Innocence Cases: 1973-1983

1. David Keaton Florida Conviction: 1971, Charges Dismissed: 1973
On the basis of mistaken identification and coerced confessions, Keaton was sentenced to death for murdering an off duty deputy sheriff during a robbery. The State Supreme Court reversed the conviction and granted Keaton a new trial because of newly discovered evidence. Charges were dropped and he was released after the actual killer was identified and convicted. (Keaton v. State, 273 So.2d 385 (1973)).
Read "The Stigma is Always There" by Sydney Freedberg in The St. Petersburg Times

1974

2. Samuel A. Poole North Carolina Conviction: 1973, Charges Dismissed: 1974
After being convicted of first degree burglary and given a mandatory death sentence, Poole had his conviction overturned by the N.C. Supreme Court because the case lacked substantial evidence that Poole was the person who broke into the home. (State v. Poole, 203 S.E.2d 786 (N.C. 1974)).

1975

3. Wilbert Lee Florida Conviction: 1963, Pardoned: 1975 (left)
4. Freddie Pitts Florida Conviction: 1963, Pardoned: 1975 (right)
Although no physical evidence linked them to the deaths of two white men, Lee and Pitts' guilty pleas, the testimony of an alleged eyewitness, and incompetent defense counsel led to their convictions. The men were sentenced to death but maintained their innocence. After their convictions, another man confessed to the crime, the eyewitness recanted her accusations, and the state Attorney General admitted that the state had unlawfully suppressed evidence. The men were granted a new trial (Pitts v. State 247 So.2d 53 (Fla. 1971)) but were again convicted and sentenced to death. They were released in 1975 when they received a full pardon from Governor Askew, who stated he was "sufficiently convinced that they were innocent." (Florida Times-Union, 4/23/98).
Read "The Other 13 Survivors..." by Sydney Freedberg in The St. Petersburg Times

5. James Creamer Georgia Conviction: 1973, Charges Dismissed: 1975 *
Creamer was sentenced to death for a murder allegedly committed with six other individuals who were sentenced to life. (Cobb Superior Court, Cobb County, Georgia, Certified record) After an investigation by the Atlanta Constitution, a federal judge declared that the prosecution had withheld and destroyed evidence, a witness admitted she had lied in court, and another man confessed to the crimes (Emmett v. Ricketts, 397 F. Supp 1025 (N.D. Ga. 1975)). The convictions against all seven men were overturned, and charges were later dropped. An appellate judge in a related case stated that all seven individuals in this case were sentenced to life. The Clerk of the Cobb Superior Court has certified that Creamer alone was originally sentenced to death. Creamer was resentenced to life in prison in September 1973.

*6. Christopher Spicer North Carolina Convicted: 1973, Acquitted: 1975
In 1975, a North Carolina jury acquitted Christopher Spicer of the murder of Donnie P. Christian. Spicer was convicted of the crime in September 1973, but the conviction was overturned the following year by the North Carolina Supreme Court. (State v. Spicer, 204 SE 2d 641 (1974)). At Spicer's trial, the State offered the testimony of Charles Pennington, a jailhouse snitch. Although the defense introduced two witnesses who testified that Pennington and Spicer were never cell mates, Pennington testified that Spicer admitted to the crime while he and Spicer shared a cell. After sharing this "confession" with police, Pennington's bond was reduced from $5,000 to $400 and he was released from jail. In overturning Spicer's conviction, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that the trial judge committed reversible error by not allowing defense counsel to cross examine Pennington "to discover whom the witness was indebted for such favors and to ascertain to what extent the favors colored his testimony against Spicer." Id. at 646. Defense counsel was unable to question Pennington as to who was paying the living expenses of Pennington and his wife, neither of whom was working at the time. The court also found that the trial court committed reversible error when it "succeeded in pressuring the defendant and his counsel into withdrawing the request for an appropriate instruction" with regard to how the jury should scrutinize the testimony of another witness for the State, Bertie Brailford. (Id. at 648). At Spicer's retrial, the jury took only 15 minutes to unanimously acquit him. (Wilmington Morning Star, February 21, 1975).

1976

7. Thomas Gladish New Mexico Conviction: 1974, Charges Dismissed: 1976
8. Richard Greer New Mexico Conviction: 1974, Charges Dismissed: 1976
9. Ronald Keine New Mexico Conviction: 1974, Charges Dismissed: 1976 (left)
10. Clarence Smith New Mexico Conviction: 1974, Charges Dismissed: 1976
The four were convicted of murder, kidnapping, sodomy, and rape and were sentenced to death. A subsequent investigation by the Detroit News uncovered lies by the prosecution's star witness, perjured identification given under police pressure, and the use of poorly administered lie detector tests. A state district judge dismissed the original indictments and the men were released after the murder weapon was traced to a drifter from South Carolina who admitted to the killing. (Detroit News Magazine, 1/11/76 and Detroit News, 12/16/75).
Visit Ron Keine's Homepage

1977

11. Delbert Tibbs Florida Conviction: 1974, Charges Dismissed: 1977
Tibbs was sentenced to death for the rape of a sixteen-year-old white girl and the murder of her companion. Tibbs, a black theological student, was convicted by an all-white jury on the testimony of the female victim whose testimony was uncorroborated and inconsistent with her first description of her assailant. The conviction was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court because the verdict was not supported by the weight of the evidence, and the state decided not to retry the case. Tibbs' former prosecutor said that the original investigation had been tainted from the beginning and that if there was a retrial, he would appear as a witness for Tibbs. (Tibbs v. State, 337 So.2d 788 (Fla. 1976)).
Watch "Barred From Life's" interview with Delbert Tibbs
Read "The Other 13 Survivors..." by Sydney Freedberg in The St. Petersburg Times

1978

*12. Earl Charles Georgia Conviction: 1975, Charges Dismissed: 1978
Charles was convicted on two counts of murder and sentenced to death. He was released when evidence was found that substantiated his alibi. (State v. Charles, No. 23,392 (Ga. Super. Ct., 7/5/78)). After an investigation, the district attorney announced that he would not retry the case. Charles won a substantial settlement from city officials for misconduct in the original investigation.
Read "Capital Punishment's Deathly Injustice" by John Boger in The Los Angeles Times

13. Jonathan Treadaway Arizona Conviction: 1975, Acquitted: 1978 *
Treadaway was convicted of sodomy and first degree murder of a six-year-old and sentenced to death. The conviction was overturned, and he was acquitted of all charges at retrial by the jury after 5 pathologists testified that the victim probably died of natural causes and that there was no evidence of sodomy. Members of the jury reported noted that prosecutors had failed to prove that Treadaway was even inside the victims' home. (State v. Treadaway, 568 P.2d 1061 (1977))

1979

14. Gary Beeman Ohio Conviction: 1976, Acquitted: 1979
Beeman was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. He maintained that he was innocent and that Claire Liuzzo, an escaped prisoner who testified as the main prosecution witness at Beeman's first trial, was the actual killer. In 1978 the District Court of Appeals granted Beeman a new trial, finding that Beeman's right to cross-examine Liuzzo had been unfairly restricted at his first trial. On retrial five witnesses testified that they heard Liuzzo confess to the murder and Beeman was acquitted. (Ashtabula Star Beacon, Oct. 5, 1979, p.1; Sept. 29, 1979, p.14).

1980

15. Jerry Banks Georgia Conviction: 1975, Charges Dismissed: 1980
Sentenced to death for two counts of murder. Banks' conviction was overturned on the basis of newly discovered evidence which was allegedly known to the state. (Banks v. State, 218 S.E.2d 851 (Ga. 1975)). Banks committed suicide after his wife divorced him. His estate won a settlement from the county for the benefit of his children.

16. Larry Hicks Indiana Conviction: 1978, Acquitted: 1980
Hicks was convicted on two counts of murder and was sentenced to death. Two weeks prior to his scheduled execution, with the help of a volunteer attorney, Hicks received a stay. The Playboy Foundation became interested in this claim of innocence and supplied funds for a reinvestigation after he passed lie detector tests. At retrial, Hicks was acquitted and released after evidence established Hicks's alibi and showed that eyewitness testimony against him at his original trial was perjured.
Read "The Ordeal of Larry Hicks" by Nile Stanton, a defense attorney for Larry Hicks

1981

17. Charles Ray Giddens Oklahoma Conviction: 1978, Charges Dismissed: 1981 *
Giddens, an 18-year-old black man, was convicted for the murder of a grocery store cashier primarily on the testimony of Johnnie Gray, who claimed he accompanied Giddens to the murder scene. Although Gray was never indicted, Giddens was sentenced to death after an all white jury deliberated for only 15 minutes. Giddens conviction and death sentence reversed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, which found Gray's testimony was unreliable and the evidence against Giddens insufficient. (Giddens v. State, No. F-78-164 (Ct. of Crim. App., 11/17/81)) The charges against Giddens were dropped.

18. Michael Linder South Carolina Conviction: 1979, Acquitted: 1981
Linder was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a highway patrol officer. The prosecution maintained that Linder shot the officer without provocation but Linder insisted that he shot the officer in self-defense after the officer fired six shots at him. At re-trial, previously undisclosed ballistics evidence form a state crime lab confirmed Linder's self-defense theory and Linder was acquitted. (State v. Linder, 278 S.E.2d 335 (S.C. 1981)).

19. Johnny Ross Louisiana Conviction: 1975, Charges Dismissed: 1981 *
Ross, a black 16-year old, was convicted and sentenced to death for the rape of a white woman. Ross confessed after being beaten by the police, and his trial lasted only a few hours. Investigations by the Southern Poverty Law Center sought a new trial for Ross and presented evidence that the Ross' blood type was not the same as the type in the semen found in the victim. When presented with this evidence the New Orleans District Attorney's office released Ross. (State v. Ross, 343 So.2d 722 (La. 1977)).

20. Ernest (Shujaa) Graham California Conviction: 1976, Acquitted: 1981
In November 1973, while incarcerated in a state prison facility, Ernest Graham and co-defendant Eugene Allen were charged with killing a state correctional officer. Graham's first trial resulted in a mistrial when the jury could not agree on a verdict. Graham was sentenced to death in 1976 after his second trial. The Supreme Court of California reversed the conviction because prosecutors improperly used their peremptory challenges to exclude prospective jurors who were black. Graham and Allen, who are both black, "belonged to the group whose members the district attorney had excluded whereas the alleged victim was a member of the group to which [all] of the remaining jurors belong." (People v. Allen, 590 P.2d 30, 34 (Cal.1979) (internal citations omitted)). Graham's third trial ended in another hung jury, and he was acquitted by the jury in his fourth trial. (Phone conversation with now Magistrate-Judge James Larson, October 6, 2003, who represented Graham).
Visit Shujaa Graham's Homepage
See "Shujaa Graham" by Journey of Hope

1982

21. Anibal Jarramillo Florida Conviction: 1981, Charges Dismissed: 1982 *
Jarramillo was sentenced to death for two counts of first degree murder, despite the jury's unanimous recommendation of life imprisonment. On appeal, his conviction was reversed when the Florida Supreme Court ruled the evidence used against him was not legally sufficient to support the conviction. (Jarramillo v. State, 417 So.2d 257 (Fla. 1982)). Evidence suggests that the murderer may have been the victims' roommate.
Read "The Other 13 Survivors..." by Sydney Freedberg in The St. Petersburg Times

*22. Lawyer Johnson Massachusetts Conviction: 1971, Charges Dismissed: 1982
Johnson, a black man was sentenced to death by an all white jury for the murder of a white victim. In 1982, the charges were dropped when a previously silent eyewitness came forward and identified the state's chief witness as the actual killer. In 1983, a bill was filed to obtain compensation for Johnson's wrongful conviction. (Commonwealth v. Johnson, 429 N.E.2d 726 (1982)). Continue to Innocence Cases: 1984 - 1993
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