Online Newsletter

RICARDO "RICK" WALKER

In 1991, Rick Walker of Santa Clara County, CA was convicted of murder, thanks to an amoral trial prosecutor willing to trade truth for a deal with a liar and a near-vegetative defense attorney. Thanks to a dogged defense attorney and an honest prosecutor, Rick has been freed and declared factually innocent.

EDDIE LOWERY

In 1981, Eddie Lowery was a young soldier stationed at Ft. Riley, Kansas. Interrogated for hours, he finally confessed to raping a 74-year-old woman. Eddie served 10 years of a sentence of 11 years to life and was released on parole. Now, 21 years later, Eddie has been cleared by DNA.

Rick Walker and his mother

KENNTH WYNIEMKO

Kenneth Wyniemko of Mt. Clemons, Michigan served 9 years of a 60 year sentence for rape and robbery before he was cleared by DNA testing. He has been freed, at last. Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga, moved to tears, declared, "I want people to know this man is absolutely innocent."

CHRISTOPHER CONOVER

Christopher Conover, 48, of Towson, Maryland, spent 18 years behind bars for two murders. He has been freed following DNA tests that prove two hairs found at the crime scene and used against him at trial weren't his after all.

DENNIS HALSTEAD, JOHN KOGUT AND JOHN RESTIVO

In 1984, a coerced false confession and perjured jailhouse snitch testimony sent Dennis Halstead, John Kogut and John Restivo to prison for 30 years for the rape and murder of a Long Island, NY teenager. DNA tests in the early 1990's excluded them, but was rejected as "unreliable" by the court. New DNA tests not only excluded them, but identified the assailant. The state still won't admit they are innocent, but they have been set free.

DANA HOLLAND

Dana Holland, 35, was freed after a Cook County judge found him not guilty in a retrial on the 1993 attempted murder and armed robbery of a woman in Chicago. Holland had been linked to that crime by a wallet found at the scene that had belonged to another woman, a rape victim. Holland was originally convicted of that rape, but DNA evidence exonerated him of it earlier this year. He had been sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for both crimes and served 10 years. The victim of the attempted murder testified against Holland again at his retrial, identifying him in court.

MICHAEL EVANS AND PAUL TERRY

More than a quarter-century after they were sent to prison for one of the most sensational crimes of the 1970s, two Chicago men, Michael Evans and Paul Terry, walked free into the arms of tearful relatives and a dramatically different world after prosecutors agreed they should have a new trial. Prosecutors will retry them, although DNA has excluded them.

HALF A LOAF IN TWO DEATH PENALTY CASES

JEROME CAMPBELL

On June 26, 2003, the Ohio Supreme Court denied without comment Jerome Campbell's request for a new trial based on DNA findings. On June 27, 2003, Gov. Taft granted Jerome clemency, sparing him execution but keeping him in prison for life without possibility of parole.

KEVIN WIGGINS

On June 25, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Kevin Wiggins death sentence but reinstated his murder conviction.

And the Junk Goes On

More Forensic Fraud ~ More Business as Usual