Story of Joe Arridy- wrongfully executed

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Joe Arridy was a young American man known for having been falsely accused, wrongfully convicted, and wrongfully executed for the 1936 rape and murder of Dorothy Drain, a 15-year-old girl in Pueblo, Colorado.

Frank Aguilar later confessed to the crime and told police he had never seen or met Arridy. Aguilar was also convicted of the rape and murder of Dorothy Drain, and sentenced to death. Barbara Drain, the surviving sister, had testified that Frank Aguilar had been present at the attack, but not Arridy. She could identify Aguilar because he had worked for her father.

Arridy was late to start speaking as a boy and never spoke in sentences of more than a few words. After he attended one year at elementary school, his principal told his parents to keep him at home, saying that he could not learn. As an adult Joe had an IQ score of 46, and the mind of a six-year-old.

Joe was manipulated by the police to make a false confession due to his mental incapacities. Arridy was convicted, largely because of his false confession. Studies since that time have shown that persons of limited mental capacity are more vulnerable to coercion during interrogation and have a higher frequency of making false confessions. There was no physical evidence against him.

While held on death row during the appeals process, Arridy often played with a toy train, given to him by prison warden Roy Best. The warden said that Arridy was "the happiest prisoner on death row." He was liked by both the prisoners and guards. Best became one of Arridy's supporters and joined the effort to save his life. He said of Arridy before his execution: "He probably didn't even know he was about to die, all he did was happily sit and play with a toy train I had given him."

For his last meal, Arridy requested ice cream. When questioned about his impending execution, he showed "blank bewilderment". He did not understand the meaning of the gas chamber, telling the warden "No, no, Joe won't die." He was reported to have smiled while being taken to the gas chamber. Momentarily nervous, he calmed down when the warden grabbed his hand and reassured him.