PBS - Frontline: Requiem for Frank Lee Smith

In December 2000, after spending 14 years on Florida's death row, Frank Lee Smith was finally cleared of the rape and murder of 8-year-old Shandra Whitehead. Like nearly 100 prisoners before him, Smith's exoneration came as a result of sophisticated DNA testing unavailable when he was firs...

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Bibliographic Details
Institution:Open Society Archives at Central European University
Language:English
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:e7a7791e-16d2-4f5f-bd7e-1f54290e1b43
Description
Summary:In December 2000, after spending 14 years on Florida's death row, Frank Lee Smith was finally cleared of the rape and murder of 8-year-old Shandra Whitehead. Like nearly 100 prisoners before him, Smith's exoneration came as a result of sophisticated DNA testing unavailable when he was first convicted. But for Frank Lee Smith, the good news came too late: ten months before he was proven innocent, Smith died of cancer in prison. How did Frank Lee Smith end up on death row for a crime he didn't commit? And why was he allowed to die there despite possible evidence of his innocence? "Requiem for Frank Lee Smith" explores these and other questions as it tracks the investigation, trial, and post-conviction appeals in the Smith case.