Since 1973 at least 203 people sentenced to death in the United States have later been exonerated, about one for every eight executed. Behind many cases are manipulated evidence: overstated forensic results, withheld disclosures, and informants trading testimony for leniency. The episode follows Illinois, which counted its errors and stopped executing, the FBI hair-evidence review, and the cases of Cameron Todd Willingham, Richard Glossip and Randall Dale Adams.
Who's who
- George RyanIllinois governor who declared an execution moratorium and emptied death row
- Fred ZainWest Virginia serologist whose testimony was declared unreliable
- Joyce GilchristOklahoma City police chemist whose work contributed to 23 death sentences
- Cameron Todd WillinghamExecuted in Texas in 2004 for an arson fire; maintained his innocence
- Richard GlossipOklahoma man whose conviction was vacated by the Supreme Court in 2025
- Randall Dale AdamsFreed after The Thin Blue Line exposed a withheld statement
- Pat QuinnIllinois governor who signed abolition in 2011
Where it happens
- Illinois+3 more episodesCounted its errors, imposed a moratorium, then abolished the penalty
- Dallas, Texas+2 more episodesWhere Officer Wood was killed in 1976
- Corsicana, TexasSite of the 1991 fire in the Willingham case
- Oklahoma City, OklahomaForensic chemist's work and Glossip's case
Timeline
- January 31, 2000Illinois governor declares an execution moratorium
- 10 and January 11, 2003Ryan pardons four men and commutes 167 sentences
- February 17, 2004Cameron Todd Willingham executed
- March 9, 2011Illinois abolition signed, effective July 1, 2011
- April 20, 2015FBI hair-analysis findings announced
- February 25, 2025Supreme Court orders a new trial for Glossip
Still debated
What counts as an exoneration is argued, since critics say lists include reversals for legal error. Willingham's arson findings are rejected by leading fire scientists, though no official body has declared him innocent. Glossip's conviction was vacated for a constitutional violation, not innocence, and the four percent figure is an estimate.