Floyd Bledsoe walked out of prison last December after 16 years in jail.

Bledsoe was freed after government lawyers in Kansas decided that a courts 2000 ruling
against him was a mistake. The court found him guilty of killing his sister-in-law.

The U.S. National Registry of Exonerations says Bledsoe was one of 149
prisoners cleared of criminal charges last year. That is the largest number of exonerations
ever, it reported this week. The registry is part of the University of Michigan Law School.

There is a growing awareness that false convictions are a substantial, widespread and
tragic problem, the report said.

More than two-thirds of those cleared last year had been jailed for killings or drug cases, the
registry said. Five people were sentenced to death.

Floyd Bledsoe was 23 years old when he was sentenced to life in prison in 2000. The
courts decision was based largely on statements made by his brother, according to the
Midwest Innocence Project. The group worked for years to free Bledsoe.

His brother, Tom Bledsoe, took his own life in November 2015. He left a note admitting he
did the killing.

Floyd Bledsoes lawyers said the note and genetic evidence helped win his release from
prison.

After he left jail, Bledsoe, now 39, asked the Kansas Legislature to abolishdeath
sentences.

We must stop the death penalty today, he told legislators. Tomorrow, it might be too late
for one person.

Im Bruce Alpert.
Words in This Story

registry n. a place that keeps records

exoneration n. to prove that someone is not guilty of a crime

abolish v. to end or cancel something