The Norfolk Four

In 1997, four U.S. Navy sailors — Derek Tice, Danial Williams, Eric Wilson, and Joseph Dick — were convicted of the rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Boyle in Norfolk, Virginia, based almost entirely on confessions later shown to be coerced. DNA evidence pointed to a different man, Omar Ballard, who later admitted he acted alone. After years of wrongful imprisonment, three of the four were pardoned in 2017, and the fourth had his sentence reduced. The case became a landmark example of false confessions.