Lewis Fogle
Lewis “Jim” Fogle spent 34 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. In 1982, he was convicted of second-degree murder for the July 1975 killing of 15-year-old Deann Katherine “Kathy” Long in Cherry Tree, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Long was raped and shot in the head.
In March 1981, police arrested Fogle and accused him of the crime. He was one of four people arrested—his brother Dennis Fogle, Joseph Receskey, and John Lynch—but only Lewis went to trial. The others’ cases were dismissed or dropped. There was no physical evidence against Lewis; the prosecution mainly relied on statements from three inmates who said they heard him admit to the crime.
Fogle was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He always insisted he was innocent and contacted the Innocence Project for help. DNA testing on semen found at the scene did not match Fogle, which led to his release and the dismissal of charges. District Attorney Patrick Dougherty joined the effort to vacate his conviction, and a senior judge vacated it in 2015. In August 2015, at age 63, Fogle was released after 34 years in jail.
Among the other suspects, Receskey died in 2010, Lynch’s whereabouts are unknown, and Dennis Fogle was later sentenced in 2010 to 5 to 10 years for sexually molesting a 15-year-old boy. Dougherty said he would seek DNA samples from Dennis Fogle and Lynch.
In 2021, Fogle spoke about life after release and the help he received from the Innocence Project. He also filed a lawsuit against 17 parties, including the Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, Indiana County, and the Pennsylvania State Police.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:00 (CET).