The National Registry of Exonerations

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The National Registry of Exonerations

We track, research, and report on all known US exonerations. Every story counts.

The National Registry of Exonerations fuels criminal legal system reform by documenting and analyzing wrongful convictions and their underlying causes. We collect, analyze, and disseminate information about all known exonerations of innocent criminal defendants in the United States, from 1989 to the present. We publish their stories and we provide accessible, searchable online statistical data abo

ut their cases. We also conduct empirical studies of the process of exoneration and of factors that lead to the underlying wrongful convictions. We study false convictions—their frequency, distribution, causes, costs, and consequences—in order to educate policy makers and the general public about convictions of innocent defendants. Our primary goal is to reform the criminal justice system and reduce, if not eliminate, these tragic errors in the future. We also aim to make police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges more sensitive to the problem of wrongful convictions and more willing to reconsider the guilt of already-convicted defendants when new evidence of innocence comes to light.

01/23/2026

In 1998, Messiah Johnson was sentenced to 132 years in prison for robbery and related convictions. Johnson, of Norfolk, Virginia, was pardoned in 2021, after another man came forward and said he was one of the robbers and Johnson was not involved in the crime.

To read the full history of this case, visit https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/19223. You can also find more than 3,750 additional case histories, which can be accessed through the Explore Exonerations tool, on our home page at exonerationregistry.org.

01/17/2026

In 1996, Elwood Jones was sentenced to death for the murder of a hotel guest in Blue Ash, Ohio. He was in 2025 based on evidence that had been withheld by the prosecution that pointed to other suspects and contradicted the prosecution's forensic evidence.

You can read the full case history of this exoneration at: https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/19211. You can also use the Explore Exonerations tool on our home page, exonerationregistry.org, to browse through and learn more about more than 3,750 other exonerations since 1989.

01/12/2026

In 1988, David Turner received a sentence of life in prison without parole after being convicted of murder in Philadelphia. He was and released from prison in 2025 after the state's only eyewitness recanted her testimony and Turner's attorneys found additional evidence that undermined her credibility.

You can read David Turner's full case history at: https://ow.ly/QLWL50XVSSX. You can also access more than 3,750 other wrongful conviction cases at our Web site, exonerationregistry.org.

01/07/2026

In 1983, Richard Luna was sentenced to six years in prison for a sexual assault in Ventura County, California. He was exonerated in 2025 when DNA testing on the biological evidence in the case excluded him and implicated another man as the actual perpetrator.

You can read the full case history from the NRE database at: https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/19213. Also, visit us at exonerationregistry.org and use the Explore Exonerations tool to search through the more than 3,750 additional cases detailed in our files.

01/04/2026

In 1994, James Pugh was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a young mother in a suburb of Buffalo, New York. He was in 2025, after DNA testing excluded him as a contributor to genetic material at the crime scene and a judge ruled that the state had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence.

You can read his entire case history at: https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/19166. That is part of our full database, which can be found at exonerationgregistry.org, where you can use the Explore Exonerations tool to search through the more than 3,750 cases documented by the NRE.

12/31/2025

This month, the Registry marked another powerful milestone. Individual exonerees have collectively lost over 35,000 years to wrongful imprisonment. Our longest incarceration list, which includes all exonerees who served 25 years or more, now includes over 330 names. Visit exonerationregistry.org for more information.

12/25/2025

In 2019, Christopher Ellis was sentenced to six years in prison for battery and resisting arrest in Chicago. He was in 2025 after his attorneys presented evidence that the officers involved in the arrest exhibited a pattern of misconduct and an eyewitness said that Ellis had not resisted arrest or harmed the officers.

You can read the full case history of this exoneration at: https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/19141. You can also visit our home page, exonerationregistry.org, and use the Explore Exonerations tool to peruse the more than 3,750 other cases in our database.

12/19/2025

In 1992, Danny Davis was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the robbery and murder of a 63-year-old woman in Cairo, Illinois. He was in 2025 after DNA testing of scrapings from the victim's fingernails identified male DNA that was not his and was not that of his co-defendants.

You can read the full case history behind Danny's wrongful conviction at https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/19085. You can also visit our home page at exonerationregistry.org and use the Explore Exonerations tool to search through the more than 3,750 other exonerations recorded in our database.

12/13/2025

In 1990, Eric Wright was sentenced to 150 years in prison for the robbery and shooting of two people at a Circle K store in Memphis, Tenn. He was in 2025 after fingerprints from the scene of the crime were identified as those of a convicted robber.

You can read the full case history behind Wright's wrongful conviction at https://ow.ly/cNBL50XIK0l. You can also visit our home page at exonerationregistry.org and use the Explore Exonerations tool to check out the more than 3,750 other cases documented in our database.

12/05/2025

In 1998, Rickey "Fuquan" McGee was sentenced to life in prison in Boston for the robbery and murder of a convenience store clerk. He was exonerated in 2025 based on evidence that police and prosecutors withheld evidence, including false police reports, and that police improperly protected a witness under investigation for fraud.

You can read the full case history behind this exoneration at: https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/19050. Also, visit our NRE home page at exonerationregistry.org and use the Explore Exonerations tool to search through the more than 3,750 other cases documented in our database.

12/02/2025

We're entering the closing hours of 2025. Still time to make a gift to support NRE by visition our home page, exonerationregistry.org. The Registry’s data and stories power the Innocence Movement, and your donations help power the Registry. We’ve published more than 120 individual exonerations so far this year. Our research is trusted and accepted across the criminal-legal system. Prosecutors, defense attorneys, journalists, judges, policy makers, exonerees and the public rely on the Registry for its accuracy, transparency, and credibility. We maintain and enhance the database daily, and put every donated penny to work.

12/01/2025

is just a day away. Help us help keep the delivery of on track in our legal system with a donation to NRE. To donate, visit our home page at exonerationregistry.org and use the button in the upper right corner.

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