And the third highest was 84 exonerations in Texas, where Findley noted that Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has been proactive in seeking out and remedying such cases.

The report released in conjunction with the new registry tallies 873 individuals freed after their convictions were overturned. In addition, the report documents mass exonerations of at least 1,170 people as the result of police scandals, primarily involving officers who planted drugs, guns or gave false testimony to frame defendants.

Among the exonerees in the registry is Audrey Edmunds, 51, who spent nearly 12 years in prison after she was convicted in Dane County Circuit Court in the death of a 7-month-old girl at her home day care. Edmunds, of Waunakee, was released in 2008 after the Wisconsin Innocence Project presented medical evidence not available when she was convicted in 1996 that raised serious doubts about the cause of Natalie Beard's death.

Edmunds said she is grateful for the attention that has been focused on wrongful convictions, particularly those involving so-called "shaken-baby syndrome." That diagnosis has come under increasing scrutiny from experts and others who say the telltale symptoms of shaken-baby syndrome also can be seen in children who die from natural causes or old injuries.