History Main / ClearTheirName

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: When the Holliday College students Eve Brown and Dorothy "Dot" Lord are accused of being Nazi spies and arrested, Diana quickly realizes they and eighteen others been set up to take a fall by Paula von Gunther. In order to decrease the security on her she's been pretending to give the US the names of other Nazi saboteurs, and for some reason the FBI is taking her at her word. Di spends the issue trying to prove the girls are innocent.

** "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E2DeadlySituation Deadly Situation]]" detailed rookie police officer and aspiring Texas Ranger Glenn Cooper, who is a descendant of the legendary ranger Hayes Cooper and a distant cousin of Walker's, taking the fall for corruption in his department, having busted [[DirtyCop three of his own]] for stealing evidence from a recent drug bust, which is later revealed to be four after those detectives are arrested by Gage and Sydney, [[spoiler:as his lieutenant turned out to be in charge of the operation and tipped off the trio after [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Glenn gave him the original copies of the evidence]].]]

** "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E2DeadlySituation Deadly Situation]]" detailed a rookie police officer and aspiring Texas Ranger, who is a descendant of the legendary ranger Hayes Cooper and a distant cousin of Walker's, taking the fall for corruption in his department, having busted [[DirtyCop three of his own]] for stealing evidence from a recent drug bust, which is later revealed to be four after those detectives are arrested by Gage and Sydney, [[spoiler:as his lieutenant turned out to be in charge of the operation and tipped off the trio after [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Glenn gave him the original copies of the evidence]].]]

** "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E2DeadlySituation Deadly Situation]]" detailed a rookie police officer taking the fall for corruption in his department, having busted [[DirtyCop three of his own]] for stealing evidence from a recent drug bust, which is later revealed to be four after those detectives are arrested by Gage and Sydney, [[spoiler:as his lieutenant turned out to be in charge of the operation and tipped off the trio after [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Glenn gave him the original copies of the evidence]].]]

** "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E2DeadlySituation Deadly Situation]]" detailed a rookie police officer taking the fall for corruption in his department, having busted [[DirtyCop three of his own]] for stealing evidence from a recent drug bust, [[spoiler:which is later revealed to be four after those detectives are arrested by Gage and Sydney, as his lieutenant turned out to be in charge of the operation and tipped off the trio after [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Glenn gave him the original copies of the evidence]].]]

** "Texas vs. Cahill" sees Alex being accused of killing the defense attorney in her current trial and sent to a women's prison where she has to contend with vengeful inmates she prosecuted in years' past. Walker and Trivette work together with her father to find the real killer. [[spoiler:The real killer turns out to be Alex's current defendant, Lane Tillman, whose crimes were CaughtOnTape.]]

* In ''FafFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', [[spoiler:Hermione is accused of the attempted murder of Draco Malfoy. He and she both have their memories magically altered so even she thinks she did it, and it's up to Harry to stop the Wizengamot from sending her to Azkaban]].

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: When the Holliday College students Eve Brown and Dorothy "Dot" Lord are accused of being Nazi spies and arrested Diana quickly realizes they and eighteen others been set up to take a fall by Paula. In order to decrease the security on her she's been pretending to give the US the names of other Nazi saboteurs, and for some reason the FBI is taking her at her word. Di spends the issue trying to prove the girls are innocent.

* A few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' had Tommy try to prove the innocence of someone, usually Spike. This was difficult for him, since as a one-year-old baby, he couldn't talk to adults.
** In one such episode, Angelica [[LampshadeHanging rubbed the fact]] that none of the babies could reveal the truth about what happened to the adults. Unfortunately for her, she got too carried away with her EvilGloating, failing to notice some of the adults entering the room...

* Victorique from ''LightNovel/{{Gosick}}'' does this for her mother back in her home town, where she was accused of killing a priest and was banished.

* Variation in ''Anime/{{Monster}}'': the hero, Dr. Tenma, ''is'' WronglyAccused. However, he doesn't really care about clearing his name, considering stopping Johan, the actual culprit, much more important. However, some of his friends ''do'' care, and spend their time piecing together information in the interests of proving Tenma innocent.

* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': "Texas vs. Cahill" sees Alex being accused of killing the defense attorney in her current trial and sent to a women's prison where she has to contend with vengeful inmates she prosecuted in years' past. Walker and Trivette work together with her father to find the real killer.

* In the popular and famous Korean television drama ''Jewel In the Palace'', protagonist Jang Geum's main purpose throughout the entire story is to clear the name of both her deceased mother ''and'' her mentor (who were both framed and wrongfully accused and executed for a crime they didn't commit).

* Tony finds out he sent an innocent man to prison in the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Bounce".

----






* ''Series/FamilyMatters'' had an episode where a school lab accident was blamed on Urkel. Through some convenient lawyer skills on Laura's part, she discovered the true culprit.
* This trope was used for several episodes of ''{{Series/Monk}}''. In ''Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival'', where Monk, under secret orders from Stottlemeyer, has to covertly find evidence that Adam Kirk was actually framed for murder of a confidential informant, Gitomer. Another episode of Monk dealt with Monk having to prove that a Chimp was actually framed for shooting his owner. He also has to prove that a Rapper, Murderuss, was innocent of the murder of his rival in the Rapping Industry via car bombing. He also had to clear Willie Nelson's name. Monk also had to clear Sharona's sister Gail's name in murdering a fellow actor during a play. He also had to clear an entire union's involvement in a murder (and near murder of Stottlemeyer's wife). He also had to clear the names of the Mob when it became apparent that someone from the minting press was involved, and at least once had to clear a dead guy's name when evidence was pointing to him for the recent murder. He even once had to prove that Dale Biederbeck III was innocent of murdering or even arranging to murder a death-row inmate.
* Apparently contractually obligated for members of the main ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' team, given that aside from possibly Gibbs and Abby, each of them has had a Clear My Name episode:
** "Frame-Up" for Tony. A pair of severed legs is discovered near a local beach, and is initially viewed as a homicide. Evidence quickly amasses which point in Tony's direction, including his fingerprint found on the legs and a bite mark on one of the legs being an exact match to his teeth. Once Tony is thrown in jail, Abby throws herself into proving him innocent. She is finally able to trace the legs to a Jane Doe who died in a car accident, after which another plot becomes clear. Several years earlier, Tony had alerted authorities after a medical examiner had contaminated evidence which resulted in a convicted killer going free, and that same medical examiner was found to be in charge of the morgue where the unidentified young woman's body was found. The examiner is arrested, and Tony is released from jail and cleared of all charges. However, the storyline takes another turn when it is revealed that both Tony and the medical examiner had been targeted by none other than Charles, or Chip as commonly referred to, Abby's lab assistant. Apparently he had been working for the same lab as the medical examiner and it had actually been him all along who had contaminated the evidence from the past case, the discovery of which also clears the medical examiner. Charles reveals all this to Abby just as she is about to stumble upon evidence that will implicate him, after which he tries to attack her with a knife. Almost simultaneously, the team upstairs discovers Charles' connection to the case and realizing Abby is in danger, they race down to save her. They enter the lab, finding a struggle having taken place, but are relieved to find Abby unharmed and Charles hogtied in duct tape. The episode ends with Abby asking, "Now can I work alone?"
** "Probie" for [=McGee=].
** Both "Jeopardy" and "Shalom" for Ziva.
** Played with in "Broken Bird" for Ducky. [[spoiler:At first the team suspects he didn't do it but he confesses. He only killed the young man out of mercy because healing him would mean he goes right back to cold, blooded torture. The young man's surviving sister chooses to not press charges, clearing Ducky of legal guilt but morally Ducky finds no absolution in this action. He must bear the weight until he dies.]]
** Subverted for [[spoiler: Gibbs, who actually did commit (no matter how justified) murder, and wasn't caught]]
** When Tony is briefly implicated for a murder in the episode "Bounce", his response is a dry "And to think I almost made it an entire year without being accused of murder."
** [[spoiler: Poor Agent Langer; he gets his name cleared posthumously.]]
* Ryan in ''Series/TheOC'', when he is wrongfully accused of [[spoiler:the attempted murder of his brother Trey, which was in fact committed by Marissa.]] Luckily for him, his friends are on hand to clear his name.
* In the first season finale of ''Series/{{Profiler}}'', [[TheProfiler Samantha]] is framed by her nemesis, [[AxCrazy Jack]], for the murder of an unknown woman. Her colleagues manage to clear her in the second season premiere, though. Also, [[GeniusBruiser John]] has been suspected by being in cahoots with TheMafia, since his father's Family.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Colonel O'Neill is framed for the attempted murder of Senator Kinsey, and the rest of his team must clear his name. [[spoiler:It turns out to be members of the rogue NID trying to stop Kinsey turning them in to boost his own political reputation]].
** Subverted in an early episode. Teal'c is put on trial for a murder. Which he actually did commit prior to his HeelFaceTurn. And he is willing to be executed to atone for it. Daniel ends up defending him, arguing that even though Teal'c ''did'' do it, he was following orders (with his own family's life at stake for disobedience) and chose a victim based on saving as many of the other prisoners' lives as possible.
* ''Series/TheWholeTruth'': Judd Hirsch's judge character wants Jimmy Brogan's help to clear his name. It works [[spoiler: but in reality he's guilty. He gets busted on a related charge at the end, though]].
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
** The first episode of season 1 revolves around Matt and Foggy working to exonerate Karen after Wilson Fisk has her framed for murder.
** In a minor one, Frank Castle is framed up by the Blacksmith for several murders committed after Frank's escape, including the murders of Reyes and Tepper, and shooting up Karen's apartment.
** Matt gets in trouble in season 3 when Fisk "accuses" him of being an associate of his to give his FBI cronies reasons to harass him, Karen and Foggy.
* ''{{Series/Accused}}'': "Alison's Story" is focused on this after Alison gets framed for drug dealing by her abusive husband's cop father, as a means to get him full custody of their kids.
* ''Series/DeadGorgeous'': In "Gold", Hazel learns that her old friend and sheep herder from her old life was jailed for thieving gold. She summons him up to try to discover the truth in order to win her legal case in an English class and help her friend pass on to the after-death.
* ''Series/ForLife'': Some of the prisoners whom Aaron helps with their cases were he thinks also wrongly convicted.
* In ''Series/BostonLegal'', Alan and Chelina try to prevent the execution of a man in Texas who has accepted his death, despite probably being innocent. Unable to get a stay of execution before it's scheduled to happen, they watch as the preparations are made, desperately hoping for a phone call to tell them it's not to go ahead. [[spoiler:The call never comes]].
* ''Series/{{Intergalactic}}'': Ash's mother is determined to prove her innocence, and soon does with the help of a computer tech who reveals that the video footage which showed her stealing was faked. By the time she's ordered sent home instead of to a penal colony however, the ship she's on is seized by the prisoners.
* An absolutely standard set-up in ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' is that Jessica gets involved in order to clear the name of a neice or nephew who the police believe is the most likely suspect. This actually gets {{Lampshaded}} in one episode, when a prosecutor attempting to discredit her points out just how many of her relatives have been accused of murder, only for her to get them off.

* There's a number of quests in ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' games, where corrupt and racist guards are about to execute people of some minority for apparently made up crimes. True to the general style of the series, the accusers may be biggoted asses, but their [[AssholeVictim victims not much better either]].

** [[spoiler: Done twice]] in the second game's final case. [[spoiler: First Phoenix accuses Adrian to get Matt cleared, then discovers that neither were technically guilty--Matt had hired an assassin to do the job for him. Phoenix must then clear Adrian's name in order to re-incriminate Matt, all the while pretending that he's still defending Matt.]]

* In ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves'' Carmelita Fox got framed by Neyla for working with Sly Cooper whom she's supposed to arrest. Sly Cooper worked hard the rest of the game trying to clear her name which he did in the end.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' where Tae Takemi was framed and black listed by her boss, but is not the least bit concerned with proving her innocence. Focusing instead on completing a cure to save one of her patients. It can be played straight later on if Joker steals her boss's heart and makes him confess to his crimes.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gunpoint}}'' has you spend the first level accidentally implicating yourself in a murder and erasing the evidence to keep the police from arresting you. Unfortunately, this makes the police arrest Katie Collins, an innocent woman, as the "easy solution". You then spend several missions trying to recover the evidence that you erased (with the outcome pretty obvious) to clear her name. [[spoiler: This ends poorly when, after a last ditch effort to plant evidence and get Katie released, she kills herself in her jail cell. Her last message is that she didn't want to be a burden for anyone else anymore.]] You can cut her pretty deeply if you reveal that the reason that you can't get any evidence is because ''you'' deleted it, although this is optional.
* Early in ''VideoGame/FullThrottle'', Ben's outlaw biker gang is arrested for the murder of Malcolm Corley, even though his VP Adrian Ripburger was real killer. Ben arrives too late to stop the murder, but manages to escape pursuit and spends the remaining game working to clear their name.
* ''VideoGame/DarksidersII'' has Death, [[BigBrotherInstinct furious at the accusations towards War]] starting [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the End War]], going on his own personal quest to absolve his brother at around the same time [[ClearMyName War himself is doing it]]. Knowing he likely can't find the true conspirators in the chaos of the war, he chooses [[TakeAThirdOption instead to "erase" the crime War is falsely accused of]] by bringing mankind back from extinction.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda:'' The quest "The First Murderer" has Ryder asked by Nilken Rensus to prove his innocence. Not helping Nilken's case is that he and the guy he's been accused of killing were seen violently arguing before the first Andromeda colony went to crap, so he's a reasonable suspect. [[spoiler:It eventually turns out Nilken is innocent of the murder... but not of ''attempted'' murder. By amazing coincidence, a kett shot the guy at the same time Nilken was planning on doing so.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has an uncommon variation where a {{reincarnation}} is accused of crimes committed in a past life. Aang is placed in jail while Katara and Sokka search for clues that would prove that [[spoiler: Avatar Kyoshi, one of Aang's past lives, didn't murder the leader of an Earth Kingdom village 370 years earlier]]. Subverted when, during the trial [[spoiler: Kyoshi herself confesses to the murder.]]

* In the third act of the ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'' episode "[[Recap/MrBogusS2E7BogusPrivateEye Bogus Private Eye]]", Mr. Anybody's watch was stolen by a mysterious criminal who had entered the house at night, even after Kevin the family bulldog's attempts to try and get the watch back only succeeds in the watch band getting broken in two and the thief escaping with the actual watch. When Mr. Anybody comes downstairs after hearing the racket and sees Kevin with the piece of the broken watch band in his mouth, he assumes that Kevin stole his watch, calls him a bad dog, then takes him outside as punishment. Bogus then works hard to see if he can solve the mystery and prove Kevin's innocence. The next night, when the thief returns, Bogus sics Kevin on the thief, who, this time, fails in trying to escape as Kevin catches him. [[spoiler: After the thief is unmasked, he is actually revealed to be Ratty in disguise the whole time. When Mr. Anybody shows up again and sees that Kevin caught Ratty and got the watch back, he realizes that it was actually Ratty who stole the watch, thereby vindicating Kevin.]]
* The forms the basis of the pilot film for ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'': The two chipmunks' personal hero is framed for stealing a priceless ruby, so they set out to clear his name and in the process meet their future teammates Gadget, Monterey Jack, and Zipper. In another episode, Fat Cat and his gang frame Flash the Wonder Dog with several crimes [[EvilIsPetty so Flash's role as the star of a TV show will be given to a cat]]. The Rescue Rangers set out to clear his name.
* A few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' had Tommy try to prove the innocence of someone, usually Spike. This was difficult for him, since as a one-year-old baby, he couldn't talk to adults.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In the episode ''Not What He Seems'', Grunkle Stan is accused of stealing nuclear waste. It's up to Dipper and Mabel to find proof of his innocence. [[spoiler:But instead they find proof of his guilt.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic.'' In the episode "Rarity Investigates," Rainbow Dash is accused of sending Spitfire away so she can take her place in the Wonderbolts' air show. However, after a little investigating from Rarity, it turns out the real culprit was [[spoiler: Wind Rider, a retired Wonderbolt who framed Rainbow Dash out of fear that she would break his flight speed record]].
* In the third episode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', Ben and his team end up helping a human/[[PlayingWithFire Pyronite]] hybrid clear his name when he's accused of creating the crop circles that have been popping up all over his town. The real culprits were [[{{Mook}} the DNAliens]], who were turning the land into a giant circuit board to power a weather machine for [[ArcVillain their masters]].
* In the season 3 opener of ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'', Mariner, believing that Starfleet would abandon her mother, Captain Carol Freeman, in the accusation of [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroying Pakled Planet]], decides to pull this trope to exonerate her mother. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Starfleet was already certain of Freeman's innocence and had another group doing the same exact thing. Without the need to hijack any Starfleet vessels in the process.]]

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1625616529089169200
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:349:[[ComicBook/{{Batman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0681.jpg]]]]

* In an arc of ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', planted evidence makes everyone believe Koro-sensei is an underwear thief, causing his students' trust in him to dwindle. However, some of those students eventually catch on that while Koro-sensei ''is'' a pervert, there's no way he'd do something so low as stealing underwear, as losing his students' trust would be worse to him than dying. So they decide to investigate in order to find the real culprit and clear their teacher's name.

* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf: The Little Detective'', Weslie's friends are often accused of misdeeds they're not responsible for. Weslie gathers and presents evidence to prove that his friends are innocent.
* The ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7'' episode "Ring Around the Dozegury" has Dozegury pin the blame of his mean tricks on Totobory, who is innocent. Noonbory initiates a mission to find the real culprit and prove Toto's innocence.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** An old story revealed that Spidey's parents Richard and Mary Parker had been secret agents who had been killed in action by a supervillain, then framed as traitors as a final insult. Spidey then went on a quest to clear his parents' names.
** Betty Brant cleared the name of his dead husband, Ned Leeds, when she revealed that Roderick Kingsley was the real Hobgoblin (Ned was brainwashed by Kingsley to act as the Hobgoblin in situations where Kingsley didn't want to put himself at risk).
** Subverted in ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen''. When Gwen reveals her identity as Spider-Woman to her father, he tries to stop the NYPD from targeting her for the death of Peter Parker. When he's removed from the case, he begins looking into the true story privately in order to clear her daughter's name. However, not only ''is'' Gwen technically responsible for Peter's death, as her fight with the Lizard-fied Peter Parker only worsened the effects of the poisonous serum, but Captain Stacy is eventually forced to admit that no one actually cares about what really happened. All people care about is having a scapegoat to blame all their problems on, and Peter's death gave them an excuse to use Spider-Woman as one. Captain Stacy quits his job and burns all evidence that Peter was the Lizard as a result.

** Another Batman-related storyline, ''ComicBook/TheJoker: Devil's Advocate'', revolves around this: While vandalizing the post office, the Joker is suddenly arrested, tried, and sentenced to die for an incident involving poisoned stamps, but he insists that he has been framed and asks Batman to help him find the real perpetrator for the poisoned stamps and clear his name. [[spoiler: Near the end, the real perpetrator is found and reveals himself, and the Joker is pardoned, just mere seconds before he is to be executed by the electric chair, knowing that his name is at least in the clear.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** This was the ''very first act of heroism'' Superman ever performed, within the first two pages of ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1'' - saving a girl falsely accused of murder, moments from execution, by revealing the real killer.
** In ''ComicBook/TheHuntForReactron'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, Nightwing and Flamebird have been framed for both the death of the hero Mon-El and the terrorist attack which destroyed Metropolis' water supply, and they need to capture the super-villain Reactron to uncover the true culprit.

* In a ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|KellyThompson}}'' arc tying in with ''ComicBook/{{Empyre}}'', ComicBook/CarolDanvers (recently made a Kree Accuser) was assigned by Emperor Hulkling to track down and execute an apparent war criminal, a female Kree soldier, for destroying a Kree[=/=]Skrull city. When the Kree surrenders herself, she insists she's innocent but is willing to die an honorable death by a living legend. Carol decides to use her warhammer to see if the Kree truly isn't guilty, and not only does she learn that [[LongLostRelative she's her half-sister Lauri-ell]], she sees nothing that indicates she's responsible for the crime. Acting against Hulkling's order, Carol hides Lauri-ell on Earth and investigates who the true perpetrator is.

* In ''FanFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', [[spoiler:Hermione is accused of the attempted murder of Draco Malfoy. He and she both have their memories magically altered so even she thinks she did it, and it's up to Harry to stop the Wizengamot from sending her to Azkaban]].
* The main character of ''Fanfic/FracturedFates'' has to do this twice: the first time during the second trial for [[spoiler:Asuna Izumi]], the second time during the third trial for [[spoiler:Saku Yamamoto (who is one of the victims of that case)]].
* Lincoln ends up doing this for Luan in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13439110/1/The-Fool-Who-Cried-Foul The Fool Who Cried Foul]]'' after the comedian is blamed for sabotaging Luna's performance as the opening act for SMOOCH; it's not easy by any means but Lincoln sticks it out, even making progress when Lola's performance is sabotaged and he finds evidence that at the very least makes a good case for Luan being innocent of that incident (as it involved a remote control and unlike with Luna's concert, Luan was in full view of the entire family when Lola's act went wrong, meaning that Lincoln has several people who can confirm that Luan didn't have a remote).
* The first case of ''FanFic/BlackenedSkies'' sees the victim turning up in Kaede's lab, making her a prime suspect. However, on top of having to [[ClearMyName prove her own innocence]], she also goes into the case aware that [[spoiler:Mondo]] has the most obvious motive of the lot, and tries to protect them. ''Then'' she finds herself having to defend [[spoiler:Kirumi]] once the suspect pool gets narrowed down.

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Roger Rabbit is accused of murdering Marvin Acme in a jealous rage after detective Eddie Valiant made some incriminating photographs showing that Acme [[GRatedSex played patty cake]] with Roger's wife Jessica Rabbit. Now Eddie has to clear Roger's name.

* In ''Film/SinCity'', parole officer Lucille takes the cases for both Marv and John Hartigan and tries desperately to clear their names. [[spoiler: She doesn't and actually gets killed in the process in Marv's story.]]
* This is the plot of ''Film/MyCousinVinny'', where the titular Vinny defends his cousin and his cousin's friend after they get accused of murder. [[CourtroomAntics Of course, this is also Vinny's first trial]].
* ''Film/TheLifeOfEmileZola'' is mostly about Zola working to clear Alfred Dreyfus's name of treason.
* ''Film/TrueBeliever'': Eddie Dodd and Roger Baron's goal on behalf of Shu Kai Kim. [[spoiler: By the end of the film, they succeed.]]
* The premise behind ''Film/TheLifeOfDavidGale'': a journalist tries to clear the titular character of murder charges while he is on death row [[spoiler:but she is doomed to just barely fail to stop his execution as the whole thing was a {{plan}} to end the death penalty by showing that innocents are killed with it.]]
* Double subverted in ''Film/CounterInvestigation'': The 9 year old daughter of police chief Malinowski is raped and murdered, and after a hasty police investigation with little evidence, Daniel Eckman is arrested and convicted. Eckman proclaims his innocence, and Malinowski begins a [[TitleDrop counter-investigation]] to find the real killer, the main focus on the movie. Eventually, it is proven that another known child murderer was in the area at the time and Eckman is let out of jail. [[spoiler: It is revealed that Eckman actually was guilty. Then it is revealed that Malinowski ''knew'' Eckman was guilty the whole time and deliberately did the investigation to get Eckman released so that he could kill him with his own hands in revenge.]]
* In the episode of ''Series/{{Wishbone}}'' based on ''Hound of the Baskervilles'', Wishbone is accused of causing trouble around the neighborhood. The audience knows that another dog, a bloodhound, is causing the trouble but when a neighbor "catches Wishbone in the act" (really having stepped outside too late to see the other dog), the main trio takes it upon themselves to figure out what really happened, even finding a piece of evidence that [[AdultsAreUseless the adults all missed]]: namely Wishbone's teeth and paws are too small to cause the tooth marks and paw prints found at two of the scenes.
* ''Call Northside 777,'' [[https://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2009/10/northside-411-the-real-story-behind-northside-777.html loosely based on]] [[https://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2009/11/more-followup-on-call-northside-777.html the Joseph Majczek case]], is an example of the intelligent late-1940s studio film at its finest. Jimmy Stewart is ''Chicago Times'' reporter P.J. [=MacNeil=] trying to find evidence that two men in prison for killing a policeman 11 years ago are innocent. This superbly acted, suspenseful picture was made in 1948, and showcased all sorts of post-WWII shiny new technology, like miniature cameras and photograph wire transfers. Venturing repeatedly into [[OlderThanTheyThink/{{Technology}} Older Than They Think - Technology]] territory, it was like ''Series/{{CSI}}'' of its time. Now it's just amazing that Stewart [[spoiler: managed to get the evidence he needed]] just with such "primitive" stuff.
* In the film ''Film/PrimalFear'', Martin Vail is trying to clear the name of his client Aaron Stampler, and prove his innocence [[spoiler: before the twist ending]].
* ''Film/ConfidentiallyYours'' is about a secretary who sets out to prove that her boss, who's the main suspect in a murder case, is innocent of all charges.
* In ''Film/TheCrimeDoctorsStrangestCase'', Jimmy Trotter comes to Dr. Ordway to clear his name after he is accused of murdering his employer.
* Francis has to clear Peter's name when he is accused of murder in ''[[Film/FrancisTheTalkingMule Francis Covers the Big Town]]''.

[[folder: Lets Play]]
* In ''LetsPlay/SkyblockButEvery30SecondsARandomItemSpawns'', the Twitch chat tries to clear Jim Jum's name when he's sentenced to hang for Barnaby's murder. [[spoiler: They succeed, but Jim Jum's unable to be saved.]]

* Needless to say, Literature/SherlockHolmes did this on multiple occasions:
** In ''The Norwood Builder'', a young man was accused of murdering a wealthy old curmudgeon who had recently named him his heir. The story opens with him coming to Holmes for help. [[spoiler:The old man faked his own death as he seeks revenge against the young man's mother for rejecting him in the past]].
** In ''Thor Bridge'', Holmes's client is the husband of the victim, and wants Holmes to prove that his children's governess is innocent. [[spoiler:Holmes determines that the victim staged her own suicide to frame the governess, who her husband had fallen in love with (the governess kept the relationship professional but encouraged the husband to become a better man)]].
** In ''The Sussex Vampire'', Holmes proved that the wife's apparent sucking of her child's blood was not malicious and had absolutely nothing to do with vampirism. [[spoiler: She was trying to SuckOutThePoison, as the baby boy had been cut with a poisoned dart [[TheUnfavorite his jealous, hunchbacked older half-brother used on him]].]]
* ''Literature/{{Wicked}}''. Glinda volunteers to tell the Ozians that Elphaba isn't a wicked witch - [[DefiedTrope but Elphaba makes her promise not to, so the government won't do the same to her to keep her quiet.]]
* This happens to pilot Tycho Celchu in the ''Literature/XWingSeries'' - he was briefly held by TheEmpire's mistress of brainwashing, so he's suspected of having been turned, they dumped thousands of credits into his bank accounts, he was seen with someone who from behind looked liked one of the prominent Imperials, and he was in position to kill Corran Horn. [[spoiler: Who did not actually die]]. All the Rogues indicate that they think he's innocent, but not a lot of others share that opinion. It's mentioned that most of the evidence is circumstantial, but there's a mountain of it, so it looks like he's either guilty and made to look innocent through a clumsy frame, or innocent made to look guilty clumsily made to look innocent. This is what the bad guys intend, since his trial adds to the New Republic's problems-it's planned that evidence will be released to prove him innocent after he's been found guilty and put to death. Wedge Antilles eventually does find evidence of the ''real'' traitor [[spoiler: Erisi Dlarit. It helps that just a few minutes prior, the "victim" had entered the courtroom (nullifying the murder charge in the process, but not the other charges), and had figured out not only the identity of the traitor, but also that one of the investigators--General Cracken, Intelligence chief--already knew that Tycho was innocent (but he did not if he wasn't a real Imperial agent, just framed in this case for some plot). Cracken, however, deliberately let the trial continue in hopes of flushing out the real traitor, and after the trial took steps to make sure that Tycho's good name was restored.]]
* ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'''s main plot is an iconic example in American literature.
* Another example from classic American literature is ''Literature/TheWitchOfBlackbirdPond''. Protagonist Kit is accused of witchcraft in Salem, and can't prove her own innocence. Luckily, her LoveInterest Nat finds the child who can verify that she hasn't done anything wrong, and brings her to the courthouse in time to save Kit from conviction.
* In the 1925 novel ''Not Under the Law'', protagonist Joyce Radway leaves home after a fight with her cousin and takes up residence in a city some miles away. No one knows what's become of her, but several months later she happens to see her hometown newspaper and discovers that a close childhood friend has been accused of her murder. She heads home in time to interrupt the trial and prove that she's still alive.
* This is the plot of Sarah Caudwell's mystery ''[[Literature/HilaryTamar Thus Was Adonis Murdered]]'': Julia gets arrested for murder while on holiday in Venice, and Hilary has to remotely solve the murder so as to get her off.
* In Literature/TheRomanMysteries book ''Slavegirl of Jerusalem'', the main characters must clear the name of a slavegirl falsely accused of murder.
* In the second book of the ''Literature/KnightAndRogueSeries'' Fisk is called home to prove his brother-in-law innocent. Said brother-in-law, Max, was accused of having bribed several witnesses no falsely acuse two men so he could have them hung.
* This is most of the plot of ''Literature/{{Iorich}}''. Aliera was arrested on a very stupid, transparent charge and she refuses to talk to a lawyer or put up a decent defense. Vlad decides that even if she is a {{jerkass}}, he'd still prefer she didn't get executed, and he finds the idea of her owing him her life hilarious.

* In ''Literature/APassageToIndia'', set in the [[UsefulNotes/TheRaj British Raj]], Dr. Aziz is falsely accused of attempted rape by Englishwoman Adela Quested, prompting his friends Cyril Fielding, Vikram Hamidullah, and Mahmoud Ali to rally around him. [[spoiler: Adela ultimately withdraws her accusation]].
* ''Literature/PartnersInCrime'': In the story "Finessing the King/The Gentleman Dressed In Newspaper", Inspector Marriot arrests the victim's lover, and tells Tommy and Tuppence repeatedly that it's an open-and-shut case. Tuppence realises that he's trying to wind them up, since his instincts tell him the man is innocent, but is constrained by the evidence.
* ''Literature/HerculePoirot''

* Creator/ElleryQueen tries to do this for a small town man who refuses to speak in his own defense in the novel ''Calamity Town''.
* In "The Theft of Leopold's Badge", Literature/NickVelvet has to prove the innocence of rival thief Sandra Paris, who has been charged with murder.
* ''Literature/BlackWidowers'': In "Friday the 13th", the guest is attempting to prove that an ancestor of his wife who was executed for attempting to assassinate Calvin Coolidge was actually innocent.
* ''Literature/LordDarcy'': Master Sean is accused of murder twice. In ''Too Many Magicians'', the arrest is made solely to make Lord Darcy come to London and find the real killer. Everyone involved in the arrest knows perfectly well he's innocent. In "The Bitter End", a bumbling Parisian sergeant arrests him on the grounds that [[AWizardDidIt a sorcerer ''must'' have done it]] [[note]](wrong)[[/note]] and Master Sean is the first sorcerer the sergeant encounters during a very brief investigation.
* The entire purpose of Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/DoloresClaiborne''. While Dolores ''is'' responsible for [[spoiler:her husband's death, Vera's death is a genuine accident.]]
* ''Literature/SherlockHolmesAndDoctorWasNot'': In "The Forlorn Death of Sally at the Crossroads", Holmes has to clear Doc Holliday from a spurious charge of murder.
* ''Literature/SheriffJoannaBrady'': One of the main reasons that Joanna stands for sheriff in the first book ''Desert Heat'' is to find out who framed her late husband as a DirtyCop, and clear his name.

* ''Literature/DaddysLittleGirl'' features both an inversion and a straight example:
** An interesting [[InvertedTrope inversion]] drives the plot. Investigative journalist Ellie Cavanaugh learns that Robson Westerfield, the man who was convicted of killing her sister Andrea, is being released from prison and plans on clearing his name, insisting he didn't kill Andrea. Ellie is still convinced he's guilty and sets out to prove his guilt once and for all.
** Part of Ellie's motivation for trying to prevent Rob's conviction from being overturned is not just for the sake of her sister, but because the Westerfields and their supporters are trying to push the narrative that Paulie Stroebel was the real killer; Paulie is a vulnerable man with an intellectual disability and Ellie is repulsed at the thought of the crime being pinned on him, especially as half the town already regards him as an alternative suspect.

* Nine times out of ten, this is the plot that Franchise/PerryMason has to deal with.
* There's been a few episodes in the ''Series/LawAndOrder'' franchise where the detectives have had to either re-open an old case due to new evidence or have had to do a 180 on a guy they themselves locked up.
* In the popular and famous Korean television drama ''Jewel In the Palace'', protagonist Jang Geum's main purpose throughout the entire story is to clear the name of both her deceased mother ''and'' her mentor (who were both framed and wrongfully accused and executed for a crime they didn't commit).
** This trope commonly occurs in a lot of Asian historical dramas, normally in the form of children trying to clear the name of their parents. Justified in that family name is ''extremely'' important in such cultures.
* In the same vein as ''Perry Mason'', ''Series/{{Matlock}}''.
* In ''Series/TheMillionaire'', each episode features somebody anonymously receiving a check for one million dollars from an EccentricMillionaire. Several episodes revolved around people using their new money to investigate an injustice and clear someone's name.
* This is a common plot in ''Series/TheRockfordFiles,'' whether it's a relative of the accused or Jim's attorney friend Beth Davenport requesting that Jim clears an innocent person's name.
* ''Series/PrisonBreak'': Good thing Linc had Michael and Veronica.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "Sins of the Father" Worf has to clear the name of his deceased father, who has been accused by the Klingon High Council of treason. This is SeriousBusiness for a Klingon, as this means Worf and his descendants all become dishonored as well if his father can't be cleared. [[spoiler:In a subversion, Worf is forced to [[TakingTheHeat take the heat]] and accept discommendation as if the truth came out, the Klingon Empire would be split into a CivilWar due to the fact the real person behind the traitorous action was a powerful member of the Klingon Great Houses. This would last until the Klingon Civil War two years later.]]
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "Ex Post Facto", Tom Paris is convicted of murdering an alien scientist, and is punished by being forced to relive the victim's last moments repeatedly. Tuvok doggedly runs down the case, and discovers the doctor who performed the memory implantation was the real killer (who was using the implantation to smuggle weapons research to another local power, the hope being that they would capture Paris and scan the data from the implants).
** Then in "The Chute", Tom and Harry are both convicted of a terrorist bombing and sent to a HellholePrison. Janeway and crew find the real terrorists, but discover that Tom and Harry's convictions cannot be overturned as the government doesn't want to admit that their justice system could be fallible. So instead ''Voyager'' has to break them out.
* In the 1987 BBC adaptation of Creator/DorothyLSayers' ''Have His Carcase'', this trope is lampshaded by both Flora Weldon (the distraught widow and fiancee of Paul Alexis) and Lord Peter himself. After Alexis' body is finally found and an inquest is held, the coroner's verdict prompts comments that his name must be cleared of suicide. The book was written and set in the early 1930s and suicide was illegal for several centuries in England and Wales (until it ceased to be an offence with the passing of the Suicide Act of 1961).[[note]]A person who successfully committed suicide might be beyond the law's reach, but the dead person's corpse and property were not. Attempting suicide was originally a capital crime which people were hanged for, ironically.[[/note]]
* A rather convoluted example in ''Series/LizzieMcGuire''. After Lizzie and Matt end up switching minds for some reason, they have to cope with it for the day. Lizzie, in Matt's body, ends up learning that he (or rather, her brother) was being punished for a prank that ([[NotMeThisTime this time]]) Matt was completely innocent of involving soap and the drinking fountain. It turns out the person responsible was actually a kid who wanted revenge against Matt because he often ruins his pudding.

* Shawn and Gus help a man freed from prison find out who committed the crime he was imprisoned for in the ''Series/{{Psych}}'' episode "True Grits." One episode has another cop frame Lassiter to become the suspect of a murder. There's also an episode called "Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy," in which Gus' father is suspected of killing his {{Jerkass}} neighbor.
* Tony finds out he sent an innocent man to prison in the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Bounce".

* In the case of ''Series/DeviousMaids'', the reason Marisol is working as a maid for a wealthy couple is that [[spoiler: her son is being framed for the murder of another couple's maid so she goes to work as a maid for one of their friends in order to find out the real culprit.]]
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': This becomes the plot of the episode "25 To Life" when it turns out that a man who's just been paroled didn't commit the murders he was convicted of, and the hunt for the real killers begins.
* In the first episode of ''Series/TheMusketeers'', the Musketeers and Athos in particular was framed for murder and robbery. Aramis and Porthos set out to clear his name and D'Artagnan becomes involved since his father was one of the murdered.
** Porthos in episode 5 was found passed out drunk next to a dead man, his gun and [[ItMakesSenseInContext a melon]].
* In ''Series/QuantumLeap'':
** One episode had Sam leap into an attorney preparing to enter his client's plea on a murder charge. He pleads "not guilty", which changes the original history of her taking a plea deal for twenty years so that she is instead sentenced to death. Sam then spends the rest of the episode trying to prove that his client killed in self-defense [[spoiler: and ultimately, to even his own surprise, proves that his client did not kill the victim at all.]]
** Season 5 featured a trilogy of episodes revolving around Sam's efforts to save Abigail Fuller from Leda Ader by leaping into different points in Abby's life ended this way. In a last desperate insane attempt to destroy Abby, Leda framed Abby [[spoiler:for her ''own'' murder, by sneaking into Abby's kitchen and used a knife she knew had Abby's fingerprints on it to slit her own throat.]] Sam, having leaped into the attorney who was one of the only people in Abby's life who believed she was innocent of any wrongdoing, barely manages to clear her name.

* ''Series/ChicagoJustice'': [[spoiler: Atwater]] is exonerated after evidence comes to light that someone else in fact killed the man he was convicted of killing. Stone publicly apologizes over it.
* ''Series/TheFlash2014''
** This is a major overarching plot point during season one, as Barry seeks to clear his father's name after he was framed for killing his wife. [[spoiler:The second season opening ep sees the real killer leave a posthumous confession]].
** Mid-way through Season Four, Barry is framed for the murder of current villain Clifford [=DeVoe=], AKA the Thinker, [[spoiler:when in reality [=DeVoe=] has transferred his mind into a new body. After the team decide not to plant evidence to clear Barry's name, they find a loophole when new teammber Ralph Dibny learns that his powers include a degree of shapeshifting, allowing him to pose as the still-alive [=DeVoe=] and get Barry cleared of the murder]].
* ''Series/ThePractice'': Ellenor, Eugene and Jimmy struggle to do this for a death row inmate in Pennsylvania, facing an uphill battle even when they find new evidence casting doubt on his conviction. [[spoiler: They eventually succeed.]]
* ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'':
** In "All Great Neptune's Ocean" Tyr Anasazi is found standing over the dead body with the smoking gun (well, force lance) in his hand. His friends find out that the weapon has been manipulated to fire on a signal tone. Only then did Tyr draw it to get it under control.
** Beka Valentine refers to this incidence, when in "Shards of Rimni" Dylan Hunt is found with the murder weapon in his hand standing next to the killer and arrested for murder. It turns out, Dylan has been set up.
* The ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' episode "Murder On The Rising Star" has Starbuck accused of murder and Apollo struggling to find the evidence to clear him.

** An old story revealed that Spidey's parents Richard and Mary had been secret agents who had been killed in action by a supervillain, then framed as traitors as a final insult. Spidey then went on a quest to clear his parents' names.
** Betty Brant cleared the name of his dead husband, Ned Leeds, when she revealed that Roderick Kingsley was the real Hobgoblin (Ned was brainwashed in believe to be Hobglobin by Kingsley).

** Another Batman-related storyline, ''ComicBook/TheJoker: Devil's Advocate'', revolves around this: While vandalizing the post office, the Joker is suddenly arrested, tried, and sentenced to die for the incident involving the poisoned stamps, but he insists that he has been framed and asks Batman to help him find the real perpetrator for the poisoned stamps and clear his name. [[spoiler: Near the end, the real perpetrator is found and reveals himself, and the Joker is pardoned, just mere seconds before he is to be executed by the electric chair, knowing that his name is at least in the clear.]]

* In ''FanFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', [[spoiler:Hermione is accused of the attempted murder of Draco Malfoy. He and she both have their memories magically altered so even she thinks she did it, and it's up to Harry to stop the Wizengamot from sending her to Azkaban.]]

* In the episode of Series/{{Wishbone}} based on ''Hound of the Baskervilles'', Wishbone is accused of causing trouble around the neighborhood. The audience knows that another dog, a bloodhound, is causing the trouble but when a neighbor "catches Wishbone in the act" (really having stepped outside too late to see the other dog), the main trio takes it upon themselves to figure out what really happened, even finding a piece of evidence that [[AdultsAreUseless the adults all missed]]: namely Wishbone's teeth and paws are too small to cause the tooth marks and paw prints found at two of the scenes.

** In ''The Norwood Builder'', a young man was accused of murdering a wealthy old curmudgeon who had recently named him his heir. The story opens with him coming to Holmes for help.
** In ''Thor Bridge'', Holmes's client is the husband of the victim, and wants Holmes to prove that his children's governess is innocent.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "Ex Post Facto", Tom Paris is convicted of murdering an alien scientist, and is punished by being forced to relive the victim's last moments repeatedly. Tuvok doggedly runs down the case, and discovers the doctor who performed the memory implantation was the real killer (who was using the implantation to smuggle weapons research to another local power).
** Then in "The Chute", Tom and Harry are both convicted of a terrorist bombing and sent to a HellholePrison. Janeway and crew find the real terrorists, but discover that Tom and Harry's convictions cannot be overturned. So instead ''Voyager'' has to break them out.

* ''Series/TheFlash2014'' has this as its major overarching plot point during season one, as Barry seeks to clear his father's name after he was framed for killing his wife.

** Colonel O'Neill is framed for the murder of Senator Kinsey, and the rest of his team must clear his name.

** One episode had Sam leap into an attorney preparing to enter his client's plea on a murder charge. He pleads "not guilty", which changes the original history of her taking a plea deal for twenty years and changes history so that she is instead sentenced to death. Sam then spends the rest of the episode trying to prove that his client killed in self-defense [[spoiler: and ultimately, to even his own surprise, proves that his client did not kill the victim at all.]]

* In ''Series/QuantumLeap'', the trilogy of episodes revolving around Sam's efforts to save Abigail Fuller from Leda Ader by leaping into different points in Abby's life ended this way. In a last desperate insane attempt to destroy Abby, Leda framed Abby [[spoiler:for her ''own'' murder, by sneaking into Abby's kitchen and used a knife she knew had Abby's fingerprints on it to slit her own throat.]] Sam, having leaped into the attorney who was one of the only people in Abby's life who believed she was innocent of any wrongdoing, barely manages to clear her name.

* This is the plot of ''Film/MyCousinVinny'', where the titular Vinny defends his cousin and his cousin's friend after they get accused of murder. [[CourtroomAntic Of course, this is also Vinny's first trial]].

If it's the protagonist who has to prove himself/herself innocent in the face of a false accusation, it's ClearMyName. May overlap with GuiltyUntilSomeoneElseIsGuilty.

* In a ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|KellyThompson}}'' arc tying in with ''ComicBook/{{Empyre}}'', ComicBook/CarolDanvers (recently made a Kree Accuser) was assigned by Emperor ComicBook/{{Hulkling}} to track down and execute an apparent war criminal, a female Kree soldier, for destroying a Kree[=/=]Skrull city. When the Kree surrenders herself, she insists she's innocent but is willing to die an honorable death by a living legend. Carol decides to use her warhammer to see if the Kree truly isn't guilty, and not only does she learn that [[LongLostRelative she's her half-sister Lauri-ell]], she sees nothing that indicates she's responsible for the crime. Acting against Hulkling's order, Carol hides Lauri-ell on Earth and investigates who the true perpetrator is.

* In the ''Literature/TommyAndTuppence'' story "Finessing the King/The Gentleman Dressed In Newspaper", Inspector Marriot arrests the victim's lover, and tells Tommy and Tuppence repeatedly that it's an open-and-shut case. Tuppence realises that he's trying to wind them up, since his instincts tell him the man is innocent, but is constrained by the evidence.