Since 2001, the Innocence Institute has completed more than a dozen investigations into possible wrongful convictions. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has published articles on the results of those investigations, but space limitations required heavy editing of the stories. The following presents links to the full, unedited investigations, as well as the published versions and subsequent updates on the cases.
Eyewitness procedures cause wrongful convictions
Police departments across Pennsylvania are using procedures that lead eyewitnesses to falsely identify innocent people. The Innocence Institute investigated hundreds of cases, featuring 10 cases in which bad eyewitness IDs might have led to wrongful convictions. The institute also found that police and prosecutors are unaware of Justice Department guidelines on eyewitness procedures and other reforms that prevent false IDs, though some are starting to agree to changes.
Daughter defends father
David Munchinski was convicted for a 1977 double murder in Fayette County. But new evidence shows the star witness against Munchinski wasn’t even in Pennsylvania on the night of the killings and told officers he lied. Police and prosecutors ignored information suggesting other suspects killed the two men.
Star witness admits lies
Ernest Simmons was sentenced to death for brutally murdering and robbing a Johnstown woman in 1992. But the star witness later admitted she lied on the stand and others refuted her story. Secretly recorded tapes and hair evidence that supports Simmons' innocence were kept from the defense.
Flashback case full of holes
Steven Slutzker was convicted in 1992 for a murder committed 17 years earlier. New evidence raises questions about repressed memory testimony by the key witness, who was the murder victim’s son. Slutzker’s alibi witnesses weren’t even called to testify in his defense and 21 police reports were kept from his attorneys.
Lying witness led to conviction
Hosea Davis was convicted in 2002 for murdering his childhood friend based on one witness' testimony. The witness later recanted her story at least four times, claiming police gave her a deal to lie about seeing the killing. Davis’ trial attorney didn’t challenge her story and failed to call four witnesses to testify who corroborated his innocence.
Wrong man convicted?
Terrell Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for killing a woman in 1994 in Pittsburgh's Hazelwood neighborhood. The key witness against Johnson was later shown to be a crack addict and criminal who received deals to escape more jail time. The witness changed her story several times and evidence shows her testimony was riddled with inconsistancies.
Conman or dupe?
James Faller earned millions as a stockbroker until a fraud conviction in 2002 cost him his fortune and freedom. But documents show he was a victim of the fraud and prosecutors illegally imprisoned him with false information three times, hid exculpatory evidence and twisted innocent information into evidence against him.
Journalism Inside PA Prisons (Opinion / Editorial)
Investigative Journalists face problems when trying to get information from inside PA State Correctional Institutions. Inmates are often scared to talk to reporters within earshot of other inmates. Prisons won't allow audio recorders or video cameras, only a pen and paper. Bill Moushey's OP/ED on the issue....
DNA Proves Innocence
Thomas Doswell was imprisoned for the rape of a woman he did not commit. Through the efforts of the New York Innocence Project, Doswell is now free and trying to put his life back together through the love of his family and music.
Shaky Testimony Puts Man in Jail for Life
Three witnesses put Paul Ford in jail for life. One, Joey Jones, was the prime suspect in the case, who had bragged to seven different people he was getting away with murder. Another, Nikela Carrington, could not have seen the murder from the place she claimed to be standing. The third, Nicole Bennett admitted to trying to extort drugs from Paul Ford to keep her from telling the police she witnessed the killing.
Drew Whitley is Innocent
Drew Whitley was imprisoned for 18 years for the horrific murder of Noreen Malloy. DNA evidence proved he was not the man who killed the 23-year-old McDonald's manager in 1988.
John Dolenc
John Dolenc is in prison for the murder of his wife, but may be cleared if DNA evidence found at the scene is re-tested.
Case Hinges on Bite Mark and Lies
Crystal Weimer was convicted of the murder of Curtis Haith on the testimony of a jailhouse snitch. The evidence against her was comprised of a bruise that might be a bite mark and the word of man whose story changed seven times.
False Confession Series
Three black youths. Three confessions. Three convictions. Three sentences of life. Three lives wasted if appeals don’t prevail. They all claim innocence and their cases are bereft of evidence outside the confessions.
They are tragic metaphors for a problem that has tainted cases throughout Western Pennsylvania and the nation—the failure of police to build an unquestioned record of investigative actions by recording all custodial interrogations.
