11 States with Highest Number of Exonerations

6. Florida

Number of exonerated convicts: 57

Exonerated convict who served the longest time in prison: James Bain (35 years)

Florida, which occupies the 6th place on the list 11 states with the highest number of exonerations, has exonerated 57 convicts so far.

In 1974, James Bain, 19-year old African American, was sentenced to life in prison on the charge that he kidnapped and raped a nine-year-old boy. From the beginning, Bain insisted that he had nothing to do with the crime, but the victim’s testimony left a strong impression on the jury. The boy gave the description of the attacker that vaguely resembled Bain. Among other things, the victim said that the men who raped him had bushy sideburns and a mustache, and his uncle, who was a principal at Bain’s high school, told the police that the description sounded like Bain. In a photo line-up boy had to choose between five photos, two of which were of men with the mustache. The boy pointed at Bain.

Bain believes that decisive moment that led the jury to convict him was when the victim stood up in the courtroom and pointed at him as the perpetrator. “He was crying and everything in the process”, Bain said. He spent next 35 years behind bars in six different prisons, studying, playing chess, working as a prison welder, and trying to get DNA testing. The court denied his requests five times. Finally, with the help of Innocence Project Florida, Bain managed to obtain DNA analysis which showed that his DNA did not match biological material left by an attacker on the crime scene. He left prison in 2009, as 53-year old men, saying to press that he was not angry. State of Florida compensated him by $1.75 million.