Acknowledgements & Notes
BIOGRAPHY: UNWRITTEN
By Toby Lee Greenberg
A great deal of thanks to Sister Helen Prejean for her tireless work to end the death penalty and raise awareness of the tragedy of wrongful convictions. Reading her book Dead Man Walking nearly 30 years ago was eye opening and served as a catalyst for my exploration into the history and continued use of capital punishment in the United States.
And to Kirk Bloodsworth, whose horrifying story of being wrongfully convicted was one of the first I read about many years ago. Learning about Bloodsworth’s conviction and death sentence for a crime he did not commit and his subsequent exoneration through DNA evidence -- the first in the United States -- compelled me to explore and “speak out” about the inhumanity of wrongful convictions and the death penalty through my art. Since his release and exoneration, Kirk Bloodsworth has worked tirelessly as an activist to abolish capital punishment and end wrongful convictions.
While researching Biography: Unwritten, I comb through numerous resources, gathering information on the men and women who have been exonerated from death row. The titles of my books imply they are biographies, with subtitles suggesting details about the person’s life, often prior to becoming entangled in the criminal justice system. The final page of each book, the epilogue, contains a simple paraphrased sentence, completing the prompt “Missed…”, as in “Missed building a credit history.” These “Missed” statements reveal a milestone or simple moment, which was lost while incarcerated, usually with lifelong consequences. Factual information regarding the subject’s time on death row completes each epilogue.
The following organizations have provided a wealth of information
My starting resource has been, and continues to be, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), whose Innocence Database has been an invaluable source of primary and in-depth information.
The Innocence Project
Witness to Innocence
https://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/action
Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
https://cwc.law.northwestern.edu
The National Registry of Exonerations
A project of the University of California, Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society, University of Michigan Law School, and Michigan State University College of Law.
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx
Forejustice
Innocence Database: http://forejustice.org/search_idb.htm
Countless newspapers and other media have provided substantial background information.
The following list is a sampling of some of the sources which were especially helpful in researching the corresponding people.
PETER LIMONE & RAY MILTON KRONE
Fields-Meyer, et al, December 2, 2022. Free At Last. People
SABRINA BUTLER-SMITH
Butler-Smith, Sabrina. “Sabrina’s Near-Death Experience”, YouTube via Witness to Innocence, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_PRTeCtPIM
Sharp, Rachel, December 21, 2021. Sabrina Butler-Smith: The fight for freedom of the first woman ever exonerated from death row in the US. Independent,
GORDON RANDY STEIDL
May 29, 2004. Convicted Man Free After 17 Years. Herald and Review
McGee, Noelle, May 29, 2004. Double-murder charge dropped, inmate freed. The News-Gazette
KIRK BLOODSWORTH
Chebium, Raju, June 20, 2000. Kirk Bloodsworth, twice convicted of rape and murder, exonerated by DNA evidence. CNN.com
ROLANDO CRUZ
Rimer, Sara, December 10, 2000. Life After Death Row. The New York Times
DAVE ROBY KEATON
The Exonerated. Directed by Bob Balaban, Brian Dennehy, Danny Glover, Delroy Lindo, Aidan Quinn, Susan Sarandon, Court TV / Radical Media, 2005.
Freedberg, Sydney P., July 4, 1999. The 13 Other Survivors and Their Stories.
St. Petersburg Times
GLYNN RAY SIMMONS
“Glynn Simmons Exonerated 48 Years After He Was Sentenced to Death in Oklahoma,” Death Penalty Information Center, September 20, 2023,
Hattenstone, Simon, February 28, 2024. “I spent 48 years in prison for a murder I didn’t commit. Here’s how I fought my way to freedom. The Guardian.
Osborne, Deon, September 11, 2023. Glynn Simmons: Black Man’s 48-Year Prison Case Dismissed. The Black Wall Street Times
SAMUEL POOLE
April 18, 1974. Inmate Freed; ‘It’s a Miracle,’ Says Mother. Winston-Salem Journal
JONATHAN CHARLES TREADWAY (aka TREADAWAY)
Turco, Frank, October 10, 1978. Treadaway cleared in ’74 death of boy. Arizona Republic
September 24, 1978. Defense Attorney Loses Trial File. Arizona Daily Sun
LAWYER JOHNSON
Lehman, Betsy A., Joseph M. Harvey, October 20, 1982. Murder charge dropped, he’s free man again. The Boston Globe
October 20, 1982. Ex-murder convict declared free man. The Berkshire Eagle
December 9, 1983. Legislature Acts to Pay Moral Debt. Athol Daily News
RONALD KEINE
December 17, 1975. For Men Living on Death Row, Murder Conviction Like An Illusion.
Las Cruces Sun-News
Largo, Jim, March 14, 1974. Quarter-Million Bonds Set for Five in Murder Case.
Albuquerque Journal
Keine, Ron, September 27, 2010. “From Death Row to Elusive Freedom"
https://otherwords.org/from_death_row_to_elusive_freedom
via https://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/single-post/ron-keine
May 22, 1974. Maid Testifies in Murder Case. The Odessa American
RONALD KEINE continued
February 12, 2017. Surviving Death Row, Al Jazeera.com
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/witness/2017/2/12/surviving-death-row
WITNESS TO INNOCENCE #ImLivingProof, video
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/5f8b94_1ab5b2de381a4cd0aaa748d39fdd7ce2/1080p/mp4/file.mp4
CLARENCE SMITH Jr. & RICHARD WAYNE GREER & THOMAS GLADISH
McCraw, Sandy, June 1, 1974. Friend Backs Up Cyclists' Alibi. Albuquerque Journal
Gibson, William, May 6, 1976. Vagos club bikers no longer see one another.
Albuquerque Tribune
May 22, 1974. Maid Testifies in Murder Case. The Odessa American
December 16, 1975. State Judge Frees California Bikers. Carlsbad Current-Argus
June 6, 1974. Four Motorbike Gang Members Draw Death. Carlsbad Current-Argus
Tessier, Denise, May 11, 1976. Each Goes His Own Way. Albuquerque Journal
Tessier, Denise, May 11, 1976. $10 Million Suit Filed on Velten Trial.
Albuquerque Journal
December 6, 1975. Four men on death row to get new trial for '74 NM slaying.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
JAMES JOSEPH RICHARDSON
Bauer, Steven E., Jan 10, 1986. Parole board reverses itself; Arcadia killer could go free.
Tampa Tribune
Aug 13, 1988. Witnesses Say Babysitter Admits to Poisoning 7 Children".
The Bradenton Herald
Time Simply Passes. Ty Flowers, Director and producer, Indie Rights, 2015
Nordheimer, Jon, Nov 3, 1967. ‘No Workinghard Man Ever Killed His Children’. Miami Herald
"Poisoned Justice" by Peter B. Gallagher, FREEDOM (a publication from the Church of Scientology), https://www.freedommag.ca/magazine/201702-the-data-demon/investigation/poisoned-justice.html___
Nordheimer, Jon and Wingate Main, Nov 3, 1967. ‘James Is Smart,' Stepmother Says of Accused Father in Arcadia Jail. The Miami Herald
Aug 12, 1988. New Evidence Found in '68 murders. Orlando Sentinel
King, Bill, Oct.25, 1967. An Infamous Day in Arcadia. The Tampa Tribune
Bauer, Steven E., Jan 26, 1986. God has made him change. The Tampa Tribune-Times
Oct 21, 1995. Nevada's Longest on Death Row. Reno Gazette- Journal
ROBERTO HERNANDEZ MIRANDA
Fields-Meyer, Thomas, Pam Lambert and Alex Tresniowski, December 2, 2002. Up Front. People Magazine
Capó Jr., Julio. The Myths of Mariel. Cuba Countrepoints.com https://cubacounterpoints.com/archives/3327.html
MIRANDA v. CLARK COUNTY NEVADA (2003), https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-9th-circuit/1213142.html___
Miranda v. State, JUSTIA U.S. Law, https://law.justia.com/cases/nevada/supreme-court/1985/14553-1.html
Santiago, Fabiola, June 13, 2021. From Mariel to 1980 Miami: chaos, reunions, and a city Cubanized, forever changed |Opinion. Miami Herald
Martinez, Isabella, February 9, 2021. Event recap of ‘Undesirables’: A Queer History of Latinx Challenges to U.S. Immigration Policy. USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. https://dornsife.usc.edu/eri/2021/02/09/event-recap-undesirables/
BRADLEY SCOTT
From Court TV and DPIC: "Exonerated Bradley Scott talks about his three-year ordeal on death row"
Freedberg, Sydney, July 4,1999. FREED FROM DEATH ROW: ‘We Don’t Look Back’.
Tampa Bay Times
ALFRED DEWAYNE BROWN
The Prosecution: Hidden Alibi, The Innocence Files. Directed by Andy Grieve, Including Alfred Dewayne Brown, Brian Stolarz, Netflix, Season 1, Episode 8, 2020
ALFRED DEWAYNE BROWN continued
June 10, 2015. An Innocent Man. The Houston Chronicle
Rogers, Brian, June 9, 2015. DA drops murder charge in killing of HPD officer.
Houston Chronicle
Stolarz, Brian. Grace and Justice on Death Row: The Race Against Time to Free an Innocent Man, Skyhorse. 2016
Oct 26, 2005. Man Sentenced to Death for Officer's Killing. Tyler Morning Telegraph
Falkenberg, Lisa, April 20, 2015. Evidence mounts that wrong man on death row for killing HPD officer. Houston Chronicle
Rogers, Brian, June 8, 2015. Man sent to death row in officer's killing is freed. Houston Chronicle
Texas Dept of Criminal Justice https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/brownalfred.html
Falkenberg, Lisa, June 10, 2015. Brown says he was able to let go of his anger. Houston Chronicle
-
Lisa Falkenberg won the Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of Alfred Dewayne Brown in the Houston Chronicle,helping to prove his innocence.
DPIC. "Culture of Conviction", The Death Penalty in Context Podcast, conversation with Attorney Brian Stolarz, April 30, 2018, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/resources/podcasts/p7
Novogrod, Jamie, Jan 14, 2016. Echoes of 'Making a Murderer': The man released after 10 years on death row, MSNBC. https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/real-life-making-murderer-alfred-dewayne-brown-10-years-death-row-msna773781
MADISON HOBLEY
Center on Wrongful Convictions Survey Winter 2004-2005, The Snitch System, www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfulconvictions
Jan 8, 1987. Man Charged with Murder After Blaze. The Pantagraph
https://www.newspapers.com/image/73216578/?match=1&terms=Madison%20Hobley:---
Jan 12, 2003, Mills, Steve and Monica Davey. Pardons for Four: Clemency eyed for 156 more on Ill. Death row. CHICAGO TRIBUNE, syndicated in Newsday (Suffolk Edition)
MADISON HOBLEY continued
Jan 12, 2003, The Death Penalty Debate: Ryan Considers Clemency. Chicago Tribune
JUSTIA U.S. Law: https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/supreme-court/1994/71184-7.html____
Chicago Police Torture Archive. Madison Hobley. https://chicagopolicetorturearchive.com/madison-hobley
Lyon, Rachel, Director. Jim Lopes and Rachel Lyon, Producers. Race To Execution. PBS, 2007
Jan 15, 2003. Caribbean honeymoon planned. The Palm Beach Post
Jan 16, 2003, Burkeman, Oliver. Hell, I'm angry. The Guardian
Possley, Maurice and Steve Mills. Jan 11, 2003. Pardons Spark Raw Emotions on Death Row. Chicago Tribune
Jan 11, 2003. Pardon: Prosecutors blast Ryan as 'a pharmacist’. Chicago Tribune
ANTHONY RAY HINTON
"From Cutting grass to death row, by Ashley Remkus, "The Birmingham News", Feb 26, 2017,___Other info is mainly from his memoirs, "The Sun Does Shine" -- excellent, co-written with Lara Love Hardin , c. 2018, St. Martin's Press
Hinton, Anthony Ray. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life, Freedom, and Justice.
St. Martin’s Press, 2018
EARL WASHINGTON
Earl Washington, INNOCENCE PROJECT: https://innocenceproject.org/cases/earl-washington/
The Case for Innocence: Four Cases, FRONTLINE, PBS,
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/case/cases/
Earl Washington Jr., The National Registry of Exonerations, 08/29/2011,
https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/10938
Clines, Francis X., Sept 7, 2000, New DNA Tests Are Seen as Key to Virginia Case.
The New York Times
EARL WASHINGTON continued
Aug 29, 2006, updated Mar 14, 2025, Death Penalty Information Center, INNOCENCE: Editorial Addresses the Risks of the Death Penalty
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-editorial-addresses-the-risks-of-the-death-penalty
AARON PATTERSON
Mills, Steve and Monica Davey, January 12, 2003. Pardons for Four: Clemency eyed for 156 more on Ill. Death row, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, syndicated in Newsday (Suffolk Edition)
Chicago Tribune 1/10/2003, big story___
Burkeman, Oliver, January 16, 2003. “’Hell, I'm angry'", The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jan/17/usa.features11Yup
Terry, Don Terry, November 2, 2003. LIVE FROM DEATH ROW, Chicago Tribune
"George Ryan, Illinois Governor Who Halted Prison Executions, Dies at 91"by Robert D. McFadden, May 2, 2025, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/us/politics/george-ryan-dead.html
CHICAGO POLICE TORTURE ARCHIVE, The Invisible Institute,
https://chicagopolicetorturearchive.com/aaron-patterson
LEON BROWN & HENRY McCOLLUM
Racist Roots: Origins of North Carolina's Death Penalty, produced by The Center for Death Penalty Litigation and Paper Plus Rocket, 2020,
DPIC; The News & Observer (see #`47)
Wikipedia: "Henry McCollum and Leon Brown" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_McCollum_and_Leon_Brown
Blinder, Alan, SAVED FROM EXECUTION: The Unlikely Exoneration of Henry McCollum, The Center for Death Penalty Litigation (CDPL), March 16, 2015,
Pardons Elude Men Freed After Decades in North Carolina Prison, The New York Times
March 8, 2023. Federal Appeals Court reduces judgment for pardoned NC brothers
by $46 million. The Carolina Journal
Death row interview with Henry McCollum, The News & Observer, YouTube, 2014 https://youtu.be/NxV6PWfa7i8?si=iDbXfDPl04pJRnUR
LEON BROWN & HENRY McCOLLUM continued
Sept 3, by Michael Biesecker for the Associated Press, 2014. NC half-brothers freed after 3 decades in prison. via The News & Observer,https://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/article10048688.html
JUAN F. RAMOS
December 13, 1982, Mariel Refugee to Stand Trial in Murder Case. The Naples Daily News
Jan 26, 1983, "Jury finds Ramos guilty. Florida Today
Freedberg, Sydney, July 4, 1999 . Freed from Death Row. St. Petersburg Times
Beasley, Alex, Jan 27, 1983. Jury recommends life term for Ramos. The Orlando Sentinel
January 26, 1983. Ramos. The Orlando Sentinel
EARL WASHINGTON
Earl Washington, INNOCENCE PROJECT: https://innocenceproject.org/cases/earl-washington/
"The Case for Innocence: Four Cases", FRONTLINE, PBS
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/case/cases/
Earl Washington Jr., The National Registry of Exonerations, 08/29/2011
https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/10938
Clines, Francis X., Sept 7, 2000. New DNA Tests Are Seen as Key to Virginia Case.
The New York Times
INNOCENCE: Editorial Addresses the Risks of the Death Penalty, by Death Penalty Information Center, Aug 29, 2006, updated Mar 14, 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-editorial-addresses-the-risks-of-the-death-penalty