The National
Registry of
Exonerations
Explore data and read stories about exonerations in the United States.
Exonerations by State
Newly Published Exonerations
On September 27, 1981, two teenagers collecting firewood stumbled upon the decomposed remains of Thomas Kinser in a sinkhole in the woods near State College, Pennsylvania. Kinser had been shot in the…
On the evening of April 10, 1950, 46-year-old Robert Snead Williams, Jr. was driving through Washington, D.C. on his way home from work when he was pulled over near American University by a police…
At about 8 p.m. on December 15, 1980, following a stakeout, several police officers broke down the door of an apartment at 35-10 150th Street, in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York. They…
On May 26, 2018, Humboldt County sheriff’s deputies armed with a search warrant showed up at the residence of 26-year-old Patience Frazier where she lived with her two children in Winnemucca, Nevada…
At about 6:30 p.m. on September 19, 2001, 25-year-old Raymond Baker, a member of the Dirty Old Men (DOM) street gang, was fatally shot near the intersection of Figueroa Street and 41 st Place in Los…
On the morning of October 18, 1911, Allison MacFarland and his 6-year-old son returned to their home in Newark, New Jersey, after spending a night in New York City. Upon entering the house, they…
Shortly after 6 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, 2010, 67-year-old Edward “Slick” Gibbons was attacked as he went to his garage in Manning, South Carolina. Gibbons told police that three Black men wearing…
Just after 1 a.m. on June 22, 2008, 26-year-old Nathaniel Crawford was shot in the back and abdomen outside the University City Townhouses in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died a short while later…
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
Injustice WatchFake Science, Faulty Methods, Misleading testimony (8/14/2025)
AFRO NewsMaryland public defender boosts exoneration efforts with 2nd innocence clinic at Maryland Carey School of Law (8/1/25)
WBURAdvocates renew push to raise compensation cap for those wrongfully convicted (8/1/25)