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From Steven Avery to Alfred Dreyfus, we count down 10 innocent people who were put behind
bars for crimes they didn’t commit.
#10: James Richardson: In 1967, Richardson’s children died after eating food laced with
insecticide. He was quickly accused of the dirty deed – prosecutors believed he’d
done it for the insurance money – and a capital murder charge was brought forth. Richardson
served 21 years in prison before a “special investigation” paved the way for his release.
The true culprit behind the poisoning is believed to be the children’s babysitter, a woman
named Betsy Reese who confessed to the crime in 1988. However, because she was suffering
from Alzheimer’s at the time, many claimed her words were questionable.
#9: Robert Dewey: During his 17-year stay in prison, Dewey missed the birth of his grandchildren
and the death of his only son. It all started in 1994 when he became a suspect in the murder
of Jacie Taylor. Police found a bloody shirt in his home and used it to build a case against
him. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison. A DNA test later revealed
that another man was responsible for the crime, and Dewey was released to his family.
#8: Dr. Sam Sheppard: Despite evidence pointing to Sheppard’s innocence, in 1954 he was
convicted for the murder of his wife. He was acquitted in court in 1966, but the damage
had already been done. By the time he died of liver disease in 1970, he was “nearly
penniless.” A few decades later, Sam Reese Sheppard sued the state of Ohio for his father’s
alleged wrongful imprisonment. This case was used as inspiration for the movie The Fugitive.
#7: Gary Gauger: Gauger was asleep when someone snuck onto his parent’s property and slit
their throats on an April night in 1993. Police were quick to accuse him, and they interrogated
him for 21 hours before he broke down and confessed. Though the confession was the only
evidence they had, a jury sentenced him to death. Two years later, surveillance tapes
used in an unrelated investigation captured a motorcycle gang member bragging about the
killing. Gauger was freed from his cell in 1996.
#6: Tammy Marquardt: 2-year-old Kenneth had never been in good health. He suffered from
epilepsy, asthma, and pneumonia, among other things. One day in 1993, Marquardt found her
son struggling to breathe and called for help. He died at the hospital, but the nightmare
wasn’t over yet. Charles Smith, a Canadian expert on “suspicious pediatric deaths,”
performed an autopsy and claimed the child died because he’d been smothered or strangled.
Marquardt was convicted of second-degree murder and sat in jail for 14 years before Smith’s
findings were questioned. It was discovered that Smith had made errors in multiple child
autopsies and he was stripped of his license. Marquardt’s conviction was overturned.
#5: Dewey Bozella: In 1977, an elderly woman was killed in her New York apartment. Bozella,
an 18-year-old at the time, was believed to be behind the terrible act. He was sent to
Sing Sing, one of the most famous prisons in the world, where he remained for over two
decades. It wasn’t until the new century that it became known that crucial evidence
had been suppressed during the trial. He was released in 2009. In 2011, Bozella received
the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
#4: Alfred Dreyfus: This political scandal came to be known as the “Dreyfus Affair.”
Dreyfus was a French solider accused of treason. It was believed he’d shared information
with the Germans, and he was sent to Devil’s Island as punishment in 1894. Two years later,
new evidence revealed that a man named Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy was the true troublemaker.
However, the military decided to cover up this information, and it wasn’t until 1899
that Dreyfus got a new trial. He was finally exonerated in 1906.
#3: Mary Virginia Jones: Jones spent 32 years in prison for a murder that her abusive ex-boyfriend
committed. In 1981, Mose Willis kidnapped two men and “ordered Jones at gunpoint”
to drive them to a back alley, where he shot the captives. Jones fled the scene but was
arrested a few days later. She was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder,
robbery, and kidnapping, but got out in 2014 after striking a deal in court.
#2: Arthur Allan Thomas: In 1970, Jeanette and Harvey Crewe lost their lives in a violent
way, and Thomas was pegged as the murderer. When it was discovered that policemen had
planted a cartridge from Thomas’s rifle in the couple’s garden, he was set free
after nine years of confinement.
#1: Steven Avery: Avery was accused of forcing himself on Penny Ann Beernsten in 1985. He
was sentenced to 32 years in prison, but a DNA test was performed in 1995 that showed
he wasn’t responsible for the crime. He was exonerated in 2003. Avery would later
become the focus of Netflix’s 10-episode documentary Making A Murderer.
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