Injustice and Exonerations for 38Wrongfully Convicted People in Massachusetts since 1976, the Bi-centennial. Listed by date of exoneration.
(Compiled by Morrison Bonpasse, 2009, Newcastle, Maine. .)
1978 Ella May Ellison+
1982 Lawyer Johnson+
1982 Christian Amado+
1982 George Reissfelder+
1985 Frank Grace+
1985 William Johnson
1986 Peter Vaughn+
1986 Bobby Jo Leaster+
1988 Louis Santos+
1989 Harold Sullivan+
1991 Christina Hill+
1995 Christopher Harding+
1997 Marvin Mitchell*+
1999 Marlon Pressley+
1999 Donnell Johnson+
1999 Eric Sarsfield*+
2000 Neil Miller*+
2001 Ronald Cassesso, Louis Greco+, Wilfred French, Peter Limone+, Joseph Salvati+
and Henry Tameleo+ (lumped together on Limone's release date)
2001 Kenneth Waters*+
2001 Ulysses Rodriguez Charles*+
2001 Angel Hernandez, now known as Eduardo Valasquez*+
2003 Pasquale Barone
2003 Dennis Maher*+
2003 Shawn Drumgold
2004 Stephen Cowans*+
2004 Angel Toro
2004 Laurence Adams+
2004 Kenneth Conley
2004 Anthony Powell*+
2005 Vincent Ferrara
2007 Bernard Baran
2008 Guy Randolph
2008 Roland Chretien
* Listed on the Innocence Project website at
+ listed on the Center on Wrongful Convictions website at
Listed chronologically by date of exoneration, with the number of years in prison in parentheses.
1978 (4 years) Ella Mae Ellisonwasconvicted in 1974 for her alleged role in the robbery in 1973 which led to the murder of Boston Police Detective John Schroeder.The three youths who committed the crime were apprehended within a day. In the course of plea-bargaining, two of the defendants agreed to testify against an accomplice named "Sue." Ella Mae Ellison was eventually arrested as being "Sue." While she knew the defendants, the only evidence against her was their testimony. As part of their agreement with prosecutors, the two plead guilty to second-degree murder. Ellison was convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery and sentenced to two life terms. In 1976, the two defendants who had testified against Ellison admitted that there had been no fourth participant in the crime; they had invented "Sue." The Supreme Judicial Court subsequently reversed Ellison's conviction because the prosecutor withheld evidence that could have exonerated her; and all charges were dropped and she was released in 1978. See 379 N.E.2d 560.
1982 (11 years) Lawyer Johnson wasconvicted in 1971 of the murder of James Christian and sentenced to death. His conviction was overturned in 1974 and a second jury convicted him of second-degree murder with a sentence of life imprisonment, which was confirmed on appeal. Both the murder victim and all the members of both juries were white. In 1982, a reluctant witness identified the true killer: the prosecution's key witness against Johnson who was released in 1982.
1982 (2 years) Christian Amado-convicted in 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of George Sneed. The only evidence linking him to the crime was an eyewitness who had first told police that a photo of Amado resembled the killer, but at trial, testified that he was positive that Amado was not the killer. On appeal, the conviction was overturned and he wasReleased in 1982.
1982 (15 years) George Reissfelderwasconvicted in 1967 for the shooting death of railway clerk Michael Shaw. during a 1966 payroll heist at Boston's South Station. Prosecutors sought the death penalty against "Silky" Sullivan, who had been identified by witnesses, and Reissfelder, who had virtually no evidence against him. By the time of the trial, police knew that Reissfelder was not Sullivan's accomplice but did not want to say so because that revelation could jeopardize the prosecution of Sullivan. Both were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Several years later, attorneys were able to find reluctant alibi witnesses for Reissfelder, a Boston police officer who had learned of the fraudulent prosecution, as well as deathbed testimony from Sullivan clearing Reissfelder who was released in 1982.
1985 (11 years) Frank "Parky" Grace, New Bedford political activist and Black Panther Party member, was convicted in 1974 along with his brother Ross Grace of the 1972 murder of Marvin Morgan and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Recanted testimony by an eyewitness who had apparently been coached by New Bedford police led to an evidentiary hearing in 1984, where Ross Grace acknowledged sole responsibility for the murder and Frank was released in 1985.
1985 (4 years) William Johnson was wrongly convicted of assault in 1981 on the basis of testimony by a lone witness. Johnson's conviction was overturned in 1985 by the Massachusetts Court of Appeals in an opinion that castigated the prosecutor for vouching for the credibility of that witness although there was reason to believe she wasn't telling the truth.
1986 (3 years) Peter Vaughn was wrongly convicted in December 1984 of a January 1983 armed robbery, based on an eyewitnesses identification. Peter Vaughn refused to plead guilty, claiming he was with his girlfriend picking up their child at daycare at the time the crime was committed. Vaughn was sentenced to 7-1/2 to 12 years in prison. While in prison Vaughn met a prisoner who confessed to him that he had committed the robbery. In 1986 the Massachusetts Court of Appeals vacated Vaughn's conviction, ordered his acquittal, and he was immediately released from prison.
1986 (15 years) Bobby Joe Leasterwasconvicted in 1971 of the murder of Roxbury merchant Levi Whiteside and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1977, two attorneys, Robert Muse and his son, Christopher, brother workingpro bono uncovered a new witness who had seen two men, neither of whom was Leaster, fleeing the scene of the crime. It was shown that the conviction was based on erroneous eyewitness identification. The murder weapon was also shown to have been used in a crime two weeks after Leaster's arrest. After 15 years in prison, the charges were dismissed.
1988 (3 years) Louis Santoswasconvicted in 1985 for the killing of Social worker Colleen Maxwell during a robbery in 1983. Santos was convicted in 1985 on very weak identification based almost entirely on race. He had served three years of a life prison term when the Supreme Judicial Court in 1988 threw out his conviction. A jury acquitted Santos upon retrial in 1990.
1989 Harold Sullivan. Convicted in 1985 and sentenced to life in prison.
1991 (1 year) Christina Hillwasconvicted as a juvenile in 1990 of poisoning 2-year-old Henry Gallop. Following a closed trial, she was convicted of second-degree murder and committed to the Department of Youth Services. It was subsequently revealed that the conviction was based on perjured testimony. Hill requested a jury trial where she was acquitted after 30 minutes of deliberation.
1995 Christopher Harding. Convicted in 1989, of attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison. "Served nearly seven years for 1990 conviction of attempted murder of Boston police officer. Cleared when police misconduct surfaced " (5 May 2004, Boston Herald, by Maggie Mulvihill)
1997 (7 years) Marvin Mitchell was exonerated in April 1997 after spending seven years and three months in prison for a crime he did not commit. In 1990 he was convicted of abducting and raping an eleven-year-old girl while she waited for the bus. He was incarcerated despite the fact that he did not match the victim identification nor did he match the semen samples obtained from the victim. In 1997 additional testing showed that Mr. Mitchell did not match the DNA semen sample obtained at the crime scene. Mr. Mitchell was represented by Noah Rosmarin through the New England Innocence Project.
1999 (3 years) Marlon Passley was convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder for killing Tennyson Drakes and wounding two of Drakes' friends, both of whom identified Passley as the shooter. A total of four eye witnesses testified at trial that Passley was the gunman, while nine others testified that he was elsewhere at the time. The conviction, upheld on appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court, resulted in a sentence of life without possibility of parole, The District Attorney, Ralph Martin, asked that Passley's conviction be vacated after new evidence came to light and he was released in 1999. The conviction was overturned in 2000.
1999 (5 years) Donnell Johnsonwas convicted by a judge in March, 1996 and by a jury in November 1996, and had been sentenced to 18-20 years in prison for the murder of 9-year-old Jermaine Goffigan before an unrelated federal drug investigation unexpectedly uncovered testimony that led to Johnson's full exoneration and release. Johnson's conviction had been based on mistaken eye-witness testimony. From the Boston Globe story about the exoneration, " Suffolk District Attorney Ralph C. Martin II said his office would ask a judge today to vacate the murder conviction of Johnson, 22, who was freed in November after new evidence first surfaced. "Donnell Johnson was convicted twice, largely on eyewitness accounts of the murder offered by family members of Jermaine Goffigan," Martin told reporters during a late-afternoon press conference at his office. "After a lengthy investigation we have concluded that those witness accounts were mistaken.
Both Martin and Boston Police Commissioner Paul Evans publicly apologized to Johnson for sending him to prison, just minutes after meeting privately with Goffigan's mother and grandmother to tell them they no longer believe Johnson is guilty of the 1994 murder."
1999 (9 years) Eric Sarsfield, who was released on parole in June 1999, was exonerated in August 2000 after serving nine years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was convicted of a 1986 rape of a Middlesex County woman. The Commonwealth offered no physical evidence at trial to link Mr. Sarsfield to the crime and, to a large extent, based its case on the victim's identification. In March 2000, DNA tests conducted on the clothing the victim wore at the time of the crime indicated that Mr. Sarsfield was excluded as the source of semen found on the clothing. His attorney, George Garfinkle, through the New England Innocence Project, filed a motion for post-conviction relief on August 3, 2000, which was granted.
2000 (10 years) Neil Miller was exonerated in May 2000 after spending 10 years in prison. He was convicted of aggravated rape while armed and breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony on December 19, 1990, in Boston. Mr. Miller's conviction rested almost entirely on the eyewitness testimony of the victim, who picked his photo out of a mug book (which was taken after he had been convicted of a non-sexual crime). At trial, a scientist from the Boston Police Crime Laboratory testified that Mr. Miller could not be eliminated as the source of semen stains that were found on the victim's bedding. Almost ten years later, additional and more sophisticated testing was performed on the samples and the test results definitively excluded Neil Miller as the source of the sperm found. Mr. Miller was represented by the New York Innocence Project and Nona Walker.
2001 (29 for Salvati, 33 years for Limone) Ronald Cassesso, Wilfred French, Peter Limone, Louis Greco, Joseph Salvati and Henry Tameleowere convicted in 1968.
In order to protect Mafia informants Joseph Barboza and Vincent Flemmi, corrupt FBI agents Paul Rico and Dennis Condon encouraged perjured testimony from Barboza against six men for the 1965 murder of Edward "Teddy" Deegan. Found guilty and sentenced to death were Peter Limone, Louis Greco, Henry Tameleo and Ronald Cassesso. Sentenced to life were Joseph Salvati and Wilfred Roy French. While Cassesso and French had participated in the murder along with Barboza and Flemmi, Greco, Limone, Salvati and Tameleo had not, and were identified by Barboza in order to settle old grudges. After four years on death row, the four death sentences were converted to life sentences. Salvati won a commutation of his sentence and was paroled in 1997. Limone's and Salvati's sentences were overturned and Limone was released in 2001 when secret FBI documents were uncovered by a Justice Department task force. Tameleo had died in prison in 1985. Greco had died in prison in 1995. Factually guilty but nonetheless convicted on perjured testimony, French was released from prison in 2001, but Cassesso had died in prison.
2001 (18 years) Kenneth Waters spent eighteen years in prison for a murder he did not commit. The conviction was vacated in 2001 with the help of his sister, Betty Anne Waters. On May 21, 1980, the victim was found dead in her bed at home. The perpetrator left no fingerprints, but hairs and blood were present at the crime scene. Based on the testimony of several witnesses, including two ex-girlfriends, police arrested Kenneth Waters for murder. He was convicted in 1983. After Mr. Waters lost his appeals, his sister eventually put herself through law school in order to take over her brother's case. Ms. Waters located the evidence in a courthouse basement, including DNA evidence which was tested and excluded Mr. Waters as the possible perpetrator. Kenneth Waters was also represented by the New York Innocence Project and New England Innocence Project attorneys.
2001 (18 years) Ulysses Rodriguez Charles was convicted in 1984 of raping three female roommates in Brighton and spent eighteen years in prison. In May 2001 he was exonerated of those crimes. His exoneration came after testing of the biological evidence showed that semen on the victim's sheet and robe did not match Mr. Charles. The judge also ruled that the prosecutors acted improperly by not revealing that one of the victims believed the rapist was circumcised. Mr. Charles is not circumcised. He was represented by Julie Boyden and Steve Hrones through the New England Innocence Project.
2001 (13 years) Angel Hernandez, now known as Eduardo Velasquez, spent thirteen years in prison for a crime he did not commit. On November 23, 1988, Mr. Hernandez was convicted by a jury of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, indecent assault and aggravated rape. His conviction was affirmed on August 12, 1991. Blood typing was the type of testing conducted at the trial in 1991. This test indicated that Hernandez had the same blood type as the assailant, but it was also stated that approximately eleven percent of the Hispanic population shared this blood type. A motion was filed to gain access to the evidence for DNA testing. In 2001 DNA testing was performed on sperm collected as evidence. The results excluded Hernandez, who was exonerated and released on August 15, 2001. Mr. Hernandez was represented by Sam Silverman, through the New England Innocence Project In August 2005, Velasquez became one of the first three people awarded compensation by the State of Massachusetts under its wrongful conviction compensation statute. He was awarded the maximum of $500,000. Velasquez settled a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Chicopee in November 2005 for $2,450,000.
2003 (10 years) Pasquale Baronewas convicted on both state and federal charges for the 1985 gangland murder of Vincent "Jimmy" Limoli. In prison since his arrest in 1998, Barone was freed on October 24, 2003, after US District Judge Mark Wolf found that a federal prosecutor had failed to tell the defense that a key government witness had changed his story just before trial, which Wolf described as "fraudulent." In order to avoid additional time in prison awaiting a retrial, Barone agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter for Limoli's killing and was sentenced to five years. Barone also admitted that he assisted in the murder of Anthony Corlito in 1979, and shot a guard during the robbery of a credit union in 1982.
2003 (19 years) Dennis Maher was convicted in two separate trials of attacks on three women. In March 1984, he was found guilty of the rape and assault of two women in Lowell on consecutive evenings in November 1983. In April 1984, he was convicted of the August 1983 rape of another woman in Ayer. After the second trial, Maher was sentenced to life in prison. Under Massachusetts law in effect at the time of his convictions, Mr. Maher was also civilly committed to Bridgewater Treatment Center. In 2001, the NEIP located long-misplaced evidence from the Lowell trial in the basement of the Middlesex Superior Court. In December 2002, DNA test results excluded Mr. Maher as the source of semen on the evidence. After Mr. Maher was excluded as the source of semen in the Lowell case, in February 2003, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office located at the Ayer Police station a slide prepared from the rape kit of the Ayer rape victim. This slide was submitted for DNA testing and Mr. Maher was again excluded as the source of semen. Dennis Maher was exonerated in April 2003 after 19 years in prison. He was represented by New England Innocence Project attorneys and by the Innocence Project in New York.
2003 (14 years) Shawn Drumgoldwas convicted in 1989 of first-degree murder for the 1988 shooting death of 12-year-old Tiffany Moore and sentenced to life without a parole. Following a Boston Globe investigation which raised doubts about Drumgold's guilt and several prosecution witnesses revealed that their testimony had been coerced by authorities, prosecutors requested that the conviction be overturned. The investigation of Tiffany's murder has been re-opened.
2004 (6 years) Stephan Cowans was erroneously convicted of armed assault with intent to murder and other related crimes for the May 30, 1997 shooting of a Boston Police Officer. To convict Mr. Cowans, the Commonwealth used an eyewitness identification and a latent fingerprint that had been found on a glass mug used by the assailant. In 2000, the New England Innocence Project helped secure DNA testing for Cowans. After reviewing the DNA test results of items worn by the assailant - results that exonerated Mr Cowans - the Commonwealth re-analyzed the fingerprint that had been used to convict him. This re-examination showed that the fingerprint did not belong to Mr. Cowans. After serving over six and a half years in prison, Mr. Cowans was officially exonerated in February 2004. He was represented by New England Innocence Project attorneys, Robert N. Feldman of Birnbaum & Godkin, LLP, Steven Maidman and by the Innocence Project in New York.