And Harold Wilson, who spent 17 years in prison—most of it on death row—for a crime he did not commit, died May 18 from complications from a stroke. He was 61 years old. In 1989, Harold Wilson was convicted of a triple murder and sentenced to death by a Pennsylvania jury. A decade later, Wilson’s death sentence was overturned due to ineffective counsel. However, his murder convictions were not reversed, and he remained on death row for years. Finally, in October of 2005, Wilson won a new trial and was acquitted of all charges after DNA evidence proved his innocence. Speaking to Democracy Now! just after his exoneration, Wilson said he was released with 65 cents and a bus token.

Harold Wilson: “It’s like, you know, after 18 years of dealing with the injustice system, all the abuse—the physical, mental abuse—I’m placed back in society with nothing, just the shelter of family. You know, no means of livelihood, no means of support, no financial bank account, no credit card. No compensation whatsoever.”