top of page

Frank Sterling
Year Sentenced: 1992
Year Exonerated: 2010
Years Served: 18


 

Crime Convicted of:
Murder

 

Frank_Sterling (1).jpeg

On November 29th, 1988 in Rochester, New York, an elderly woman was murdered on her daily walk.  With no criminal record of any kind, Frank Sterling was questioned and interviewed because his brother was in jail for attempting a similar crime against the same woman.  Sterling had an alibi that was completely backed by coworkers that were with him at work at the time of the attack and after interviews, the case went dry for about 4 years.  

 

Then, after a long 36 hour truck drive that would have exhausted him, Sterling was interrogated by police for the crime.  After 8 hours of interrogation and techniques that are illegal being used such as hypnosis and suggestion with pictures to “remind him of the crime,” an exhausted Sterling confessed.  But, even this confession was questionable and was largely flawed.


However, this false confession was the only piece of evidence the prosecution had and he was convicted on it alone with a 25 years to life sentence being imposed by a judge.  

 

This was despite the defense informing the judge of numerous people who knew another man was responsible for the crime.  

 

Later, DNA evidence would help to prove Sterling’s innocence after almost 20 years behind bars.  Sterling’s case shows how false confessions can lead to wrongful convictions.

bottom of page