Find wrongful prosecutions by county.
All of the following cases are wrongful capital prosecutions carried out in North Carolina since 1989. They are instances in which the state prosecuted a person for a death penalty eligible murder, despite not having enough evidence to prove the defendant even committed the crime. Unlike the exonerees tracked by the National Registry of Exonerations, these defendants eventually had their charges dismissed or were acquitted by juries — but most spent years in jail and many lost homes, jobs, relationships, and their financial and emotional stability.
Austin Tyler Borghere
Date of Arrest: 04/02/2005
Harnett County
Race: White
Causes of Wrongful Prosecution:
Self Defense
Self Defense
Names of Victim(s): David Barefoot
Type of Case: Acquittal at Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 03/30/2007
Days in Jail: 728
Anthony Vidal Burris
Date of Arrest: 06/13/1997
Gaston County
Race: Black
Names of Victim(s): Angela Shantea Mitchell
Type of Case: Acquittal at Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 10/04/1999
Days in Jail: 844
Time deliberated by jury: 3.5 hrs
Michael David Dowd
Date of Arrest: 11/25/1998
Chatham County
Race: White
Names of Victim(s): Lee Otis Baldwin, Joe Daron Glover
Type of Case: Acquittal at Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 05/24/2000
Days in Jail: 547
Dolan Locklear
Date of Arrest: 05/04/1999
Robeson County
Race: Native American
Names of Victim(s): George Locklear
Type of Case: Acquittal at Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 03/19/2003
Days in Jail: 1416
Time deliberated by jury: 2 hrs