He Was Convicted of Murder. Then the "Victim" Walked In Alive. #crimedocumentary #wrongfulconviction #historymystery #shortdocumentary #coldcase #1800shistory #crimehistory #truecrimecommunity #darkhistory

In 1812, Vermont farmer Russell Colvin vanished without a trace. Seven years later, his own brothers in law confessed to killing him and were sentenced to death, one just weeks from the gallows. Then a stranger read about the case in a New Jersey newspaper and recognized his own name. Russell Colvin was alive. This is one of the earliest documented wrongful conviction cases in American history, and it nearly ended in an execution for a murder that never happened.