in Chicago, Illinois. He was exonerated in 2024 based on evidence that police beat him into confessing and the real killers admitted their involvement in the crime.

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Stephen Patterson

In 2007, Stephen Patterson was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for a murder in Los Angeles, California. He was exonerated in 2024 based on evidence that identified the suspected real gunmen and evidence that he was home at the time of the crime. Patterson is pictured with family. (Photo: Fox 11 News)

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About the Registry

The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989—cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989.

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A Project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society,
University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law

3,506 exonerations since 1989
More than 31,900 Years Lost

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A Project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society, University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law

3,506 exonerations since 1989More than 31,900 Years Lost

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Exonerations before 1989

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About the Registry

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A Project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society,
University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law

3,506 exonerations since 1989
More than 31,900 Years Lost