Joe Arridy

Joe Arridy was sentenced to death for the 1936 rape and murder of Dorothy Drain, a 15-year-old girl in Pueblo, Colorado. He was severely mentally disabled and was 23 years old when he was executed on January 6, 1939. He received a full and unconditional posthumous pardon by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter in 2011.

About Joe Arridy in brief

Joe Arridy was sentenced to death for the 1936 rape and murder of Dorothy Drain, a 15-year-old girl in Pueblo, Colorado. He was severely mentally disabled and was 23 years old when he was executed on January 6, 1939. He received a full and unconditional posthumous pardon by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter in 2011. The pardon was based on questions about the man’s guilt, and what appeared to be a coerced false confession. Studies have shown that because of his false confession, largely due to his limited mental capacity, he was convicted, largely because of the coerced confession, and wrongfully executed for the crime. The first time in Colorado that the governor had pardoned a convict after execution was also the first time a pardon had been granted after execution in the state.

In 2007, a group known as Friends of Joe Ar Ridy formed and in 2007 commissioned the first tombstone for his grave. They also supported preparation of a petition by David A. Martinez, Denver attorney, for a state pardon to clear ArridY’s name. They said he had an IQ score of 46, the medical term of the time. They noted he was unable to distinguish between right and wrong and therefore, would be unable to perform any action with a criminal intent. There was no physical evidence against him, and the surviving sister, Barbara Drain, testified that Frank Aguilar had been present at the attack, and that he had been the one to rape and kill Dorothy Drain. When the case was finally brought to trial, Aridy’s lawyer tried to gain a plea of insanity to his defendant’s life.

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