Natl. Registry of Exonerations

Innocent Black people are seven times more likely than white people to be falsely convicted of serious crimes, according to a report released today by the National Registry of Exonerations. Read the report here: bit.ly/RaceReportNRE

In 1998, Sherman Townsend was convicted of first-degree burglary in Minneapolis. He was #exonerated through a pardon in 2025, after the man who falsely ID'ed Townsend as the burglar recanted his testimony and claimed responsibility for the crime. More: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14504

In 2017, Taylor Cadle pled guilty in Polk County, Fla., to providing false information to law enforcement. She was #exonerated that same year, after evidence showed that her adoptive father had sexually abused her, as she had initially claimed. More: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14433

In 1989, Brian Kendall was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison for the fatal shooting of a video arcade clerk. He was #exonerated in 2025 based on a reinvestigation by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Conviction Review Unit. More: ow.ly/ZQss50WqkoB

In 2012, Stanley Reynolds Jr. was sentenced to five years to life in prison in Vermont after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting his 29-year-old niece. Granted a new trial, his case was #dismissed in 2021. More: ow.ly/FriO50WoPsc

We have now passed 3,700 cases documented within the National Registry of Exonerations database. Each story is searchable and reveals a traumatic chapter in an #innocent individual's life. The database first went online in 2012. exonerationregistry.org

In 2001, Kevin Jackson was sentenced to 45 years in prison for a shooting that killed one man and wounded another in Chicago. He was #exonerated in 2025 based on a reconstruction of the crime scene that contradicted the prosecution's case. Read more: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14350

In 2021, Ruel Hamilton, a real estate developer, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he was convicted of bribery in federal court in Dallas. He was granted a new trial and #acquitted in 2025 when a witness recanted. More: ow.ly/QtxJ50Wjrui

In 2023, Ahmad Gatlin was convicted of attempted murder in a shooting in Knoxville, Tenn. Gatlin was #exonerated in 2025 after forensic analysis of his cellphone records showed he was not at the location of the shooting. More: ow.ly/pbpO50WhQyy

This outstanding piece of journalism from ow.ly/1G6s50WfQMs -- a site that includes content from the three biggest papers in #Alabama -- examines how the state handles #forensic evidence in criminal cases. Data from NRE is cited in the piece. ow.ly/gZBw50WfQMt

In 1999, Antonio McDowell was sentenced to 103 years in prison for a murder in Chicago, Illinois. He was #exonerated in 2025 based on evidence that corrupt Chicago police Detective Reynaldo Guevara had framed him. Read more: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14337

In 2000, Corey Brock was sentenced to seven to 32 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault, armed robbery, and a weapons charge in Oakland County, Michigan. He was #exonerated in May 2025 on the strength of DNA testing results. More: ow.ly/hH5c50WcBL6

NRE Senior Researcher Maurice Possley was an invited presenter last week in Ireland at SARMAC -- the annual conference of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. He presented on NRE's work documenting mistaken witness identification and false accusation cases.

Chad Zurlo, of Fairbanks, Alaska, was convicted of murder in 2016 and sentenced to 30 years in prison. His conviction was thrown out in 2022 because of prosecutorial misconduct, and then #dismissed in 2025 after retrials produced hung juries. More: ow.ly/hAqG50W9MWc

In 2013, Kenneth Bullock was sentenced to 32 to 72 years in prison for a carjacking at gunpoint in Detroit. He was #exonerated in May 2025 after the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office Conviction Integrity Unit identified the true perpetrator. More: ow.ly/nGPv50W87A5

In 2003, Sandeep "Sonny" Bharadia was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a burglary and sexual assault in Thunderbolt, Georgia. He was #exonerated in 2025 after DNA testing identified his co-defendant as the true perpetrator. Read more: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14225

In 2016, Robert Kaiser was convicted of murder in the death of his infant son in Stearns County, Minnesota. He was granted a new trial in 2025 and #acquitted, after the defense presented evidence that there was no evidence of abuse. Read more: ow.ly/zVLw50W3Pag

In 2019, Jerry Sims Jr. was convicted of a murder and related arson in East Cleveland, Ohio. He was #exonerated in 2025, after the state's main witness said she falsely testified because of her relationship with a police officer working the case. More: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14145

In 1994, Humberto Duran was convicted of murder and attempted murder in Los Angeles County, California. He was exonerated in 2024 and received a finding of actual innocence in 2025 after the state's eyewitness recanted her testimony. Read more: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14124

In 2019, Travis Cobb was sentenced to 25 years in prison for aggravated robbery in San Antonio, Texas. He was #exonerated in 2025 based on #DNA evidence that led to the identification of the real criminal. Read more: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14171

In 2012, James Garner was sentenced to 36 years in prison in Denver for a shooting in a bar that injured two men. He was #exonerated in 2025 based on new evidence and testimony that cast doubt on the identifications of Garner by the victims. Read more: exonerationregistry.org/cases/14151