Chris Conover spent 18 years in prison for a murder he did not commit before DNA evidence led to his release. 

In the late hours of October 20, 1984, three men broke into the Baltimore home of noted drug dealer Charles "Squeaky" Jordan.  Jordan, his wife and stepdaughter were all shot execution style.  The wife, Linda Jordan, survived the attack and described her assailants as two black men and a white man. She later identified African-American and fellow drug dealer Gregory Jones, as the trigger man in the murders.  Still lacking a white suspect, police zeroed in on Conover because of his history of drug-related arrests.  When shown his picture in a photo array, Linda Jordan stated that he "resembled" the white man she had seen.  She later selected him out of a lineup.

At trial, Conover presented numerous witnesses who testified that they had seen him at a birthday party at the time of the killings. In response, the prosecution presented the testimony of an FBI agent, who stated that microscopic examination of hairs found on victim Lisa Lynn Brown's body came from Conover. 

Chris Conover was convicted on May 23, 1985 and sentenced to life imprisonment. In prison, Conover tutored other inmates and was elected to the "Inmate Advisory Council." 

After ten years in prison, the New York City-based Innocence Project accepted his case. In 2001, DNA testing conclusively proved that the hairs found at the crime scene belonged to two white men, neither of whom was Conover.  Nevertheless, prosecutors continued to insist that Conover was guilty and threatened to retry him.  In 2003, Conover came to an agreement with prosecutors, whereby he was released from prison in return for an Alford plea.  By the terms of this plea, Conover maintained his innocence, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. Thus, despite the physical evidence indicating his innocence, Conover has not been formally exonerated.  While the deal was not ideal for Conover, he chose accepted it in order to spare for their pain for his elderly mother and alleviate the recurrent panic attacks he suffered in prison.

Upon his release in 2003, Conover lived with his mother in her Towson apartment and acquired a job as a title researcher from a childhood friend.  His girlfriend has remained faithful to him since his 1984 arrest and they have reunited since his release. In an interview after his release, he told the Baltimore Sun that he simply wants to be a "regular old person."

Unfortunately, prosecutors maintain that they did not make a mistake in charging Chris Conover with murder.  They attribute the DNA results to a lucky break and steadfastly maintain their belief in his guilt.  As such, the hairs used to exclude Conover through DNA testing, have not been run through the state's database of DNA profiles.  Furthermore, DNA found in one of the victim’s underpants has not been tested, despite the Innocence Project’s stated willingness to pay all fees associated with the testing.  As of 2009, no one else has been charged with the Jordan and Brown murders.