Bobby Ray Dixon, along with two co-defendants, Phillip Bivens and Larry Ruffin, was wrongfully convicted in Forrest County, Mississippi in 1980 of a rape and murder.  He confessed to the crime and then pled guilty to avoid the death penalty.

Mr. Dixon had suffered from seizures his entire life, and was diagnosed with lung cancer that spread to his brain in 2009. He was released on medical parole in August 2010.