That's the major problem with the list. Obviously I haven't seen it but from news stories and complaints like the OP's, the list appears to contain only a name (ie. David Nelson) and little if anything else. It may be that 'removal' from the list consists solely of adding a bit more information (SSN, DL etc.) to distinguish between individuals with the same name. If there's a bad David Nelson out there waiting to hijack a plane then any and all David Nelsons are going to have to stay on the list.

Now how they got there in the first place is a separate discussion.....