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Exonerations
 
Summary
Every year innocent people are incarcerated for crimes that they did not commit, and others are wrongfully convicted. The National Registry of Exonerations states that “an exoneration occurs when a person who has been convicted of a crime is officially cleared based on new evidence of innocence.”1 So far in the United States 2,624 people have been exonerated since 1989, 367 of whom have been exonerated with the use of DNA evidence.2 The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is dedicated to providing justice and reversing instances of wrongful convictions whenever possible. Since 2018 the Philadelphia DAO’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) has exonerated dozens of people (including one person in multiple cases) who collectively were incarcerated for over 950 years. Exonerations secured by the DAO’s Law Division Federal Litigation Unit are noted as footnotes in the table below. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is one of the few states that does not offer any compensation to those who have been wrongfully convicted.

Out of respect for the privacy of the exonerated, we have chosen not to include the names of the individuals on this page. To do your own research, we recommend consulting the University of Michigan’s National Registry of Exonerations for Philadelphia County.
Exoneree Race of exoneree Date of wrongful conviction Convicting
District Attorney 		Date of exoneration Exonerating
District Attorney 		Number of years
incarcerated3
Exoneree 1 Black November 2007 Abraham December 2016 Williams 9
Exoneree 2 Black December 1994 Abraham May 2017 Williams 24
Exoneree 3 Black September 1984 Rendell July 2017 Martin 33
Exoneree 4 Black July 2009 Abraham May 2018 Krasner 11
Exoneree 5 Black January 2012 Williams December 2018 Krasner 9
Exoneree 6 Black December 2009 Abraham March 2019 Krasner 11
Exoneree 7 Black September 2013 Williams April 2019 Krasner 7
Exoneree 8 Black September 2016 Williams May 2019 Krasner 6
Exoneree 9 Black May 1999 Abraham May 2019 Krasner 22
Exoneree 10 Black September 1995 Abraham June 2019 Krasner 25
Exoneree 11 Black May 1993 Abraham July 2019 Krasner 28
Exoneree 12 Black September 1998 Abraham July 2019 Krasner 22
Exoneree 13 Black February 1993 Abraham October 2019 Krasner 27
Exoneree 14a Black August 1993 Abraham December 2019 Krasner 30
Exoneree 15 Black August 1993 Abraham January 2020 Krasner 28
Exoneree 16 White October 1996 Abraham June 2020 Krasner 28
Exoneree 17 Black March 1989 Castille June 2020 Krasner 32
Exoneree 18 Latinx August 1991 Castille October 2020 Krasner 30
Exoneree 19 Black November 2002 Abraham December 2020 Krasner 19
Exoneree 20 Black December 2004 Abraham December 2020 Krasner 16
Exoneree 21a Black September 1994 Abraham February 2021 Krasner 30
Exoneree 22 Black January 2015 Williams March 2021 Krasner 8
Exoneree 23 Black December 2014 Williams May 2021 Krasner 11
Exoneree 24 Black February 2015 Williams June 2021 Krasner 7
Exoneree 25 Black April 1989 Castille June 2021 Krasner 33
Exoneree 26 Black September 2011 Williams June 2021 Krasner 11
Exoneree 27 Black July 1994 Abraham November 2021 Krasner 30
Exoneree 28b Black August 1984 Rendell January 2022 Krasner 38
Exoneree 29 Black July 2012 Williams April 2022 Krasner 11
Exoneree 30 Black December 2008 Abraham June 2022 Krasner 15
Exoneree 31 Black February 2013 Williams February 2023 Krasner 12
Exoneree 32b Black May 2013 Williams February 2023 Krasner 11
Exoneree 33 Black January 2013 Williams February 2023 Krasner 12
Exoneree 34 White May 2010 Williams March 2023 Krasner 15
Exoneree 35b Black June 2009 Abraham June 2023 Krasner 18
Exoneree 36b Black June 1984 Rendell July 2023 Krasner 40
Exoneree 37 Latinx January 2016 Williams July 2023 Krasner 10
Exoneree 38 Black April 2012 Williams August 2023 Krasner 13
Exoneree 39b Black April 1984 Rendell October 2023 Krasner 41
Exoneree 40 Black August 2014 Williams November 2023 Krasner 11
Exoneree 41 Black August 2014 Williams November 2023 Krasner 11
Exoneree 42 Black May 2008 Abraham November 2023 Krasner 15
Exoneree 43b Latinx March 1998 Abraham November 2023 Krasner 27
Exoneree 44 Black February 1989 Castille February 2024 Krasner 38
Exoneree 45b Black November 1995 Abraham February 2024 Krasner 27
Exoneree 46 Black July 1993 Abraham March 2024 Krasner 34
Exoneree 47c Black February 2013 Williams March 2024 Krasner 12
Exoneree 48 Black November 2002 Abraham May 2024 Krasner 22
Exoneree 49 Black August 1996 Abraham June 2024 Krasner 29
Exoneree 50 Black August 2002 Abraham October 2024 Krasner 23
Exoneree 51 Black November 2006 Abraham October 2024 Krasner 20
Note:
a One individual was exonerated in two different cases over a year apart: in December 2019 and February 2021.
b Exonerations were secured by the DAO Law Division.
c Exoneration was secured by the DAO Law Division and Gun Violence Task Force, which conducted independent reviews.
Notes

[1] National Registry of Exonerations: Glossary

[2] The Innocence Project: Exonerate the Innocent

[3] Number of years incarcerated includes time spent incarcerated pretrial.