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Kenneth Ireland was still a teenager when he was convicted for the rape and murder of a 30-year-old mother of four, Barbara Pelkey. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison. This month prosecutors dropped all charges against him after DNA evidence ruled him out as the perpetrator of the crime.

In a similar case, James Tillman spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Tillman was awarded $5 million in a settlement with the state.

There’s no word yet on what Ireland’s next steps will be or whether he’ll seek similar compensation.

When Bill Dillon was convicted of murder in 1981, DNA testing wasn’t available. Instead, investigators and prosecutors relied on the testimony of John Preston and his supposedly infallible scent-tracking German-Shepherd, Harrass 2.

According to Preston, Harrass 2 repeatedly connected Dillon’s scent to the killer’s bloody t-shirt, was able to track Dillon from a paper he had touched, and even located him in a room where he was being held in the courthouse during his trial.

In fact, Harrass 2 wasn’t much of a tracker at all.

In 1984, a Florida judge became suspicious of Preston and his dog and set up a test; Harrass 2 failed miserably. He couldn’t track a scent more than 100 feet. It soon became obvious that the dog only appeared to track a scent when his handler, Preston, was with him. And apparently Preston could only lead the dog when he had been given his own lead by the prosecution.

That revelation, however, did Dillon no good. He spent another 20 years in prison before he even found out that Preston and Harrass 2 had been discredited. It wasn’t until 2007 that DNA testing proved that his DNA didn’t match that on the killer’s shirt.

Preston died last year and Florida’s Attorney General insists it’s not aware of any conspiracy involving the tracker and his dog. Preston was never charged with perjury or convicted of any crime.

How many other people were convicted based on Preston’s and Harrass 2’s evidence remains to be seen.

Scott Kimball has a long history with disappearances.

In 2002, Kimball was in jail for writing bad checks. While there he offered authorities information about his cellmate, Steven Ennis, whom police suspected of being involved in a drug ring. In return for Kimball’s services as an informant, the FBI released him and began paying him for information. The next year, 2003, Kimball was supposed to provide the FBI with information about Ennis’ former girlfriend and exotic dancer, Jennifer Marcum, when Marcum disappeared. She’s never been seen since.

Kimball’s 19 year old step-daughter, Kaysi McLeod, also disappeared in 2003, after getting a ride to work with Kimball. A hunter found her body in 2007.

Also in 2003, Leann Emry disappeared shortly after leaving on a camping trip. Earlier this year FBI agents found Emry’s body after Kimball was taken out of prison to help them search.

In 2004, Scott Kimball’s uncle, Terry Kimball, disappeared. At the time, Scott Kimball reported that his uncle had won a lottery and traveled to Mexico with a stripper. But earlier this year he told police where they could find Terry Kimball’s body.

Scott Kimball is already serving a 48 year sentence for theft and repeat criminal convictions. When that’s done, he’ll serve a 70 month sentence on firearms charges. But he likely will never serve time for the murders and disappearances of the people mentioned. He got a deal in exchange for revealing the locations of the bodies, allowing the victims families some closure. Without his cooperation, authorities probably wouldn’t have enough evidence to convict him.

Back in 1819, the technology to find and analyze DNA evidence didn’t exist. But for the Boorn brothers, it wouldn’t have made a difference; there was no DNA evidence to find.

Two Vermont brothers, Stephen and Jesse Boorn, were convicted for the murder of their brother-in-law, Richard Colvin. But Colvin’s body was never found.

There was however a penknife and a button found, both identified as Colvin’s. A barn burned down, thought by some to be an attempt to destroy proof of the crime. Bones were found under a tree, but those were revealed to be not human, but animal remains. A convicted felon serving time for forgery, testified that Jesse Boorn implicated himself — and was set free in return for his statement. The Boorn’s uncle even reported a dream he had had in which Colvin told about his murder.

Presented with this overwhelming evidence, the Boorn brothers confessed and were sentenced to die.

Facing the hangman’s noose, Stephen Boorn had a change of heart. He placed ads in local newspapers, explaining what had happened and describing his missing brother-in-law. Imagine his relief when someone responded! Colvin, it turned out, was alive and well, residing in New Jersey.

The Boorn brothers were released, becoming the first documented case of wrongful conviction in American history. Their story also served as the basis for Wilkie Collins’ 1874 story, The Dead Alive.

Police in Milwaukee have linked a man’s DNA to seven unsolved murders committed between 1986 and 2007. Six of the victims were prostitutes, the seventh a runaway involved in the drug trade. A state crime lab may yet link the same offender to at least 23 other unsolved prostitute murders with similar characteristics.

Unfortunately, while police have the DNA of the suspect, they don’t know to whom the DNA belongs. There are no matches in any police databases, which means the offender has so far managed to stay out of police hands for any related felonies.