Wrongful Convictions

Some of the wrongful convictions linked to Edwards.

Deceased

• William Heirens, three 1945 Chicago, Illinois, murders, convicted 1946, died in prison 2012.
• Sam Sheppard, 1954 murder of his wife, acquitted after a retrial in 1966, died 1970.
• Burton Abbott,1955 San Francisco, California, murder of Stephanie Bryan, executed 1957.
• Kenneth Hansen,1955 Chicago, Illinois murder, convicted in 1995, died in prison 2007.
• Gerald Robinson,1980 Ohio murder,convicted 2006, died in prison 2014.
• Juan Corona, convicted of the murders of 25 migrant farm workers found buried in shallow graves in peach orchards along the Feather River in Sutter County, California, in 1971. ( Two trials ) Died in prison, March 2019.
• John Bernard Feit April 16, 1960 murder of schoolteacher Irene Garza in McAllen, Texas. Died in prison, February 12, 2020.

Released from prison

• Edward Jorgenson and Robert Brom, 1960 Portland, Oregon double murder of Larry Peyton and Beverley Allan, convicted in 1968. Paroled after 3 and 7 years respectively.
• Louis DiNicola Exonerated in 1994 of arson and murder charges after three died in a fire on August 30, 1979. Edwards was named as a witness against DiNicola in this 1998 filing : “(d) that false testimony from Defendant Edwards was used against Plaintiff in an effort to convict him in his second criminal trial”.
• West Memphis Three,  1993 triple child murder, convicted 1994, released in August 2011 after Alford pleas.
• Ryan Ferguson, 2001  Kent Heitholt murder, charges dropped November 2013.
• Charles Erikson 2001 Kent Heitholt murder, released January 2023.
• Ingmar Guandique 2002  Chandra Levy murder, new trial granted June 2015, released July 2016.

Still alive and in prison or facing retrial

• Wayne Williams 1979 – 1981 Atlanta child murders.
• Scott Peterson  2002 Laci Peterson (pregnant wife) murder.
• Steven Avery 2006 murder of Teresa Halbach.
• Brendan Dassey 2006 murder of Teresa Halbach.
• Edgar Patino 2008 Megan Touma murder ( pregnant woman, North Carolina ).
• Stobert Holt Convicted of manslaughter in 2010 after Edwards murdered Robert Wiles in 2008.
• Christopher Coleman Convicted in May 2011 for the May 2009 murder of his wife and two children.
• Darlie Routier 6/6/96 double child murder Rowlett, Texas. See discussion here and here. Moved to this section from “Possible” in November 2019. Although Edwards did not carry out this murder, I believe he ordered it. See https://darlierouterisinnocent.wordpress.com/

Possible

• Anthony Joseph Palmer, 1997 murder of eight-year-old Kirsten Hatfield in Midwest City, Oklahoma. Edwards planted DNA evidence.
• Gary Leiterman July 8,1969 murder of law student Jane Mixer Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Larry Swearingen December 1998 abduction, murder of Melissa Trotter. Executed August 2019.
• Matthew Riley December 9, 2008 double murder Sacramento, California.
• Michael Skakel 1975 Martha Moxley murder, convicted June 2002, new trial granted October 2013, released on bond. November 2013, conviction re-instated December 2016. The Connecticut Supreme Court vacated the conviction on May 4, 2018. Note: this is listed in “It’s Me”, and was previously in the section above, but although there is some circumstantial evidence suggesting Edwards, on review in January 2017, it seems to me there are two more likely alternative suspects.

Next : Timeline

See also : http://coldcasecameron.com/wrongfully-accused/