On Trial for their Lives

Death penalty prosecutions threaten the innocent in N.C.

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The Project

We often hear the death penalty is needed to punish a small handful of the “worst of the worst” criminals. However, research shows the death penalty in North Carolina is used broadly and indiscriminately, with little regard for the strength of the evidence against defendants — a practice that puts innocent people in danger of being executed. This is an ongoing project tracking cases where people are charged or prosecuted capitally, despite evidence too weak to prove their guilt. Read more…

Watch the Story of Leslie Lincoln

report-coverRead the groundbreaking report by the Center for Death Penalty Litigation

Did You Know?

  • An average of two people a year are wrongfully charged with capital murder.
  • The state has spent at least $2.4 million to pursue capital cases too weak for conviction. That money could have been spent securing the convictions of truly guilty people.
  • Innocent defendants spend an average of two years in jail before being acquitted or having charges dismissed.

Read the Stories

MikeMead

Mike Mead

Police ignored the obvious suspect and went after Mead, despite a lack of evidence. Continue reading…

Leslie Lincoln--for CDPL

Leslie Lincoln

She lost her home, her savings, and her stability in the five years before a jury acquitted her. Continue reading…


JerryAnderson_Portrait1-800x600

Jerry Anderson

He lost the dairy farm he spent a lifetime building after being wrongly arrested for his wife’s murder. Continue reading…

About this Project
 
The Wrongful Capital Prosecutions database is a project of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. It is the only database in the United States that tracks the cases of people who are charged with capital murder but never convicted. Based in Durham, North Carolina, CDPL represents death-sentenced men and women in North Carolina and works to end the death penalty. Learn more about CDPL’s work.

Learn More
 
• Learn more about the North Carolina death penalty at NCDeathPenalty.org.
• Read stories from North Carolina’s death row.