List of revoked death sentences
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A list of people sentenced to death whose sentence was revoked either through commutation, exoneration or being pardoned.
Contents |
[edit] United Kingdom
- Timothy Evans, hanged in England on March 9, 1950, pardoned posthumously in 1966
[edit] United States
[edit] Illinois
- January 11, 2003: Governor George Ryan commutes the sentences of all 156 death row inmates in the state of Illinois following a moratorium
- See Also
- State of Illinois (Jan 31, 2000). Governor Ryan Declares Moratorium On Executions, Will Appoint Commission To Review Capital Punishment System. Press Release.
- Armstrong, Ken and Parsons, Christi (Jan 22, 2000). Half of state's death-penalty cases reversed: A variety of errors found in 130 trials. Chicago Tribune, online.
[edit] Florida
- Krishna Maharaj, convicted and sentenced to death in Florida in 1987, sentence commuted in 2003.
[edit] Other venues
In 1972, the California Supreme Court declared in California v. Anderson 64 Cal.2d 633, 414 P.2d 366 (Cal. 1972) that the Death Penalty was unconstitutional in violation of what was then Article 1, Section 6 (now Article 1, Section 17) of the State Constitution, and that the decision was retroactively effective to all persons on Death Row in the State. Thus a number of infamous convicted murderers had their sentences commuted from death to life in prison. (Later that year, the U.S. Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia would also find the death penalty unconstitutional)
- Sirhan Sirhan, killer of Robert Kennedy
- Charles Manson
- Shareef Cousin, a 16-year-old American boy, became the youngest person on death row in the USA. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death after a witness told the jury she was “absolutely positive” that she had seen Cousin murder the victim. Later, Cousin's lawyer found the witness's initial police statement, in which she said she couldn't describe the killer, because it was dark and she was not wearing contact lenses. Cousin's conviction was reversed on appeal -- the 76th American to have a death sentence reversed since 1977.[1]
[edit] Canada
- Between 1879 and 1960, Canada commuted 438 death sentences.[2]
- In all but exceptional cases, Canada will not extradite accused murderers unless the death sentence will not be imposed, or if imposed, not carried out. This diplomatic commutation arrangement stems from the 2001 case of Canada vs. Sebastian Burns.
