The National Registry of Exonerations

A Project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society,
University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law

3,204 exonerations since 1989
More than 27,200 Years Lost

James Irons

In 1996, James Irons, Vincent Ellerbe, and Thomas Malik were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a subway token-booth attendant. They were exonerated on July 15, 2022, after a re-investigation of their convictions uncovered new evidence of innocence, including evidence that they falsely confessed to the crime.(James Irons holds his great-nephew Michale after his conviction was overturned. Photo: Report Door)

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Steven Lopez

Steven Lopez pled guilty to robbery in 1991 as one of the defendants in the Central Park Jogger case. His co-defendants were exonerated in 2002. Twenty years later, Lopez was exonerated after a review of his conviction showed it was contaminated by false confessions and misleading forensic evidence. (Photo: Reuters)

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Arthur Almendarez

Arthur Almendarez, John Galvan and Francisco Nanez were sentenced to life in prison for setting a fire in Chicago, Illinois that killed two people and injured three others in 1986. They were exonerated in 2022 based on evidence that Chicago police physically assaulted them until they falsely confessed.(Photo: Ray Abercrombie for the Innocence Project)

John Galvan

Francisco Nanez

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About the Registry

The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989—cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989.

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We welcome new information from any source about exonerations already on our list and about cases not in the Registry that might be exonerations.

A Project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society,
University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law

3,204 exonerations since 1989
More than 27,200 Years Lost

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Exonerations before 1989

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Exonerations before 1989

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About the Registry

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A Project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society, University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law

3,204 exonerations since 1989More than 27,200 Years Lost

Exoneration News

Exonerations before 1989

View our Graphs

About the Registry

Contact Us

A Project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society,
University of Michigan Law School & Michigan State University College of Law

3,204 exonerations since 1989
More than 27,200 Years Lost