Krik Bloodsworth

Written: 09/29/2025

Time Served: 8 Years

Charges: Murder, Sexual Assault, Rape

Conviction: First-degree Murder, Sexual Assault, Rape

Sentence: Death

Incident Date: 06/25/1984

Conviction Date: 03/08/1985

Exoneration Date: 06/28/1993

Contributing Causes of Conviction: Eyewitness Misidentification, Government Misconduct

In 1984, 9-year-old Dawn Hamilton was found dead in a wooded area. She had been sexually assaulted, strangled, and beaten to death with a rock.

Initially, there had been no suspects; that was until police received an anonymous call. The caller claimed to have seen a large white man, around 6 ft, with curly blond hair and a bushy mustache hanging around the victim.

Kirk Bloodsworth, a 22-year-old former Marine, had been working as a waterman on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Based on the description given by the anonymous caller, Bloodsworth was arrested. Other possible reasons for his arrest have not been shared with the public.

During his trial, 5 different witnesses testified to seeing Bloodsworth with the victim. However, during a lineup, two out of the 5 witnesses had been unable to identify Bloodsworth, but had seen him on television after the crime had been committed. An additional witness claimed Bloodsworth had mentioned doing something terrible the day of the murder that would affect his relationship with his wife. Additionally, police claimed Bloodsworth had mentioned a bloody rock during his conversations with police.

While there was no physical evidence connecting him to the crime, Bloodsworth was convicted of both Rape and Murder. He was then sentenced to death row.

Bloodsworth then came in contact with the Innocence Project; they began the process of proving Bloodsworth's Innocence. During Bloodsworth's exoneration, the evidence of the rock and the conversation about his wife were challenged. It was stated that the bloody rock had been mentioned due to the police showing Bloodsworth a photo of said rock during interrogation. The incident regarding his wife was said to have been due to Bloodsworth's failure to buy the food she had requested that day. It was also found that police had failed to inform the defense of another possible suspect.

During the early 1990s, DNA testing was brought up as a possible way to prove Bloodsworth's innocence. In 1992, the prosecution agreed to DNA test the victims' shorts and underwear, as well as a stick that had been found at the scene. Both the prosecution and the FBI tested the DNA and found that Bloodsworth's DNA did not match the DNA found on the tested evidence. That DNA actually belonged to a man who had recently been convicted of a similar crime in the same area.

Kirk Bloodsworth was released from prison in June 1993. He was pardoned 6 months later in December 1993. He was the first death penalty exoneration done by the Innocence Project.