| Summary |
"James Hanratty was falsely convicted of the rape of a woman and the murder of her boyfriend on Aug 22, 1961. J. Hanratty was a petty criminal tabbed by the police as the killer/rapist. Significant exculpatory evidence was concealed by the prosecution and led to his wrongful conviction and subsequent execution. Convicted 2-17 -62, his appeal was denied on 3-13-62, and he was hung on 4-2-62 - 6 weeks after his conviction. Prior to his execution, a petition to spare his life was signed by 28,000 people. In 2002 Hanratty's body was exhumed and his DNA was compared with that of the DNA on articles of clothing remaining from the 1961 attack. The conclusion was that Hanratty's DNA was present, but his family maintained that it can be attributed to cross-contamination, because there was no segregation of evidence originating from Hanratty and the victims." |