It's being called a historic milestone - 200 people have been exonerated after being sentenced to death since 1973, what's known as the modern era of capital punishment.

The exonerees were wrongfully convicted, because of misconduct from government officials or other factors, and then set free after being behind bars - sometimes for decades.

Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said cases like this have been devastating not just for individual families, but for the nation.

"Communities really lose confidence in the integrity of the legal system," said Maher, "and its ability to respond appropriately and keep them safe."

Half of the public now believes the U.S. unfairly applies the death penalty, according to the latest polling. But a majority of Americans still favor death sentences for those convicted of murder.

Capital punishment is illegal in West Virginia, and the state's last execution was more than 60 years ago. But there have been efforts to reinstate it this year.

And a jury recommended federal death sentences for two Mountain State residents in 2007, which were later overturned.

Nationwide, Maher said far more than 200 people have likely been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, in part because of challenges with the legal appeal process.

"Once someone is convicted and sent to prison, that burden then shifts to them to prove that they're innocent," said Maher. "And that's very difficult to do without a good lawyer. And it's also very difficult to do because of the operation of the law."

The Death Penalty Information Center says two-thirds of those exonerated have been people of color.

President Joe Biden campaigned on abolishing the federal death penalty, but his administration has taken few steps to do so.




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A bill pending in the West Virginia Legislature would increase the length of penalties for "serious" felony convictions, but critics have said it would contribute to prison overpopulation.

The state Senate passed Senate Bill 136 by an overwhelming margin last week. The House of Delegates has yet to consider the measure.

Kenneth Matthews, West Virginia economic justice associate for the American Friends Service Committee, said extending the minimum time prisoners must serve before a parole hearing would pack the prisons with more people waiting for a conditional release.

"Increasing penalties for offenses will create an increase in the prison population that's already overpopulated and create an increase in the aging (prison) population in the state, which is also overpopulated," Matthews outlined.

West Virginia's overall jail population in 2024 was about 11,000, with an incarceration rate of 674 per 100,000 residents, considerably higher than the national average of 614.

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, the state's 10 regional jails were initially built to hold 2,883 people -- but they house more than 4,400 people on any given day. The bill's Republican backers, who have a legislative supermajority, said state law is not stern enough on serious offenders.

Matthews countered the numbers do not back up their position.

"West Virginia is already kind of tough on crime," Matthews pointed out. "We're not the lowest in terms of sentencing and penalties in the country or even in our area, and we're not like an outlier in terms of lower penalties for certain offenses."

He added proposed sentences of 40-60 years for murder before people are eligible for parole would significantly expand the number of older, less-dangerous members of the prison population.

"They have a geriatric wing there and they have actually instituted a job, called the orderly, where their whole job is to push individuals around on wheelchairs and take care of their needs throughout the facility," Matthews emphasized.


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Programs allowing incarcerated people to receive reductions in their sentences help lower chances of reoffending, according to a recent analysis.

North Carolina has earned time policies, enabling people to reduce their sentences by up to 30%.

Sarah Anderson, associate director of criminal justice and civil liberties at the conservative public policy think tank R Street Institute, said needs-based assessments when someone enters incarceration typically determine the programs to help a person improve themselves and succeed outside of incarceration.

"Whether it's a literacy program, other education programs, certain job programs," Anderson outlined. "Then for individuals with behavioral health or substance use issues, there's a lot of treatment opportunities."

People who complete evidence-based recidivism-reduction programs can see their time in prison decreased. At least 38 states have either earned time or good time programs, or both. Good time programs reduce sentences by incentivizing good behavior.

Anderson pointed out "truth-in-sentencing" laws became popular during the War on Drugs and required people to serve a certain percentage, usually 85%, of their sentence before becoming eligible for reductions. The approach waned in the 1990s but Anderson noted truth-in-sentencing laws saw a resurgence after the pandemic because of increases in crime, despite evidence such laws do not improve outcomes.

"These types of incentive programs actually work far better to prevent crime in the future than does just requiring somebody serve 85% of a sentence without any type of an incentive to even participate in a productive program while they're incarcerated," Anderson reported.

Anderson emphasized truth-in-sentencing laws also went away because the cost to imprison someone can strain state budgets. The cost to incarcerate someone in North Carolina last year, for instance, was on average more than $50,000 annually. Anderson argued the cost means we should ensure people do not go back to prison.

"It's sort of incumbent on us to make sure that if we're incarcerating people and they are in state custody that we're doing everything we can to make sure that the time that they're spending in there is the only time that they're going to be spending in there," Anderson contended.


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Medical neglect inside Ohio's jails is under scrutiny following the release of a new toolkit by The Marshall Project to aid in investigating in-custody deaths.

An investigation into the Cuyahoga County Jail uncovered serious lapses in emergency response. Families of those affected are demanding answers and accountability.

Tanya Anderson waited eight months to see surveillance footage of her nephew's death while he was incarcerated.

"What kind of people are they?" Anderson asked. "They're not doing anything but just walking around my nephew, Glenn Williams Jr.'s body, and not even trying to help him or revive him."

The state found the jail out of compliance with medical training requirements in this case, but no disciplinary action was taken against staff despite nine minutes passing before CPR was attempted.

Beyond Williams' case, concerns over medical neglect extend to other incidents.

Eric Jaeger, a paramedic, EMS educator and expert in emergency response argued the deaths and near-fatal incidents could have been prevented with proper training.

"You need to cycle back and reevaluate whether the folks who are responding to these emergencies ever received appropriate medical training," Jaeger emphasized.

Adam Chaloupka, attorney and union representative for the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, which includes the county's corrections officers, said they have made attempts to master the training but it is unclear why.

"There is no discussion of jail policies on what you're supposed to do with this training," Chaloupka contended. "There's no discussion of how you're supposed to use it. They're just supposed to notify that people that there is potentially a medical emergency."

Cuyahoga County Jail officials maintain they are addressing compliance issues but critics argued without enforceable policies and accountability, inmates remain at risk. Families continue to push for reforms to prevent further tragedies.

This story is based on original reporting by Mark Puente and Brittany Hailer for The Marshall Project and Scott Noll for News 5 Cleveland. This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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