What makes a villain a villain? Being caught and charged for a major crime where people were hurt is a surefire way of gaining that title. But who are the most famous people that were deemed to be evil by society, when in fact they did nothing wrong? Here are some of the cases that caught the headlines over the years. These are cases where the person or people in question would be proven innocent years after the fact.
Proved to Be Less of a Villain
Imagine for a second that your face has been plastered all over the news as the perpetrator of some horrible crime. Then imagine that you did not commit the crime in question. This must be such a terrible feeling. Being blamed publicly for something someone else did is amongst the more heinous miscarriages of justice that there is. Here are some of those stories.
Story of the Central Park Five
This is the famous case of Trisha Meili who was assaulted and raped in Central Park in Manhattan. The incident occurred on the 19th of April 1989. Six people were arrested for the crime but after one pled guilty to another crime it was Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise who would serve between seven and thirteen years. In 2002 all charges would be overturned when serial rapist Matias Reyes admitted to the Meili attack.
Walter Barton
In 1991 Walter Barton was convicted and charged with murder. The whole case revolved around evidence put forth by the prosecution, which included a blood spot on his shirt, and the testimony of a jailhouse informant. He would be executed for the crime before his innocence could be proven.
The Exoneration of Darryl Hunt
Captured in the HBO Documentary “The Trials of Darryl Hunt” this case made worldwide headlines. Deborah Sykes was a white newspaper copy editor who was brutally raped and murdered in Salem North Carolina back in 1984. Charged with the crime was a young Darryl Hunt, a black man who “fit the bill” according to an all-white jury. He would be held in prison until 2004 when finally the DNA evidence proved that he couldn’t have committed the crime.
Chol Soo Lee
Chol Soo Lee was convicted of shooting to death one Yip Yee Tak, a known gang leader in Chinatown. He was then further convicted of another murder while in jail which he said was in self-defense. Nearly ten years later he would be acquitted, and released from prison with no formal apology, and zero compensation.
David Bryant
An 8-year-old girl by the name of Karen Smith was found dead in the Brooklyn building where she lived in 1975. The person brought in on charges was one David Bryant. He would be given a sentence of 25 to life before being released in 2018 when all charges were dropped.
Steven Allen Avery
This is the story of the convicted murderer from Wisconsin Steven Allen Avery. He was convicted of attempted murder and sexual assault back in 1985. Given a 35-year sentence, he would serve 18 before new DNA evidence would see him exonerated. He is, however, still in prison on two other murder charges.
The ‘Hurricane’ Rubin Carter
Played by Denzel Washington in the film of the same name, and immortalized in song by the mighty Bob Dylan, Rubin Carter's story still captures hearts. The professional boxer was convicted on triple murder charges in 1967. The subject of a poorly put-together case by a racist detective, Rubin would spend 19 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. After much public outcry, he would be exonerated when the jury verdict was eventually overturned.
Randall Dale Adams
Randall Dale Adams was convicted of the murder of Robert W. Wood who was a Dallas police officer. The saga was captured in the movie “Thin Blue Line” which prompted the case to be re-opened years later. Having served twelve years for the crime Adams would be released in 1989.
Sheldon Thomas Walks Free
Accused of murder in the second degree in 2004, Sheldon Thomas would go on to spend nearly two decades in prison before walking free in 2023. He was convicted of being involved in a fatal shooting in Flatbush after an eye-witness report said that the culprit was a man by the same name. The wrong Sheldon Thomas was picked up and would serve the next 19 years in jail for a crime he did not commit.
Timothy Cole
The sad story of Timothy Cole revolves around another wrongly convicted man. This one, however, would die in prison. Having served in the American military, the Texas university student was convicted on rape charges in 1985. He would be pardoned 15 years later, but unfortunately not before serving 14 years and dying in prison, making his pardon a posthumous one.
The West Memphis Three
Back in 1994 three men in Memphis Arkansas would be charged with the brutal slaughter of three boys a year earlier. Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr. were sentenced to either death or life imprisonment. It would not be until 2011 that they would be set free after new DNA evidence proved their innocence. They had already served 18 years for a crime they didn’t commit.
Albert Johnson
The case of Albert Johnson saw a man who had children and was engaged to be married, taken to prison for two counts of sexual assault. He was stopped for speeding, which would lead to his unlawful arrest and imprisonment. He then served ten years of his 39-year sentence before finally being exonerated.
Henry McCollum and Leon Brown
These two half-brothers were convicted of the rape and murder of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie back in 1983. Despite both being intellectually disabled, they were pegged for the crime and police coerced confessions out of them. They were not proven innocent until 2014 when they were released and awarded 75 million dollars after spending 31 years of their lives in prison.
Richard Phillips
Richard Phillips was charged with having fatally shot someone in Detroit in 1971. He was sentenced to life imprisonment even though the case would prove to have been based on false testimony. Exonerated in 2018, Phillips would become the longest-serving innocent person in American history.
Wilbert Jones
The second longest sentence ever served by an innocent person in the United States was served by Wilbert Jones. He was convicted of rape and charged based on the victim’s testimony alone, even though the victim gave three conflicting statements about the height and weight of her attacker. He would serve 45 years before being released.
Ledura Watkins
After being convicted of the murder of a 25-year-old school teacher in Highland Park Detroit, Ledura Watkins would serve over 41 years in prison. Later reports showed that it was a crooked police officer who had orchestrated the murder in an attempt to take over deceased teacher's drug business.
Time Served
These are just some of the famous cases where the law got it wrong. And even though some stories ended with a massive payout by the state in question, the lives of those wrongfully convicted had been changed forever.
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