Innocence

With the death penalty we will always risk executing an innocent person.

Since reinstatement of the death penalty in the U.S., 142 innocent men and women have been freed from death row. In California, hundreds of innocent people have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes, three were sentenced to death. In a Texas case, Cameron Todd Willingham was executed for a fire that killed his three children, even though experts now agree the fire was an accident and he was innocent.

Stories of Innocence

• Carlos DeLuna Mr. DeLuna was executed in Texas in 1989, but a 2012 report from Columbia Law School shows he was innocent.
• Maurice Caldwell In December 2011, Maurice Caldwell was released after 21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
• Obie Anthony At 19, Mr. Anthony faced the death penalty for a crime that he did not commit. Read more about his exoneration and release, and why he supports SAFE California
• Franky Carrillo Mr. Carrillo was sentenced to prison at the age of 16 for a murder he did not commit and was found innocent after spending 20 years behind bars.
• Cameron Todd Willingham Mr. Willingham was executed in Texas for a fire that killed his three children, even though experts now agree the fire was an accident and he was innocent.
• Gloria Killian Ms. Killian spent 18 years in prison for a murder she did not commit and narrowly escaped execution.
• Ronnie Sandoval Ronnie's son, Arthur Carmona, was wrongfully convicted and sent time in prison for a crime he did not commit. Soon after his release from prison, he was murdered.