Kirk Bloodsworth is a man from Maryland who became the first person in the United States to be sentenced to death and later exonerated through DNA evidence. In 1985, he was convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl based mainly on eyewitness identification, even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. He spent about nine years in prison, including time on death row, while continuing to maintain his innocence. Years later, DNA testing was done on the evidence from the case and proved he was not the person responsible. He was released in 1993 and fully exonerated.
