Conviction review
Convictions that were overturned, and innocence claims courts are ruling on this week. Read what the evidence was and where it broke.
Ron Williamson
Ronald Keith Williamson (February 3, 1953 – December 4, 2004) was an American former minor league baseball catcher and pitcher, who was one of two men wrongly convicted in 1988 in Oklahoma for the rape and murder of Debra Sue "Debbie" Carter. His former friend Dennis Fritz was sentenced to life imprisonment, while Williamson was sentenced to death. Both were released 11 years later when DNA evidence proved their…
1975 · OklahomaOverturned
Glynn Simmons
Glynn Ray Simmons (1953 – October 2026) was an American man who was wrongfully convicted in the state of Oklahoma in 1975 of the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers. After having been exonerated, he was released from prison in 2023 at the age of 70 after having been imprisoned for 48 years. His imprisonment after wrongful conviction is believed to be the longest in U.S. history.
2002 · OklahomaExonerated 2002Arvin McGee
In 1989, Arvin McGee was wrongly convicted of a rape he did not commit in Oklahoma. He was later exonerated in 2002.
1997 · OklahomaExonerated 1997Timothy Durham
In 1993, Timothy Durham was wrongly convicted of a rape he did not commit in Oklahoma. He was later exonerated in 1997.
2012 · OklahomaExonerated 2012Sedrick Courtney
In 1996, Sedrick Courtney was wrongfully convicted of an armed robbery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and subsequently spent 15 years in prison.
1999 · OklahomaExonerated 1999Ron Williamson
In 1988, Ron Williamson was wrongfully convicted of murder. He was sent to death row and spent 11 years in prison before being exonerated.
2001 · OklahomaExonerated 2001Jeffrey Pierce
In 1986, Jeffrey Pierce was wrongly convicted of rape and robbery he did not commit in Oklahoma. He was later exonerated in 2001.
2017 · OklahomaExonerated 2017Robert Miller
After serving nearly 10 years on death row for crimes he didn’t commit, Robert Miller was proven innocent and released in 1998.
2007 · OklahomaExonerated 2007Curtis McCarty
Curtis Edward McCarty was exonerated in 2007 after serving 21 years — including 19 years on death row — for a 1982 murder he didn’t commit.
1999 · OklahomaExonerated 1999Dennis Fritz
Dennis Fritz, along with co-defendant Ron Williamson, was wrongly convicted in 1988, in Oklahoma, of the murder of Debra Sue Carter.
2014 · OklahomaExonerated 2014Michelle Murphy
In 2014, Michelle Murphy was exonerated of the murder of her 15-month-old son in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She had served 20 years in prison.
1991 · OklahomaExonerated 2018Johnny Tall Bear
In 1992, Johnny Tall Bear was wrongly convicted of a murder he did not commit in Oklahoma. He was later exonerated in 2018.
2023 · OklahomaExonerated 2023Perry Lott
In 2023, Perry Lott was exonerated by DNA testing of the sexual assault of a woman in 1987 in Ada, Oklahoma. He had served more than 30 years in prison.