17/07/2026
Ricky Jackson was only 18 years old when he was arrested for a murder he did not commit.
In 1975, he was convicted largely on the testimony of a 12-year-old witness. There was no physical evidence linking Jackson to the crime. He was sentenced to death, though that sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment. For nearly four decades, Jackson maintained his innocence.
Then, years later, the witness came forward and admitted that his testimony had been false. He said police had pressured and coerced him into identifying Jackson and two other men as the killers.
As a result, Jackson's conviction was vacated, and he was released in November 2014 after spending 39 years, 3 months, and 9 days behind bars. At the time, it was the longest known wrongful imprisonment ending in exoneration in U.S. history.
Jackson entered prison as a teenager and walked out at age 57. In total, he lost 14,178 days of freedom for a crime he never committed.
