List of reversed death sentences
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List of people sentenced to death who were either exonerated, pardoned, or had their death sentences commuted:
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United Kingdom
- Timothy Evans, hanged in England on March 9, 1950, pardoned posthumously in 1966
United States
Illinois
- January 11, 2003: Governor George Ryan commutes the sentences of all 156 death row inmates in the state of Illinois following a moratorium
- See Also
- State of Illinois (Jan 31, 2000). Governor Ryan Declares Moratorium On Executions, Will Appoint Commission To Review Capital Punishment System (http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=3&RecNum=359). Press Release.
- Armstrong, Ken and Parsons, Christi (Jan 22, 2000). Half of state's death-penalty cases reversed: A variety of errors found in 130 trials (http://www.truthinjustice.org/halfcleared.htm). Chicago Tribune, online.
Florida
- Krishna Maharaj, convicted and sentenced to death in Florida in 1987, sentence commuted in 2003.
Ohio
- Kenneth T. Richey, convicted 1987, overturned by 6th Circuit Court of Appeals 2005
- Reference Drew, James (Jan 26, 2005). Death penalty and conviction of Briton tossed; blaze killed Columbus Grove girl in 1986 (http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050126/NEWS02/501260377). Toledoblade.com, online.
- Reference Richey vs. Mitchell (http://pacer.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/05a0039p-06.pdf). No. 01-3477, 2005 (6th Cir. Jan 25, 2005). Retrieved 2005-02-26.
Other venues
- Sirhan Sirhan, killer of Robert Kennedy
- Charles Manson
- Shareef Cousin, a 16-year-old American boy, became the youngest person on death row in the USA. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death after a witness told the jury she was “absolutely positive” that she had seen Cousin murder the victim. Later, Cousin's lawyer found the witness's initial police statement, in which she said she couldn't describe the killer, because it was dark and she was not wearing contact lenses. Cousin's conviction was reversed on appeal -- the 76th American to have a death sentence reversed since 1977.[1] (http://www.amnesty.ca/usa/racism.php)
Canada
- Between 1879 and 1960, Canada commuted 438 death sentences.[2] (http://www.amnesty.ca/deathpenalty/canada.php)
- In all but exceptional cases, Canada will not extradite accused murderers unless the death sentence will not be imposed, or if imposed, not carried out. This diplomatic commutation arrangement stems from the 2001 case of Canada vs. Sebastian Burns.