27 Years

This is a pretty amazing story.

Sad, but a good ending. There is a good Doc on netflix about a guy who got railroaded for murdering his wife.
He was exonerated after maybe 20 years, and the Prosecutor ending up getting convicted and going to jail.

I would guess the # of people currently in US prisons under similar circumstances (falsely accused; convicted anyway) is in the thousands at any given time. Maybe tens of thousands.

An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story

In 1986, Michael Morton was convicted of killing his wife in front of their young son. This documentary chronicles his quest to clear his name.
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70273264?trkid=13467141

The Alabama case sited in that story is even more enraging....30 years behind bars and he had a lock tight alibi that was ignored. The prosecutor that put him in on death row should take his place.

The craziest story I have ever heard of was a guy in Texas who was convicted based on a 'dog smell lineup.'