A PROJECT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE NEWKIRK CENTER FOR SCIENCE & SOCIETY,
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL & MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW
The Groups Registry
Welcome to the Groups Registry. It was launched in October 2020, and existing cases are still being added. You can tell us about cases that should be included on this Registry by emailing us at info@exonerationlist.org
This is our third registry. It joins our main archive and our pre-1989 archive of individual exonerations. This new registry focuses on groups of defendants tied together by a common pattern of systematic official misconduct in the investigation and prosecution of these cases that undermined confidence in the defendants' convictions.
Hover to expand abbreviations. Glossary at bottom.
Total: 45
| Group Name | Common Name | ST | Num Defendants in Group | Num Defendants in Indiv. Reg | Crimes | Earliest Conviction Year | Most Recent Conviction Year | First Exoneration Year | Most Recent Exoneration Year | Official Misconduct Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vacations tied to misconduct of former NYPD Officer James Donovan |
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46 | 0 | 2004 | 2011 | 2024 | 2024 | |||
| Exonerations in Chicago tied to misconduct by Officers Elizondo and Salgado |
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8 | 4 | , | 2015 | 2018 | 2021 | 2023 |
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| Record-keeping problems at the Oregon DMV |
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70 | 5 | , | 2004 | 2022 | 2023 | 2023 | ||
| Mount Vernon Police Department |
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27 | 0 | 2017 | 2017 | 2023 | 2024 |
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| Misconduct by officers in LAPD's Central Division |
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17 | 0 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2001 |
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| Impeachment evidence from Pittsburg Police Department |
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15 | 4 | , , , | 2013 | 2015 | 2016 | 2016 |
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| Exonerations tied to misconduct by Houston police officer Gerald Goines |
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29 | 28 | 2009 | 2018 | 2020 | 2024 |
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| Raleigh Police Misconduct |
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7 | 2 | , | 2019 | 2020 | 2020 | 2022 |
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| Illinois Weapon-Possession Dismissals |
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178 | 1 | 1990 | 2013 | 2016 | 2024 | |||
| Misconduct tied to officer in Oaklyn Police Department |
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166 | 0 | 1989 | 1991 | 1992 | 1995 |
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| Exonerations tied to convictions of NYPD officers |
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378 | 0 | , , | 2007 | 2007 | 2022 | 2022 |
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| Wide-ranging misconduct originating in the 39th Precinct |
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230 | 0 | 1987 | 1991 | 1995 | 1997 |
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| Misconduct by Louisville Metro Police |
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7 | 0 | 1998 | 2001 | 2002 | 2002 |
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| Misconduct by Brookside Police Department |
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22 | 0 | , , , | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2022 |
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| Misconduct tied to Biscayne Park Police Department |
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31 | 2 | , , , , , , | 2011 | 2015 | 2018 | 2021 |
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| Exonerations tied to riot at Fort Lawton, Washington, in 1944 |
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28 | 0 | 2007 | 2007 |
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| Vacations tied to misconduct of former NYPD Detective Oscar Sandino |
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49 | 0 | 2007 | 2008 | 2021 | 2022 |
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| Misconduct tied to NYPD officers in Queens, New York |
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68 | 0 | , , , , | 2007 | 2016 | 2021 | 2022 |
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| Exonerations tied to search-warrant misconduct in Hennipin County |
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32 | 0 | 2017 | 2018 | 2018 | 2018 |
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| Misconduct by NYPD officers in the so-called "Dirty 30" |
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98 | 1 | , | 1991 | Unknown | 1994 | 1996 |
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| Misconduct tied to former NYPD Det. Joseph Franco |
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520 | 3 | 2004 | 2018 | 2018 | 2023 |
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| Intoximeter calibration problems |
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11 | 0 | 2019 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020 |
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| Exonerations tied to misconduct by Glynn County sheriff's deputies |
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9 | 0 | 2018 | 2019 | 2019 | 2019 |
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| Evidence-control problems at the Orange County Sheriff's Department |
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53 | 0 | , , , | 2015 | 2018 | 2020 | 2020 |
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| Exonerations in Philadelphia tied to misconduct of former officer Reginald Graham |
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44 | 0 | , | 2005 | Unknown | 2018 | 2020 |
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| Misconduct tied to falsified search warrants by a police officer in Richmond,Virginia |
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15 | 0 | , | 2009 | 2012 | 2015 | 2016 |
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| Misconduct tied to Jackson County sheriff's deputy |
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88 | 1 | , | 2017 | 2018 | 2018 | 2018 |
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| Gun Trace Task Force in Baltimore, Maryland |
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At least 759 (according to 2020 report) | 3 | , , | 2009 | 2017 | 2017 | 2024 |
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| Forensic misconduct at Texas regional crime laboratory |
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26 | 0 | 2006 | 2012 | 2013 | 2020 |
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| Exonerations tied to misconduct by DEA agent and informant in Mansfield, Ohio |
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19 | 1 | , | 2006 | 2006 | 2007 | 2011 |
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| Misconduct by members of Oakland Police Department known as "The Riders" |
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75 | 0 | Unknown | 2000 | 2000 | 2001 |
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| Rampart scandal in Los Angeles Police Department |
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171 | 48 | , , , | 1992 | 1998 | 1999 | 2001 |
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| Police misconduct in Camden, N.J. including planting drugs and perjury |
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70 | 23 | , | Unknown | 2009 | 2009 | 2010 |
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| Police misconduct tied to perjury and falsified records in Philadelphia |
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250 | 0 | , | Unknown | Unknown | 2015 | 2021 |
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| Police misconduct including theft, falsified records and perjury in Philadelphia |
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1,100 | 1 | , | Unknown | Unknown | 2013 | 2020 |
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| Misconduct by sheriff's deputies and disclosure violations in Iberia Parish, Louisiana |
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19 | 1 | , , | 2009 | 2015 | 2018 | 2018 |
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| Massachusetts drug lab scandal with theft and post-conviction prosecutorial misconduct |
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13,100 | 0 | 2018 | 2019 |
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| Massachusetts drug lab scandal including perjury, dry-labbing and falsified data by Annie Dookhan |
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19,000 | 0 | 2003 | 2012 | 2013 | 2017 |
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| Misconduct by an undercover drug officer in Tulia, Texas |
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35 | 35 | 1999 | 2000 | 2003 | 2003 |
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| East Cleveland police misconduct, including theft and falsified search warrants |
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43 | 0 | , , | 2011 | 2015 | 2016 | 2019 |
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| Police misconduct by drug squad members in Benton Harbor |
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65 | 5 | , , | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2011 |
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| Exonerations in Chicago tied to police misconduct by Sgt. Ronald Watts |
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186 | 186 | , | 2003 | 2011 | 2016 | 2023 |
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| Dismissals involving undisclosed exculpatory evidence in Carlton County |
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7 | 1 | , , , | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2019 | ||
| Exonerations tied to misconduct by Tampa police officers |
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12 | 0 | , , , | 2018 | 2019 | 2019 | 2020 |
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| Police misconduct including perjury, witness tampering and falsified search warrants in Tulsa, Oklahoma |
|
30 | 4 | , | 2005 | 2010 | 2009 | 2013 |
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GLOSSARY
Crimes
- DP: Drug possession/sale
- NF: Nonviolent felonies
- NM: Nonviolent misdemeanors
- TO: Traffic offense
- VF: Violent felonies
- VM: Violent misdemeanors
- WO: Weapon offenses
Official Misconduct (OM) Tags
- WH: Exculpatory evidence withheld
- OF: OM by police officer
- PR: OM by prosecutor
- NW: OM that is not withholding exculpatory evidence
- DIS: Official actor that was disciplined for OM at any point in their career
- PJ: Perjury by an official actor
- WT: Witness tampering by an official actor
Posting Date: 12/11/2024
Last Updated: 12/11/2024