Kansas Voices

Innocent Lives in the Balance In a death penalty system, there is always a real and unacceptable risk of executing an innocent person. Since 1973, 152 people nationwide have been exonerated from death row because new evidence came to light after they were sentenced to die for crimes they did not commit. Even with the best intentions, police officers, lab technicians, … [Read more...] about Voices of Innocence

Eddie Lowery: A Kansas Wrongful Conviction In the early morning hours of July 26, 1981, an Ogden, Kansas woman was brutally raped in her home.  Nearby that same night, Eddie Lowery, a 22 year-old soldier stationed at Fort Riley, was involved in a car accident. Because of his accident’s proximity to the location of the rape, Lowery was questioned by police about the … [Read more...] about Voices of Innocence: Eddie Lowery

A Death Row Exoneration. Juan Melendez spent nearly 18 years on Florida’s death row for a crime he did not commit.  Convicted of the brutal murder of Delbert Baker in 1984, Melendez was eventually exonerated in 2002. But how does an innocent man get convicted of murder? Barely able to understand English at the time of his arrest, Melendez unknowingly waived his … [Read more...] about Voices of Innocence: Juan Melendez

Executed. Innocent. On December 23, 1991, Cameron Todd Willingham was at home with his three children.  Willingham later recalled waking up to the cries of his 2 year-old daughter, and found his house filled with smoke and flames.  Willingham remembered frantically trying to reach his daughters in their room, but he could not find them.  During his search, his hair … [Read more...] about Voices of Innocence: Cameron Todd Willingham

An Execution and a Prosecutor’s Regret       Ruben Cantu was 17 years old at the time Pedro Gomez was murdered and Juan Moreno was wounded.  On November 8, 1984, both Gomez and Moreno were shot, but Moreno survived the attack with serious injuries.  Moreno, who was not a legal citizen of the United States at the time, was pressured into … [Read more...] about Voices of Innocence: Ruben Cantu