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5 inmates freed after years on death row — and the evidence that saved them

David Benjamin
Life on death row is rarely dull in the existential sense. Quite the opposite, in fact. But day to day? Well, the meals are bland, the walls are concrete and the sense of looming finality likely makes thinking about anything other than death row pretty tricky. But the stories hidden inside those cells can be stranger than anything a television writer might come up with. Especially when the wrong man is locked up and doomed to state execution. Here are the stories of five men who spent years facing the ultimate punishment, only to be declared innocent and released. They entered as convicted killers and left as exonerated citizens, carrying the weight of lost decades and facing the peculiar experience of walking back into a world that had already said goodbye to them… (Picture: AP/Getty/Reuters)

Glenn Ford

Glenn Ford - Ford, (pictured in booking photos), was tried and convicted of first-degree murder by an all-white jury panel in 1984 and sentenced to death
Louisiana’s Glenn Ford (no, not that one…) entered the Louisiana penal system back in 1984 after being convicted of the murder of a jeweller named Isadore Rozeman. He had worked for the victim in the past which made him a convenient suspect and a series of hastily-gathered witness statements placed Ford under immediate suspicion. The prosecution presented a tidy narrative at trial and the jury delivered a death sentence. Ford spent close to 30 years confined at Angola Prison where he outlived several wardens and far too many fellow inmates as he waited for a justice system that moved with the urgency of an alligator drunk on mint juleps. (Picture: Louisiana Department of Corrections)

Glenn Ford

In this frame grab from video provided by WAFB-TV 9, Glenn Ford, 64, (C) walks out of a maximum security prison, Tuesday, March 11, 2014, in Angola, Louisiana, USA, after having spent nearly 26 years on death row. Ford walked free Tuesday evening hours after a judge approved the state's motion to vacate his murder conviction in the 1983 killing of a jeweler. State District Judge Ramona Emanuel on Monday took the step of voiding Ford's conviction and sentence based on new information that corroborated his claim that he was not present or involved in the murder. (AP Photo/WAFB-TV 9)
His release finally came in 2014 when information emerged pointing to another man as the actual perpetrator of the crime. Prosecutors acknowledged that credible evidence confirmed that Ford was not involved in the killing which cleared the way for the conviction to be quashed. After years of appeals that had gone nowhere, he was suddenly regarded as a man who never should have been charged at all. He walked out of Angola with a single plastic bag and an expression that suggested disbelief. A perfectly rational response, under the circumstances. (Picture: AP)

Glenn Ford

In this frame grab from video provided by WAFB-TV 9, Glenn Ford, 64, talks to the media as he leaves a maximum security prison, Tuesday, March 11, 2014, in Angola, La., after having spent nearly 26 years on death row. Ford walked free Tuesday evening hours after a judge approved the state's motion to vacate his murder conviction in the 1983 killing of a jeweler. State District Judge Ramona Emanuel on Monday took the step of voiding Ford's conviction and sentence based on new information that corroborated his claim that he was not present or involved in the murder. (AP Photo/WAFB-TV 9)
This, unfortunately, was a sad story all round. Freedom for Glenn proved short lived. Ford had developed advanced lung cancer while in custody which was diagnosed only after release. He died only 15 months later having received exactly nothing in the way of compensation from the state. In the brief time he was out, he spoke candidly about the years the system took from him. His story remains a grim reminder of how easily a life can be misdirected once a flawed conviction is handed down. And how – once you’re locked up – no one believes your side of the story at all. (Picture: AP/WAFB-TV 9)

Damon Thibodeaux

A Minnesota Vikings cap was one of the gifts Damon Thibodeaux received at a reception at Fredrikson & Byron to welcome him on Oct. 12, 2012, to Minneapolis. Thibodeaux who escaped death row in Louisiana in 2012 after he was exonerated by DNA evidence for a murder he didn???t commit has died of COVID-19 on Sept. 2, 2021. The 47-year-Thibodeaux, who eventually settled with his family in Texas, contracted the coronavirus in August, a few days after getting his first vaccine shot. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Damon Thibodeaux is one of the estimated 150+ Americans to have been on death row only to be exonerated and released. He was convicted in 1997 for the murder of his teenage step-cousin in Louisiana. The case rested heavily on a confession obtained after hours of questioning conducted while he was exhausted and overwhelmed. Forensic evidence pointing directly to him was non-existent, yet the confession persuaded the jury to convict and the state secured a death sentence. Thibodeaux entered death row as a young man and remained there through several state administrations and more than a decade of appeals. (Picture: AP)

Damon Thibodeaux

Damon Thibodeaux, a death row exoneree from Louisiana released from death row in 2012 after 15 years of prison, speaks to students on September 19, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "Witness to Innocence" is an abolitionist organization that fights for the exonerees, helping them to readjust to real life and to get a federal compensation. AFP PHOTO/WILLIAM EDWARDS (Photo credit should read William Edwards/AFP via Getty Images)
In the late 2000s, a joint re-investigation began involving the local district attorney and prisoner rights advocates The Innocence Project. DNA on a cord found at the scene didn’t match Thibodeaux. Further analysis determined there wasn’t actually any credible evidence whatsoever of any kind of sexual assault, either. Which pretty much dismantled the prosecution’s theory. After a detailed review, the state agreed that the conviction should be overturned. In September 2012, Thibodeaux was formerly exonerated by DNA testing and he stepped outside the gates for the first time in 15 years. (Picture: William Edwards/AFP via Getty Images)

Damon Thibodeaux

Damon Thibodeaux, a death row exoneree from Louisiana released from death row in 2012 after 15 years of prison, speaks to students on September 19, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "Witness to Innocence" is an abolitionist organization that fights for the exonerees, helping them to readjust to real life and to get a federal compensation. AFP PHOTO/WILLIAM EDWARDS (Photo credit should read William Edwards/AFP via Getty Images)
Life after prison took him to Minnesota where he earned his high school diploma and began working at Fredrikson & Byron, the law firm that helped to exonerate him, while also speaking publicly about the dangers of false confessions, according to Innocence Project. Tragically, Damon died in 2021 from COVID-19 complications. He remains one of the clearest examples of how a case built on flawed interrogation can be overturned only when advanced science is properly utilised. (Picture: William Edwards/AFP via Getty Images)

Henry McCollom

Henry McCollum (L) and his brother, Leon Brown, are shown in these booking photos provided by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety in Raleigh, North Carolina, September 2, 2014. McCollum, 50, and his half brother Leon Brown, 46, were teenagers when they were arrested for the 1983 rape and killing of Sabrina Buie, whose body was left in a field in the small town of Red Springs. The two North Carolina men were declared innocent and ordered freed September 2, 2014 after spending more than 30 years in prison for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie that recent DNA tests linked to another man. REUTERS/North Carolina Department of Public Safety/Handout via Reuters (UNITED STATES) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - TM3EA920QMR01
He was only 19 when he was convicted in 1984 for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in rural North Carolina, and authorities dished Henry McCollum out the ultimate punishment. His half brother Leon Brown, who was 15, was also convicted alongside him. Both were interrogated for hours without legal assistance and both had intellectual disabilities that made them particularly vulnerable to being unfairly railroaded by police. McCollum received the death sentence and found himself on death row once the state concluded it had solved its case and found its men. The supposed confessions played a central role and the rest followed with grim inevitability. (Picture: REUTERS)

Henry McCollom

Henry McCollum is surrounded by guards as he sits in a courtroom, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 in Lumberton, N.C. On Tuesday, a judge overturned the convictions of Henry McCollum, 50, and Leon Brown, 46, in the 1983 rape and murder of the 11-year-old girl, citing the new evidence that they are innocent. The ruling is the latest twist in a notorious legal case against the men that began with what defense attorneys said were coerced confessions from two scared teenagers with low IQs. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Chuck Liddy)
Everything changed three decades later, however. In 2014, DNA testing conducted on crime scene evidence identified another man as the source of biological material found at the scene. This particular individual lived near the victim and already had a record involving similar crimes. The results undermined the original case completely. A judge vacated the convictions and the two brothers were released after spending most of their adult lives inside prison walls. The revelation that the real perpetrator had been living nearby the entire time only added to the scale of the injustice for the unfortunate pair. (Picture: AP Photo/The News & Observer, Chuck Liddy)

Henry McCollom

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2014 file photo, Henry McCollum walks out of prison after being released from Central Prison in Raleigh, N.C. Lawyer fees and high-interest loans are threatening the financial futures of the two North Carolina brothers who have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for their three decades of wrongful imprisonment, a court-appointed advocate said Wednesday, July 26, 2017. The advocate argued in a legal motion that McCollum and Leon Brown were steered into dubious financial arrangements by lawyers who stand to profit from the men's lawsuit against the investigators who put them behind bars. (AP Photo/Michael Biesecker, File)
Since walking free Henry has tried to build a quieter life which is no small task after three decades defined by concrete, clangs and fluorescent lighting. He and his brother sought financial compensation which a civil jury later granted. The duo received a total of $75 million in compensation after a jury awarded them $31 million each – $1 million for each year of their wrongful conviction. Plus extra damages. Henry appears at various public events and speaking engagements where he talks about wrongful convictions. (Picture: AP)

Anthony Ray Hinton

In this undated photo made available by the Alabama Department of Corrections, shows inmate Anthony Ray Hinton. Hinton, who spent nearly 30 years on death row will go free Friday, April 3, 2015, after prosecutors told a court that there is not enough evidence to link him to the 1985 murders he was convicted of committing. (AP Photo/Alabama Dept. of Corrections)
Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested way back in 1985 in Birmingham, Alabama, and charged with two separate capital murders involving two restaurant managers that were killed during two different robberies. There were no eyewitnesses and zero fingerprints linking him to either scene. And, given it was ’85, no DNA evidence, either. The prosecution’s case hinged entirely on a state firearms expert who claimed that the bullets from both crime scenes matched a revolver found in Hinton’s mother’s home. An all-white jury convicted him and he received the death penalty. He entered death row insisting he was innocent. Yet the evidence against him relied on analysis that would later fall apart quite spectacularly. (Picture: AP Photo/Alabama Dept. of Corrections)

Anthony Ray Hinton

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 10: Anthony Ray Hinton is seen on April 10, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
Years later, three independent firearms experts examined the revolver and bullets and all three agreed that the weapon couldn’t have fired the fatal rounds. The state resisted reconsideration up until 2014 when the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the conviction due to inadequate defence representation. With the original evidence discredited, prosecutors dismissed the charges fully. In April 2015, Hinton walked out a free man after spending roughly 30 years on death row, where he’d survived by reading hundreds of books and learning how to write. Something which would soon come in handy… (Picture: Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Anthony Ray Hinton

Friend Lester Bailey, left, and others greet Anthony Ray Hinton, center, as Hinton leaves the Jefferson County jail, Friday, April 3, 2015, in Birmingham, Ala. Hinton spent nearly 30 years on Alabama's death row, and was set free Friday after prosecutors told a judge they won't re-try him for the 1985 slayings of two fast-food managers. (AP Photo/ Hal Yeager)
After his eventual release, Anthony became an author and a speaker working with the Equal Justice Initiative to highlight problems within the criminal justice system, including underfunded defence work and unreliable forensic testimonies. He travels extensively to speak about his experiences and often uses his amusing personality to get his point across. Presumably it’s a form of gallows humour picked up from his time on death row. (Picture: AP Photo/Hal Yeager)

Jimmie Duncan

Jimmie ?Chris? Duncan was released on bail today November 26, 2025 after 27 years on death row at Louisiana?s Angola prison following a wrongful conviction for the death of Haley Oliveaux, the daughter of his then girlfriend Allison Layton Statham in 1993. Link - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574120486402
Our final case is a much more recent one. In fact, Jimmie ‘Chris’ Duncan has only just been released on bail. It’s also a more complicated one as a final resolution is yet to be reached, with the state appealing the ruling that overturned his conviction. He was convicted in Louisiana in 1998 for the murder of a 23-month-old girl — the daughter of his then-girlfriend. The state alleged he had drowned and sexually assaulted her and relied heavily on bite mark analysis provided by forensic dentist Dr Michael West. Duncan was sentenced to death and spent 27 years at Angola Prison maintaining that he was innocent of one of the worst crimes imaginable. The bite mark evidence played a central role in his conviction. (Picture: The Murder That Never Happened via Facebook)

Jimmie Duncan

This 2017 photo provided by Mwalimu Center for Justice shows Jimmie Duncan, second from left, with family and friends at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La. (Mwalimu Center for Justice via AP)
This year, newly-revealed video footage showed Dr. West pressing a mould of Duncan’s teeth against the child’s body during the supposed analysis, according to Innocence Project. This revelation, along with expert testimony describing the evidence as ‘scientifically indefensible’, led a judge to vacate Duncan’s conviction. He was released on bail in November 2025 pending further proceedings while the state pursue an appeal. (Picture: Mwalimu Center for Justice via AP)

Jimmie Duncan

This photo provided by Matilde Carbia shows Jimmie Duncan, center right, hugging a relative after being released on bail, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, at Ouachita Correctional Center in Monroe, La., after a district judge tossed his murder conviction earlier this year. (Matilde Carbia via AP)
Since returning home, Chris has been living with relatives in central Louisiana while his legal team works to defend the ruling. His case remains unresolved and until that happens, there remains potential for further legal action. (Picture: AP)

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