50. Martin Tankleff

Just 17 when he was convicted of murdering his parents, Tankleff fought for his freedom from 1988 until December 2007, when he was released from prison, his conviction overturned by a state appeals court. Suffolk County law enforcement is now under investigation regarding its conduct in the conviction. Thanks to a persistent defense team and private investigator’s belief that his confession had been coerced, a jury has been empaneled for a new trial. The Hofstra University law student, now living under a difficult-to-shake cloud of suspicion, has earned a special place on this list for winning his long-fought battle. Although the New York State attorney general won’t decide until June whether Tankleff will be charged again and retried following a fresh investigation into the Belle Terre killings, this astonishing reversal of fortune leads observers to believe that justice won’t be blind this time around.