Conviction review
Convictions that were overturned, and innocence claims courts are ruling on this week. Read what the evidence was and where it broke.
Kevin Strickland
Kevin Bernard Strickland (born June 7, 1959) is an American man who, in 1979, was wrongfully convicted, by an all-white jury, of killing three people in Kansas City, Missouri. No physical evidence linked him to the crime scene and the only alleged witness later recanted her testimony that Strickland was involved, stating that she had been coerced by police. Strickland was given a life sentence.
2001 · MissouriOverturned
Ryan W. Ferguson
Ryan W. Ferguson (born October 19, 1984) is an American man who spent nearly 10 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of a 2001 murder in his hometown of Columbia, Missouri. At the time of the murder, Ferguson was a 17-year-old high-school student. Kent Heitholt was found beaten and strangled shortly after 2:00 a.m.
1990 · MissouriOverturnedMark Woodworth
Mark Woodworth is an American man from Livingston County, Missouri, who was convicted twice for a 1990 home invasion murder of his family's farming partners, the Robertsons., which occurred when he was 16 years old. Woodworth spent twenty years in prison for the crime he did not do, but was finally freed and exonerated, after the ballistic evidence used against him was ruled to be tainted and was barred from being…
1987 · MissouriOverturnedJohnny Lee Wilson case
The Johnny Lee Wilson case refers to the murder of 79-year-old Pauline Martz of Aurora, Missouri in 1986 that resulted in the wrongful imprisonment of a 20-year-old man named Johnny Lee Wilson. He had confessed to the murder days after it occurred. As a result of a guilty plea, Wilson did not receive a trial by a jury, and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1987.
1996 · MissouriExonerated 1996Steven Toney
In 1983, Steven Toney was wrongly convicted of a rape he did not commit in Missouri. He was later exonerated in 1996.
Year unknown · MissouriInnocence Project caseMarcellus Williams
On Sept. 24, 2024, Missouri executed Marcellus Williams, despite longstanding claims of innocence and against the wishes of the victim’s family.
2002 · MissouriExonerated 2002Larry Johnson
Larry Johnson was wrongly convicted of rape in St. Louis, Missouri in January 1984. He was exonerated by DNA testing in 2002.
2007 · MissouriExonerated 2007Antonio Beaver
After Antonio Beaver served more than 10 years for a carjacking he didn’t commit, DNA tests proved his innocence.
2013 · MissouriExonerated 2013George Allen
George Allen Jr. was exonerated in 2013, in St. Louis, Missouri, after serving over 30 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
2009 · MissouriExonerated 2009Joshua Kezer
In 2009, Joshua Kezer was exonerated of a 1992 murder in Scott County, Missouri based on the discovery of new evidence of innocence.
2025 · Supreme Court of MissouriIn courtIn re: Circuit Attorney, 22nd Judicial Circuit ex rel. Christopher Dunn
Supreme Court of Missouri issued an opinion on April 15, 2025 that deals with an innocence claim. From the opinion: “…not sentenced to death on the basis of newly discovered evidence of actual innocence. 617 S.W.3d at 444…”
2024 · MissouriExonerated 2024Sandra Hemme
In 2024, Sandra Hemme was exonerated of a 1980 murder in Missouri. She had served more time than any other exonerated woman in U.S. history.
2003 · MissouriExonerated 2003Lonnie Erby
On Aug. 25, 2003, Lonnie Erby became the 136th person in the United States to be exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing.