Ernest Willis

Ernest Ray Willis (b. c. 1945 - January 7, 2021) was an American man who spent 17 years on death row for murder by arson before being exonerated in 2004.

Convicted of murder after two women died in a fire in his West Texas home, Willis was sentenced to death in 1987. In 1991, another person confessed to starting the fire, but this could not be corroborated. Subsequent interest in the case led to new investigations into the origin of the fire that determined that there was absolutely no evidence of arson.

Willis's conviction was overturned and he was released from prison in 2004. He is believed to be the longest-serving innocent inmate of a death row in the United States.