Chronology of the case of Freddie Lee Gaines
Compiled by David L. Ridenour
Copyright © 2006, Center on Wrongful Convictions
Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern University School of Law
1972 — Jonnie Lee Swanson and Mary Ann Wright are shot to death in Wright’s apartment in Birmingham, Alabama.
1973 — Gaines is arrested and held without bond for first-degree murder and is charged with killing both women.
October 23, 1974 — Gaines is convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of Mary Ann Wright and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
1976 — Gaines is acquitted of the murder of Jonnie Lee Swanson, after an earlier trial ended with a deadlocked jury.
July 6, 1985 — Gaines is released from prison with time off for good behavior.
August 17, 1990 — Larry Dennis Cohen (who looks like Gaines) is arrested on drug charges in Jacksonville, Florida, and gives authorities a detailed confession to both of the killings.
February 12, 1991 — The District Attorney in Jefferson County moves for and the trial court grants a petition for relief from conviction for Gaines.
April 30, 1996 — The Alabama Legislature passes the Freddie Lee Gaines Act, Act 96-579, which pays Gaines $1 million over 10 years as compensation for the time he wrongly served in prison.
February 7, 2005 — Gaines receives a full pardon based on innocence.
