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.
Chris Gordon Brooks
Date of Arrest: 12/14/1994
Cleveland County
Race: White
Names of Victim(s): Judy McMurray
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 05/22/1996
Days in Jail: 526
Floyd Brown
Date of Arrest: 07/16/1993
Anson County
Race: Black
Names of Victim(s): Katherine Lynch
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 10/08/2007
Days in Jail: 5198
John Tyler Collins
Date of Arrest: 12/29/2001
Buncombe County
Race: White
Names of Victim(s): Mary Elizabeth Judd
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 07/09/2003
Days in Jail: 558
Derek Morris Colson
Date of Arrest: 03/23/2006
Catawba County
Race: Black
Causes of Wrongful Prosecution:
State Misconduct
State Misconduct
Names of Victim(s): Betsy Dickens, Beverly Linebarger, Cynthia Lail
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 09/15/2009
Days in Jail: 1064
Received Bond
Filiberto Reyes Gaytan
Date of Arrest: 07/16/2008
Richmond County
Race: Hispanic
Names of Victim(s): Jose Gonzales
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 03/20/2009
Days in Jail: 248
David Wayne Hammack
Date of Arrest: 12/29/2001
Buncombe County
Race: White
Names of Victim(s): Mary Elizabeth Judd
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 09/28/2003
Days in Jail: 639
Lorenza Brazhnav Knight
Date of Arrest: 04/26/1999
Pitt County
Race: Black
Causes of Wrongful Prosecution:
State Misconduct
State Misconduct
Names of Victim(s): Jae Michael Kirby
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 12/28/2005
Days in Jail: 100
Received Bond
Johnny Dale Miller
Date of Arrest: 07/19/2004
Gaston County
Race: White
Names of Victim(s): Jerry Barnette
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 12/29/2006
Days in Jail: 894
Marron Fredrick Murchison
Date of Arrest: 09/08/2004
Union County
Race: Black
Causes of Wrongful Prosecution:
State Misconduct
State Misconduct
Names of Victim(s): John Henry Stafford
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 06/30/2008
Days in Jail: 14
Received Bond
Quatrell Damar Nicholson
Date of Arrest: 10/22/2009
Scotland County
Race: Black
Causes of Wrongful Prosecution:
State Misconduct
State Misconduct
Names of Victim(s): Chris McKoy
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 01/21/2014
Days in Jail: 1553
Mario Alberto Peralta
Date of Arrest: 01/30/1998
Chatham County
Race: Other
Causes of Wrongful Prosecution:
State Misconduct
State Misconduct
Names of Victim(s): Manuel Garcia
Type of Case: Acquittal at Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 03/24/1999
Days in Jail: 419
Time deliberated by jury: 4.5hrs
Beut Thongphounphim
Date of Arrest: 01/31/1995
Guilford County
Race: Other
Names of Victim(s): Keith McClintock
Type of Case: Dismissal before Trial
Date of Acquittal/Dismissal: 02/26/1997
Days in Jail: 501
Received Bond