11 States with Highest Number of Exonerations

4. Illinois

Number of exonerated convicts: 158

Exonerated convict who served the longest time in prison: Johnnie Savory (38 years)

Johnnie Savory was 14 years old when he was arrested and charged with murdering his 19-year old sister and his 14-year old best friend, who were found stabbed to death on January 18, 1977. The whole trial was based on his confession which was coerced during 20-hours long interrogation process that included two polygraph examinations. Since Savory was trialed as an adult, he was sentenced to prison terms of 50 to 100 years for each murder. In following years, defendant’s life revolved around futile attempts to prove his innocence. He managed to obtain the second trial, but this time prosecutor relied on testimonies of three witnesses whose stories were full of holes. Savory was once again convicted, this time to 40 to 80 years. The fact that one of the mentioned witnesses recanted his testimony was not enough to get Savory a new trial. After Illinois General Assembly had passed a statute which allowed the use of new technology on psychical evidence, Savory tried two times to have his clothes DNA tested, and he was refused on both occasions.

With the help of lawyers from The Center on Wrongful Convictions, Savory was released on parole in 2006. In 2015, he was exonerated after receiving a pardon from Governor Pat Quinn. Since then, Savory legal team has been trying to finally prove his innocence in the court with the help of new DNA evidence.

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