As of June 2015, how many people have been exonerated from death row in the U.S. since 1973?

I just checked your figures. I found 144, 149 and 156 exonerated between 1973 and 2015. don't know where you got your figure. I picked the closest one.

I agree with william laughlin. Read my added two cents below.

William Laughlin is absolutely right. A total travesty and nightmare is killing only one innocent human on death row. It is unexcusable in modern day with advanced technology, DNA, etc. An innocent person's family is constantly stressed and drained emotionally and mentally and financially. Barbaric like how many millions of people were killed throughout history without fair trials. Poor defendants have inefficient, state appointed defense lawyers. Let's keep death penalty for heinous crimes that guilt is 100% with no doubt such Ariel Castro, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gasey, Charles Manson, the bombers, terrorists. There are too many death row cases where there are doubts about guilt with usually rapes or murders with only evidence as eyewitness which 50% don't pick the right criminal from line-up. Circumstantial evidence as only thing to go on sends innocent people to death/jail all the time! Frenemies lie or jailhouse snitches get a better deal "tattletaling" lies and fabricating stories about his innocent cellmate to frame him. Not to mention hasty, bad police and lawyers who don't do their job well and are pressured to get cases solved and have one-tunnel vision to arrest someone innocent that may fit their molded vision of the criminal. Human nature of victim's familes and most people is the need to immediate blame and convict without due justice to an innocent person (case closed) and not understand this grave hastiness allows the true criminal his freedom to keep instilling harm to society. Discrimination, stereotyping, and racism are prevalent. Not to mention the incredible costs for death penalty cases as William Laughlin mentioned that taxpayers pay. The injection method of humane death execution is unreliable as uncomfortably seen at several executions which rendered it an inhumane death. Morality, ethics, legality, and spirituallity are important issues also for the "executioner." In my opinion, the death penalty is not a real deterent for criminals. Many countries have no dealth penalty and actively oppose it. Some countries will not extradite a criminal to US if dealth penalty may be imposed. Even when obvious new evidence is discovered in favor for the innocent convict after years of innocent person serving years on death row, it is another arduous battle to get retrial or verdict overturned. It can weeks (unusual) to many more years through courts to exonerate the innocent. The cause of the lengthy battle to free an innocent man is far from easy. It's all political with them having to swallow their pride to admit a mistake was made. Thank goodness for pro bono, hi-profile lawyer activists who fight for true justice and save lives.

The first line in your comments is exactly how I feel about abortion--horrifying and barbaric!

Wow.!!!!!unbelievable.. But I know it's true.

The idea of killing even one innocent person is horrifying and barbaric. It's time to do away with the death penalty in the U.S. It has never been proven to be a deterrent to crime and for the bloodthirsty but frugal, it is more expensive to keep an inmate on death row than in general population. Cases without the death penalty cost $740,000, while cases where the death penalty is sought cost $1.26 million. Maintaining each death row prisoner costs taxpayers $90,000 more per year than a prisoner in general population. There are 714 inmates on California's death row right now!