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Alfred Dreyfus (1859–1935) -

Alfred Dreyfus, a French artillery officer of Jewish descent, was wrongly convicted for treason in 1894. Sentenced to life imprisonment for communicating French military secrets to the German embassy in Paris, Dreyfus was imprisoned on Devil's Island, where he spent five years. He was eventually proven innocent with the assistance of novelist and playwright Émile Zola. Dreyfus was ultimately exonerated in what became known as the Dreyfus affair. It remains one of the most notable examples of a complex miscarriage of justice and anti-Semitism in the Francophone world.

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Rubin Carter (1937–2014) -

Boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter spent 20 years in prison wrongly convicted of murder in 1966 before being released following a petition of habeas corpus. His co-accused, John Artis, was also falsely jailed. Carter's story inspired the 1975 Bob Dylan song 'Hurricane' and the 1999 film 'The Hurricane' (with Denzel Washington playing Carter).

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Scottsboro Boys -

Following an altercation with a group of white teens in Alabama in 1931, nine black teenagers were accused of sexual assault by two women. Sent for trial in Scottsboro, all were convicted, with the death sentence handed down on eight of the men. However, the case was sent to the US Supreme Court on appeal. Eventually nearly all were exonerated. On November 21, 2013, Alabama's parole board voted to grant posthumous pardons to the three Scottsboro Boys who had not been pardoned or had their convictions overturned. Pictured are the defendants protected from a lynch mob by members of the National Guard.

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Sam Sheppard (1923–1970) -

In 1954, neurosurgeon Dr. Samuel Sheppard was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was exonerated in 1966 after a retrial. The likeliest suspect was Richard Eberling, an occasional handyman and window washer at the Sheppard home. The case is said to have inspired the 1960's television series 'The Fugitive' and the 1993 film of the same name. Sheppard is pictured sitting at a courtroom table wearing a neck brace and sunglasses, while on trial for murder in 1954.

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Amanda Knox -

In one of the most controversial trials in recent history, Amanda Knox was handed down a 26-year prison sentence for the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. Her co-accused, Raffaele Sollecito, was sentenced to 25 years in jail. In 2011, after a new trial, both were released. The following year the Supreme Court of Cassation overturned the previous guilty verdicts, definitively ending the case. Rudy Guede was found guilty of Meredith Kercher's  murder and is currently serving a 16-year sentence.

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Central Park Five -

In April 1989, five black and Latino youths were accused of sexually assaulting a woman in New York's Central Park. Convicted of the offense, they all served sentences ranging from six to 12 years before later having their charges vacated after a prison inmate confessed to the crime. In what became known as the Central Park jogger case, the event became a prominent example of racial profiling, discrimination, and inequality in the legal system and the media, exemplified by the full-page advertisement taken out by Donald Trump in the May 1, 198, issue of the New York Daily News.

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Nicola Sacco (1891–1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1888–1927) -

Italian immigrant anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were controversially accused of killing two men in Braintree, Massachusetts, on April 15, 1920. Despite a convicted murderer later confessing to have taken part in the crime (and failing to point the finger at the two men), Sacco and Vanzetti went to the electric chair in 1927. Numerous people had protested the men's innocence; many others felt they had been convicted for their anarchist beliefs. On August 23, 1977, the 50th anniversary of the executions, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued a proclamation that Sacco and Vanzetti had been unfairly tried and convicted. Nicola Sacco (right) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are pictured arriving at court.

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Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven -

The Guildford Four—Paul Hill, Gerald Conlon, Patrick Armstrong, and Carole Richardson—were wrongly convicted of the October 1974 bombing of the Horse and Groom pub in Guildford, England, which was targeted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). The blast killed five people. A further seven individuals—the Maguire Seven—were wrongly convicted of handling explosives found during the investigation into the bombings. Both groups' convictions were eventually declared "unsafe and unsatisfactory" and reversed in 1989 and 1991, respectively, after they had served up to 15–16 years in prison.

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Birmingham Six -

Similarly, in November 1974 two pubs were bombed in Birmingham, England, resulting in 21 deaths. The IRA was widely blamed for the atrocity. Six Irishmen were later arrested and convicted for the attacks. After serving 16 years behind bars, their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory, and quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991. Pictured outside the Old Bailey following their release from the court in London is politician Chris Mullin, who campaigned for their release, with from to left: John Walker, Patrick Hill, Hugh Callaghan, Richard McIlkenny, Gerry Hunter, and William Power.

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Lindy Chamberlain -

In one of Australia's most publicized murder trials, Lindy Chamberlain was accused of killing her nine-week-old daughter, Azaria, while camping at Ayers Rock (better known today as Uluru) in 1980. After being convicted in 1982 and imprisoned for three years, Chamberlain, along with her co-accused husband Michael, was released on remission after new evidence suggested that a dingo (wild dog) had snatched the infant from the tent in which she was sleeping. Both were officially pardoned in 1987. The Chamberlains divorced in 1991. Michael Chamberlain died in 2017. Pictured: Michael and Lindy Chamberlain hold a photograph of their baby daughter, Azaria Chamberlain, on the steps of the Alice Springs Courthouse.

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Timothy Evans (1924–1950) -

Welshman Timothy Evans was hung on March 9, 1950 after being found guilty of murdering his wife and infant daughter at their residence at 10 Rillington Place in London. The real killer turned out to be Evans' downstairs neighbor, John Christie, who was the chief prosecution witness. Christie was found to be a serial killer who had murdered several other women in the same house. He also went to the gallows. Evans was eventually granted a posthumous pardon.

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Derek Bentley (1933–1953) -

While carrying out a burglary in Croydon, South London, in November 1952, Derek Bentley, 19, and his 16-year-old accomplice Christopher Craig, were spotted by police. Craig was armed and shot dead one of the officers. Though he was not the killer, it was Bentley who was hung because Craig, being under 18, could not be executed. The case became a cause célèbre, and led to a 45-year-long campaign to win Derek Bentley a posthumous pardon, which was granted in 1993. His conviction for murder was quashed in 1998.

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Ruth Ellis (1926–1955) -

Ruth Ellis never denied shooting dead her abusive lover, David Blakely, on April 10, 1955. Admitting her guilt in court, she was convicted and later hung for the crime. Thousands of people signed petitions protesting her punishment, the argument being that she was provoked into pulling the trigger. Ellis was the last woman to be hung in Great Britain and her case increased the debate about criminal justice and the death penalty. Ellis was never pardoned for the murder, but the episode, together with that of Timothy Evans and Dereck Bentley, paved the way for the abolition in 1965 of the death penalty in England, Scotland, and Wales. Northern Ireland outlawed capital punishment in 1973.

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Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (1887–1933) -

It remains one of Hollywood's most infamous celebrity scandals: the 1921 arrest of silent film star Rosco "Fatty" Arbuckle on sexual assault and manslaughter charges following the death of an actress at a party he helped organize. Arbuckle endured three highly publicized trials before finally being acquitted of all charges, with the jury even handing him a formal written statement of apology. But his career and reputation was in shatters and he died on June 29, 1933 of a heart attack, aged 46. Arbuckle, seated second from right, is seen at one of his trials surrounded by his legal team.

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Groveland Four -

In 1949, four young African-American men—Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd, and Walter Irvin—were falsely accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in Lake County, Florida. Thomas was later fatally shot by police, but the three surviving defendants were convicted by an all-white jury. Greenlee was sentenced to life; the other two were sentenced to death. In 1951, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial. While in custody, Irving and Shepherd were shot, allegedly trying to escape. Shepherd died instantly. Irving eventually had his death sentenced commuted. But both he and Greenlee served time. On November 22, 2021, a judge granted a Florida state motion to posthumously exonerate the men. Pictured is the Lake County Courthouse, in Tavares, Florida. Image: Florida Memory Project

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Claus von Bülow (1926–2019) -

Socialite lawyer Claus von Bülow was convicted in 1982 of attempting to murder his wife. Sentenced to 30 years in prison, he served three before being acquitted at a second trial.

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Stefan Kiszko -

Convicted in 1976 of the sexual assault and murder of an 11-year-old girl the previous year, Stefan Kiszko spent 16 years in prison before he was released in 1992. An intellectually challenged individual, Kiszko was declared innocent of the crime after it emerged that vital evidence that could have cleared him of the killing was suppressed by members of the investigating team. In 2006, a DNA match led to the real killer being arrested and eventually jailed for the murder.

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Judith Ward -

Judith Ward spent over 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted for the February 1974 bombing of a coach carrying off-duty British soldiers and their family members on the M62 freeway in England. The IRA admitted responsibility for the attack, which killed 12 people. The actual perpetrator or perpetrators of the M62 coach bombing were never arrested or convicted.

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Trial of the Six -

Six officials held responsible for the Greek military defeat in Asia Minor in 1922 were summarily executed for high treason. In 2010, Greek courts reversed the convictions. Pictured in court are the six most senior members of the overthrown administration. Only General Xenophon Stratigos (third form left) escaped with his life, instead being handed down a life sentence. Image: Bibliothèque Nationale de France

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Stephen Downing -

In 1973, 17-year-old Stephen Downing was convicted of murdering a 32-year-old woman in Bakewell, England. Downing, who had a reading age of 11, was made to sign a written confession drawn up by police. He subsequently spent 27 years in prison before being released in 2001. His conviction was overturned in 2002. The case is thought to be the longest miscarriage of justice in British legal history. The real killer has never been caught.

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Bridgewater Four -

The Bridgewater Four—Patrick Molloy, James Robinson, and cousins Michael and Vincent Hickey—were four men found guilty of murdering 13-year-old Carl Bridgewater in 1978 and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. Malloy died in prison in 1981, 16 years before their convictions for murder were quashed after the Court of Appeal ruled their trial unfair. Bridgewater's murder remains unsolved. Pictured on the roof of Gartree Prison in Leicestershire, England, is James Robinson, protesting his innocence.

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George Washington Davis -

When 11 people were killed after a locomotive pulling two passenger cars was derailed on August 9, 1894 in Lincoln, Nebraska, investigators were convinced that George Washington Davis, an African-American man, was responsible. He was subsequently tried twice for sabotage and in 1895 eventually found guilty of second-degree murder, even though police had almost no evidence to suggest that Davis was the perpetrator, he never admitted guilt, and investigators could not offer any explanation of motive for his supposed crime. Ten years later, he was granted parole by the state governor, citing a lack of evidence or motive. Image: Nebraska State Patrol

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Adolf Beck (1841–1909) -

In a notorious incident of wrongful conviction by mistaken identity, law-abiding Adolf Beck was arrested in London in December 1895 for fraud and charged with 10 misdemeanors and four felonies. Beck had in fact been confused with swindler Wilhelm Meyer, but nonetheless served six years in jail before being given a free pardon by King Edward VII. Meyer himself was eventually caught and jailed for five years. As a direct result of the case, important reforms resulted, including the creation of the Court of Criminal Appeal.

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Caleb Powers (1869–1932) -

Convicted of complicity in the assassination of Kentucky state governor William Goebel in 1900, Caleb Powers spent eight years behind bars before his sentence was overturned. He was pardoned in 1908.

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Holy Child of La Guardia -

On November 16, 1491, two Jews and six conversos (Jews who have converted to Catholicism) were arrested by the Spanish Inquisition on suspicion of the ritual murder of a Christian child in La Guardia, Spain. Five were later burned on the stake. However, because the infant was never named, no body was found, and no child disappearance or murder was reported in La Guardia, historians generally agree that neither crime nor victim actually existed. Image: Unknown 18th-century author

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Socrates (c. 470–399 BCE) -

In 399 BCEm Greek philosopher Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and failing to acknowledge the city's official gods. Found guilty on all charges, the founder of Western philosophy was sentenced to death by poisoning. Socrates was never legally exonerated. Most historians concur that Socrates' fate was sealed as revenge for his alleged affiliation with the dictatorial Thirty Tyrants, a pro-Spartan group installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE.

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Jean Calas (1698–1762) -

Toulouse merchant Jean Calas was sentenced to death and executed on March 10, 1762 after being found guilty of murdering his son. The philosopher Voltaire, convinced of his innocence, succeeded in reopening the case in 1765. This led to the rehabilitation of Calas, a Protestant, who became a symbol of religious intolerance in a largely Catholic society.

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Joan of Arc (c.1412–1431) -

One of the earliest recorded miscarriages of justice was that surrounding the conviction and execution of Joan of Arc. In 1430, the "Maid of Orléans" was captured and jailed for more than a year before being placed on trial for charges including heresy, witchcraft, and violating divine law for dressing like a man. Found guilty, she was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431. In 1456, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, debunked the charges against her, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr.

Sources: (Famous Trials) (The Guardian) (BBC) (History) (Manchester Evening News) (Evidence-Based Justice Lab) 

See also: Inspirational women who changed history

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