Larry Griffin
Larry Griffin was executed by the state of Missouri in 1995, at age 40. He maintained his innocence until the end, through court filings, clemency appeals and comments to reporters. The NAACP questioned the case, and in 2007 the St. Louis circuit attorney's office reported that the execution did not put an innocent man to death, a finding some critics called disappointing as they asked for independent review. Witness accounts were at the center of the dispute, with two witnesses later recanting or wavering and a third who never testified.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. He maintained his innocence to the end, and critics questioned the 2007 St. Louis prosecutor's review that found no innocent man had been executed.
Reported by: Missouri Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); St. Louis circuit attorney's office.