by David Kim

In 2024, 147 prisoners were exonerated for crimes they did not commit, an alarming number that underscores both the resilience of those wrongfully convicted and the systemic failures that led to their imprisonment. The National Registry of Exonerations (“Registry”) documented these cases in its annual report, released on April 2, 2025. The findings reveal patterns of official misconduct, racial disparities, and the critical role of specialized organizations in overturning unjust convictions, providing a window into a justice system still grappling with its imperfections.

The 147 exonerations recorded in 2024 reflect a range of crimes, from homicides to drug offenses. Collectively, these exonerees lost nearly 2,000 years to wrongful imprisonment—an average of 13.5 years per person. The financial toll is equally staggering. Since 1989, compensation for exonerees, through state payments or civil awards, has surpassed $4.6 billion. However, no amount can fully restore the time stolen from individuals like Kerry Max Cook, who spent close to a decade and a half on death row in Texas before his exoneration in June 2024.

Homicide cases dominated the year’s exonerations, accounting for 58% of the total with 85 cases, including 81 murders and four manslaughters. Four of these individuals faced death sentences, a stark reminder of the high stakes involved. There were nine sexual assault exonerations. Sixteen defendants were cleared of other violent crimes, such as robbery or attempted murder, while 37 were exonerated for non-violent offenses, primarily drug-related charges.

Systemic Failures Exposed

The report identifies official misconduct as a pervasive factor, tainting 71% of 2024’s exonerations—104 cases in total. In homicide cases, the figure is even higher, with 79% (67 of 85) marred by actions like withholding exculpatory evidence, witness tampering, or perjury by officials. For example, in the case of Sandra Hemme, exonerated in Missouri after 43 years, the longest wrongful imprisonment for a woman in U.S. history, prosecutors failed to disclose evidence that could have undermined her false confession. “Several actions of the State go beyond gross negligence and reach into the realm of intentional deception against the tribunal,” the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals chided in Cook’s case, a sentiment echoed in many court opinions.

Other contributing factors include mistaken witness identifications (26% of cases), false confessions (15%), perjury or false accusations (72%), false or misleading forensic evidence (29%), and ineffective legal counsel (33%). These errors often intertwined, creating a web of injustice. Charlotte Pleytez, exonerated in California alongside Lombardo Palacios for a 2009 murder, was convicted based on a mistaken witness identification later disproven by evidence pointing to the true perpetrators. Similarly, Gilbert Merritt III, cleared in Virginia, was convicted on the coerced testimony of an acquaintance, orchestrated by a detective later convicted of perjury.

The Role of Professional Advocates

The report highlights the indispensable work of Innocence Organizations (“IOs”) and Conviction Integrity Units (“CIUs”), which together contributed to 63% of 2024’s exonerations. IOs, typically nonprofit legal groups, participated in 53 cases, while CIUs, prosecutorial units tasked with reviewing convictions, aided 62. In 22 cases, the two collaborated, accounting for 15% of the total. The Philadelphia County District Attorney’s CIU, for example, played a key role in eight of Pennsylvania’s 15 exonerations, all from Philadelphia.

These organizations have driven a long-term rise in exonerations. Since 1989, the Registry has documented 3,646 cases, with peaks often tied to clusters of drug-related exonerations uncovered through CIU investigations. In 2024, Texas led with 26 exonerations, 17 linked to misconduct by Gerald Goines, an infamous former Houston narcotics officer. Illinois, which topped the list for six years prior, recorded 20 exonerations, 17 from Cook County, though only one tied to the notorious corruption of Sgt. Ronald Watts, whose actions led to over 200 exonerations in prior years.

No-Crime Cases and Group Exonerations

A shocking 35% of exonerations—51 cases—involved “no-crime” convictions, where no offense occurred. These spanned drug possession, murder, and child sex abuse, often stemming from fabricated evidence or coerced pleas. In Texas, for instance, past Harris County cases revealed defendants pleading guilty to drug possession before lab tests confirmed the substances were not illegal, a pattern that resurfaced in 2024.

Group exonerations, where multiple cases are tied to systematic misconduct, also featured prominently. The Registry added two such cases in 2024, involving 54 individuals. These cases highlight how rogue officials, like Goines or Watts, can corrupt entire systems, resulting in dozens of false convictions.

Jurisdictional Patterns

Exonerations in 2024 spanned 28 states and six federal cases, but a few jurisdictions accounted for the majority. Texas’s 26 cases were followed by Illinois (20), New York (15), and Pennsylvania (15). New York City contributed nine of New York’s total, while Philadelphia and Chicago dominated their states’ figures. This concentration reflects both the presence of active CIUs and the legacy of past misconduct in urban centers.

Long-Term Trends

The 147 exonerations in 2024 align with the average over the past decade, though they fall short of 2022’s peak of over 250, driven by 105 drug cases in Cook County. Murder exonerations, which constitute 39% of the Registry’s total since 1989 (1,410 of 3,659), show a steady rise, reflecting the intensive resources required to overturn these convictions. Drug cases, by contrast, are more volatile, with 639 total exonerations and spikes tied to systemic scandals.

The growing influence of CIUs and IOs is evident. While exonerations without professional assistance have remained stable since 1989, those involving CIUs or IOs have surged, indicating these groups are critical to the increase in annual exonerations. However, the report notes uncertainty about this trend’s future, given recent elections of new prosecutors in key districts like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston, which could shift priorities for CIUs.

Stories of Resilience

Behind the cold statistics are stories of perseverance. Each of the 147 exonerations in 2024 represents an individual who endured years—sometimes decades—of wrongful imprisonment, often under harrowing circumstances. The cases of Kerry Max Cook, Sandra Hemme, Charlotte Pleytez, and Gilbert Merritt III, among others, highlight the personal toll of injustice and the extraordinary efforts required to reclaim their freedom.

Kerry Max Cook’s ordeal began in 1978 in Tyler, Texas, when he was convicted of murdering a young woman. Twice sentenced to death, he spent nearly 15 years on death row, grappling with the psychological weight of a punishment he did not deserve. His conviction rested on a “web of fabricated testimony and misrepresentations,” as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later described it. In 1997, Cook won a new trial, and in 1999, DNA evidence tied the victim’s former lover to genetic material found at the scene. Yet, even after pleading guilty to a lesser charge for immediate release, Cook fought for 25 more years to clear his name fully. Exonerated on June 19, 2024, he emerged not only as a survivor but as a leading advocate for the wrongfully convicted and systemic reform.

Sandra Hemme’s story is equally heart-wrenching. Convicted in 1981 for a Missouri murder at age 20, she falsely confessed under duress, an issue her defense failed to explore due to her unaddressed mental health struggles. Prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, sealing her fate for over 43 years—the longest wrongful imprisonment for a woman in U.S. history. Freed on December 3, 2024, Hemme’s exoneration exposed how inadequate legal counsel and prosecutorial misconduct is a recipe for disturbing injustice.

In California, Charlotte Pleytez, just 20 when accused of a 2009 West Hollywood murder, was convicted together with 15-year-old Lombardo Palacios based on a mistaken witness identification. Sentenced to 50 years to life, they languished until December 2024, when evidence pointed to the true culprits. Their exoneration underscores the tenuous nature of convictions based on flawed human memory. Similarly, Gilbert Merritt III, convicted in Virginia in 2001 for a Norfolk murder, faced no physical evidence or eyewitnesses linking him to the crime. Instead, a coerced witness, manipulated by a detective later convicted of perjury, falsely claimed Merritt confessed. After a conditional pardon in 2022, Merritt’s full exoneration in February 2024 confirmed his innocence but not before two decades of his life were lost.

These stories reveal the personal tragedies behind the numbers. Cook, Hemme, Pleytez, and Merritt endured not just imprisonment but the stigma of guilt, severed family ties, and the relentless fight to prove what they knew all along: They were innocent. Their victories highlight the fact that countless others are still waiting for their nightmare to end.

Conclusion

The 147 exonerations of 2024 are not mere statistics—they are undeniable proof that wrongful convictions plague the U.S. criminal justice system, shattering lives with alarming frequency. From Kerry Max Cook’s decades on death row to Sandra Hemme’s 43 years lost to a false confession, these cases expose outrageous injustices caused by rampant official misconduct, faulty forensics, shoddy legal representation, and flawed evidence that result in the innocent being trapped by the machinations of a justice system that is far too prone to getting it grievously wrong.

The Registry’s work, now spanning over 3,600 cases, underscores the urgency of reforms—starting with stronger oversight, increased forensic standards, and expanded support for CIUs and IOs—to prevent future miscarriages of justice. As the report concludes, these exonerations are not just legal victories but “remarkable accounts of these individuals’ persistence and determination in the face of injustice.” The multitude of exonerations each year lead to a sobering question: How many others remain wrongfully imprisoned, their stories of injustice not yet told?  

Sources: The National Registry of Exonerations 2024 Annual Report; forensicmag.com.

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