Andy Malkinson served 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of a 2003 rape.
After the CCRC failed to properly investigate, Appeal, a specialist legal charity dedicated to investigating miscarriages of justice, uncovered DNA evidence leading to the conviction being overturned.
Jodi Jones, age 14, was brutally murdered in Dalkeith, Scotland on 30 June 2003. Police at once focused on Luke Mitchell, Jodi’s boyfriend.
Luke was arrested and charged eight months later, after a media storm, and was ordered to serve at least 20 years in prison.
However, he is blatantly innocent, the victim of trial by media.
According to a report on a documentary broadcast on February 24, 2011
Investigators John Sallens and Michael Neil found another person of interest to the crime who “turned up with scratches on his face” the day after the murder. Mark Kane was an alleged drug user studying at Newbattle Abbey College in Dalkeith, who was “untraceable” during the murder hunt. He bares a striking resemblance to Luke, and lived very close to the murder site. He’s described as “a very, very disturbed boy who carried a knife” and was on methadone at the time, as well as cannabis and lager. Mark says he obtained the scratches by “falling in a bush”.
At the age of just 18 years old, Mike Crump was arrested and wrongfully convicted of the tragic murder of 21-year-old Eric “Nike” Jones in Virginia after an eyewitness misidentified Mike due to his hoodie.
There was NO other evidence against Mike, no fingerprints, no DNA, just the word of one eyewitness who initially said it was too dark to see anything and she did not see the killer’s face, only the hooded sweatshirt that the killer wore.
Despite the lack of solid evidence against Mike, he was shockingly convicted by a single judge at a one day bench trial in 1996. Mike was sentenced to a total of 40 years for a crime he did not commit and for which he continues to maintain his innocence.
Again and again in Mike’s case, evidence of his innocence has been disregarded.
See this petition for details.
[ Case description taken from petition ]
On June 25, 2015 two-year-old Bella Bond’s unidentified body washed up on shore in a trash bag, on deer island in Boston Harbor.
Bella was the third child of Rachelle Bond, who had a lengthy criminal history. Rachelle’s first two children had been removed from her care, but the Department of Children and Families (DCF) nevertheless deemed Rachelle fit to care for Bella.
In July, police set up a tip line, and a woman called in who told them that the washed up child was Bella, and Rachelle had been behaving in a psychotic fashion when Bella was last seen, however there was no follow-up on the tip.
In September after Bella’s father Joe confronted Rachelle, police called to question Rachelle, but she jumped out of a window and fled. She then told Joe that Michael had killed Bella, and held her hostage for four months. When Joe became upset, Rachelle said “shut the F–K up, they are on to me, you’re going to get me bagged.”
When finally questioned by police, Rachelle told yet another bizarre story claiming Michael had killed Bella and “I couldn’t call the police or anybody after that as he held me hostage and had hitmen waiting outside of my house that would shoot me if I called 911.”
In spite of the changing, bizarre and impossible stories from a woman who was apparently mentally ill, police decided to charge Michael with murder, even though there was nothing to corroborate Rachelle’s impossible story.
At trial, Rachelle’s testimony was contradicted by the Medical Examiner. In spite of the obvious credibility problem, and no independent evidence to link Michael to the crime, the jury convicted Michael of 2nd degree murder after deliberating for just over four days.
Michael Doolin, a Dorchester criminal defense attorney who followed the case closely said he was very surprised by the verdict.
Jonathan Shapiro, defense attorney, said the verdict was a travesty of justice and incomprehensible.
News report and video on the verdict:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/06/26/jurors-bella-bond-murder-trial-resume-deliberations/CNxd2oc4Mlaj2lsubYjbEO/story.html
Kenneth Nixon was 19 when police say his girlfriend had an affair with his childhood friend, giving him a motive to toss a Molotov cocktail into a Detroit house, killing two children.
However, according to withheld evidence, the State’s key witness ( whose story changed significantly multiple times ) was “obviously coached by family members”.
The case was re-investigated by six undergraduate and graduate students at Northwestern University, with the support of the Medill Justice Project.
For a full description of the case see https://eu.freep.com/story/news/2018/10/27/kenneth-nixon-life-sentence/1739835002/
In 2002 – five days before Christmas , Columbus police arrested baby-sitter Kim Hoover-Moore for the shaken baby death of 9-month-old Samaisha Benson a month earlier.
She maintained her innocence, but was convicted or murder and other charges.
At trial, in the original autopsy, the coroner determined that the child had no previous brain injuries.
However, when asked by Assistant State Public Defender Joanna Sanchez to re-examine the evidence recently, the same coroner found an old brain injury that the child had suffered – probably about a month before she died – and evidence that the injury re-bled about 4-5 days before she died causing the fatal injuries.
On October 28, 1991, a bomb exploded at the Roslindale home of Thomas L. Shay (“Shay Sr.”), killing one Boston police officer and severely injuring another.
The prosecution case was that Alfred Trenkler had built the bomb at the behest Shay Sr.’s son (“Shay Jr.”), who wanted to kill his father in order to cash in on an insurance policy.
In fact, it seems far more likely the bomb was related to Shay Sr.’s legal disputes, Shay Sr. claimed his previous landlords were making threats on his life.
The case against Shay Jr. (who was convicted in a separate trial) and Trenkler was circumstantial. The government introduced a sales receipt for a toggle switch purchased in October 1991 at a Radio Shack store, however the jury never knew that the switch recovered at the scene was not a Radio Shack switch.
On February 1, 1997, Charles Newsome was shot in the back and arm while driving in West Memphis, Arkansas, and bled to death. Antonio Williams, Kendrick Gillum, and Demarco T. Wilson (WGW) were subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
The key witness was Frederick Ellis, who was a passenger in the car. In his first statement to police, he could not give the names of the shooters, but then a few hours later he identified Williams and Gillum, then five days later he identified Wilson and another person, who it transpired was in Kentucky at the time. Ellis testified that he had known WGW “pretty much” his entire life.
However Ellis and another witness Kevin Johnson, the only witnesses who identified WGW as the shooters, gave statements which were contradictory and also conflicted with other trial testimony – a defense witness testified the shooters were in another car and not on foot, whereas the State’s witnesses testified the shooters were on foot. In addition, Johnson did not did not give his statement until nine days after the shooting, when he could have talked to Ellis. Ellis and Johnson were both convicted felons, this was the third Capital Murder trial where Ellis testified that year and after his testimony implicating WGW, the West Memphis Police Department dropped seven charges against him.
In summary the evidence suggests Ellis lied about who shot the victim, and named people in order to curry favour with the police, and perhaps to absolve himself from wrongdoing.
Robert Pape and Cristin Smith were sentenced to life without parole in the 2006 triple murders of Jon Hayward, his girlfriend, Vicki Friedli, and her 18-year-old daughter, Rebecca “Becky” Friedli, in Pinyon Pines, California.
The victims were found murdered at their Alpine Drive home just north of Highway 74. Hayward and Vicki Friedli died of gunshots to the abdomen and head, respectively. Their bodies were discovered inside their burning home. Becky Friedli’s charred body lay outside in a wheelbarrow and her cause of death was never determined.
Robert was told certain aspects of the crime scene by Javier Garcia, such as the wheelbarrow and the bodies being too burned to identify. Javier testified that he did not know this information until a few days after the murders.
Post-trial discovery has revealed a tape of a Denny’s employee stating that Javier called her the next morning, stating the facts about the wheelbarrow and the burned bodies.
Jeremy Bamber was convicted of the murder of his adoptive parents, his sister Sheila Caffell, and Sheila’s two children on 7 August 1985. After initially being sentenced to 25 years, the sentence was later increased to a whole-life order.
Initially, police believed it was a case of murder-suicide by his sister who had a history of severe mental illness, but a month after the shootings he was arrested and charged with murder.
The critical evidence that convinced the jury of Jeremy’s guilt was a flake of blood found on a silencer found in a cupboard. At trial, the jury was told that the discovery of an enzyme from the blood was clear evidence that the blood found on the silencer came from Sheila. However the jury never knew that this blood could have been from animals. The rifle and the silencers were used to shoot game and could have been carried alongside rabbits when returning from a shoot. Had the jury known that two types of animal blood were found on the outer surface of another silencer, they would have known that the blood was more likely animal blood than Sheila’s blood.
Troy Legette was convicted in 1998 of armed bank robbery.
The prosecution case was entirely speculative/circumstantial. There was no physical evidence to place him at the scene, forensic evidence were tested and didn’t link him to the crime. Also, inconsistent statements documented in police reports from eyewitnesses showed variations from trial testimony.
In addition, the prosecutor told the trial jury that Troy was a non-shedder and this was why DNA found on evidence used in crime didn’t match. The prosecutor made other claims that were either false or unsupported by evidence.
James Davis was found guilty of murder for the shooting death of Blake Harper in 2006. The shooting took place at a crowded party at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. There was no physical or forensic evidence connecting Davis to the shooting, and the case against him was based solely on a disputed eyewitness testimony.
At his first trial, jurors voted 11-to-1 to acquit Davis, but his then-girlfriend failed to testify at his retrial and he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 18-years-to-life in prison.
After a re-investigation, other witnesses have been found who support Davis’ version of events, and prosecution witnesses have retracted or changed their testimony.
Michael Shingatok was found guilty of sexual assault, assault and uttering threats in June 2018. An unnamed woman testified that he was abusive throughout their four-year relationship between 2012 and 2016.
According to a news report, the woman said she reported the crimes because she wanted to get away from Shingatok and get a restraining order. But the defense noted that she stayed in contact with Shingatok despite several moves when she could have left him behind. Moreover, shortly before the woman went to police, she had heard Shingatok was cheating on her. The woman agreed she was angry about that.
Shingatok denied the allegations which were uncorroborated. The woman had a serious issue with alcohol, resulting in a serious house fire and a fall down steps.
In social media discussion, it was alleged that the woman had a record of making false accusations against two other ex-boyfriends.
Gerald Green was shot four times and robbed by a man who requested a ride from him.
Green did not identify Boone as his assailant in three photo lineups, and it was not until a fourth lineup that Green identified Boone as the man who shot him.
At trial, Brain Hoover testified that he heard the gunshots and saw a man, not Boone, running away from the area of the shooting.
The jury did not hear from four other witnesses who testified at a post-conviction hearing that another man, of similar appearance to Boone, was likely responsible for the shootings.
In June 1997, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the denial of Boone’s request for a new trial following the post-conviction hearing.
Subsequently the Wisconsin Innocence Project took up the case and filed motions for DNA tests to be performed which could establish Boone’s innocence.
KC Grondin was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend.
Fingerprints and DNA at the murder scene in 2011 didn’t belong to Grondin, and witnesses and cell phone triangulation showed that he was miles away when the victim’s stolen debit card was used.
After three years in prison, in June 2018 a new trial was ordered.
Martha Sierra accused David Diaz of attempting to kill her boyfriend, Remberto Preciado, in the Lincoln Heights area of L.A., in front of her. According to police, Preciado was asked what neighborhood he was from during a fight over gang rivalries, and subsequently shot in the leg.
At the hospital, Sierra, then 18, was asked for information about the suspect. Detectives showed her photos of registered gang members in Lincoln Heights. She pointed to a young man, skinny with a shaved head, bushy eyebrows, and the start of a moustache. It was David Diaz.
In court, the defense presented evidence that showed Diaz was at the cinema with his family at the time of the shooting. But the jury was swayed by Sierra’s identification of Diaz as the shooter.
Nineteen years later, Sierra admits that she chose Diaz at random due to police pressure. “They told me I couldn’t go home until I identified the criminal. I told them: ‘OK, it’s this guy,’ but I didn’t know who he was,” she told Univision News.
“David Diaz was not the shooter,” said Sierra, now 39. “I feel bad because he should not be there,” she added.
Sierra says the true culprit does not even look like Diaz, but she did not see him among the pictures police showed her. “Everything happened so quickly but I remember that he was tall, with light skin, and skinny.” According to Diaz and his lawyers, the true culprit died in a gunfight.
The victim of the shooting, Remberto Preciado, declared that the accused was not the man who shot him in the leg.
“He is innocent,” Preciado wrote in a letter sent to Univision from Salinas Valley state prison, where he is serving a sentence for an unrelated incident. “In the trial, I testified that David Diaz was not the shooter. He is a victim of injustice of the Los Angeles’ courts,” he wrote.
“Nineteen years of his life have been stolen from him,” he added.
Barry Jones was convicted of the murder of a 4 year old girl in 1994, and sentenced to death. However 22 years later the prosecution case has fallen apart. See here for details.
News
August 2, 2018 : conviction overturned
A Russian couple, Victor and Alla Kolesnikow were murdered in Cookeville, Tennessee on August 5, 1998. Gregory Lance was arrested in April 1999, and subsequently convicted for the crime, based on circumstantial evidence that was either coerced by police or inconclusive.
One witness said that he was let out of jail for giving a statement to police, another contradicted his earlier statement to police.
Following his conviction, Gregory’s family hired a retired FBI Agent to assist them in investigating the case, and a likely alternative suspect was identified.
See this website for details on the case.
In 2007, after Hurricane Katrina, Hector being a Skilled Roofer, took a job in Louisiana with a Local Contractor to help Rebuild the Hurricane Ravages. He took his wife, his step -daughter, (whom he ALWAYS cared for like she was his own flesh & blood), and their daughter & moved there.
In Feb 16, 2009, his step-daughter, got mad at him because he told her she could not wear make up to the previous weekend Mardi Gras parade, being she was only 11, he felt that was inappropriate for an 11 year. She threw a BIG fit, threw herself down on the ground & went to school & accused him of “inappropriate” touching. When she arrived at home that day, she went to his bosses house to the bosses wife who sometimes kept the children after school & made the statement “Can I call my friend, I said something I shouldn’t have at school”. It is not known what was said to the friend, although a notebook was found later that she & her friend doodled in that had pictures of men’s privates & things like “men rule, boys drool”. It is suspected that the two girls got together and made a story up because she was mad at Hector.
Hector was charged with aggravated rape, (due to the “victims” age, NO penetration was done), the “victim” was not even taken to a doctor for examination until over 5 months later. Needless to say, there was no physical evidence, and it remains to this day, 8 years later, STILL no physical evidence, just the accusation.
Hector was kept in the Parish, (County) jail. from April 18, 2009 until his “trial”, Dec 20, 2014, well over 5 years! The only reason he was taken to “trial” then, was because in January a new Head DA was to take office after the previous one had to resign after 30 years because of Corruption, (imagine that), the new DA, ironically at one time was assigned to Hector as his Counsel, but was taken off because someone decided he, (Hector), could understand English & didn’t need a Spanish speaking Atty.
After a 5 day “trial”, and it should be noted here that Louisiana is one of only 2 states that the Jury does NOT have to be unanimous, meaning 12 out of 12 does not have to agree, I think it is either 8 or 9 out of 12 for a conviction. During the “trial” a week before Christmas, only 2 defence witnesses were called, even though Hector had others who had personal knowledge about the accusations & the “victim”, they were not called to testify, the States “experts” were called BEFORE the “victim” gave her testimony. one of the Jurors had baby sat the assistant DA trying the case, (she had no business on the jury), also during the “trial”, other people, not having anything to do with the Jury or trial, was seen going in & out of the Jury room. Also note that the “trial” ended the Friday before Christmas. The Jury was in a hurry to get out & go Christmas shopping.
Ultimately, he was found guilty of the Charge & sentenced to Life w/o Parole, (he was NEVER offered a plea deal), which is the sentencing guideline in Louisiana there was nothing the Judge could do to give a lower sentence. What the actual accusation was, is that he “licked the victims butt-crack”, like I said, there was NO penetration, no DNA and how is that to be proved?
Other things to note on this case, he was supposed to be indicted according to Louisiana Law within 120 days, yet he was not until 125 days later, but yet the paperwork had that date crossed out & re dated to reflect indictment at 118 days. Hector did file a Speedy Trial Motion, needless to say nothing was done on that. He also filed a Bond Reduction, that was dismissed due to being “moot, as the individual was not in jail”, yes he was!! He has never been released from jail since his arrest. Also, there are several instances in his file referring to him with the incorrect name.
The defense the Attorney on this case, he was appointed by the Public Defenders office, I guess one would say a “Contract” Attorney. Who did NOTHING!! Just kept continuing the case until the Assistant DA figured they better do something before the NEW Head DA took office in January.
The Attorney was even told that the “victim” had told a family member she did not want to testify, his response was “don’t get in the middle of it”
Jacob Silva was convicted of the murder of Renee Ramos, whose bruised and beaten body was found June 5, 2000, beneath a pile of insulation at the site of a Home Depot under construction in Manteca, San Joaquin County, California.
Jacob Silva and Renee Ramos were boyfriend and girlfriend. Both 18 years old and living pretty much on the streets, sleeping in cars, parks or friend’s homes.
A 14-year-old when questioned by police, said he witnessed the victim’s rape and murder, but subsequently admitted the story was entirely made up. The prosecution case was that this happened five days earlier. There was no evidence to substantiate boy’s original claim, and forensic examiner John Cooper testified that the victim had only been dead for 1 to 3 days, and it was actually closer to one day than three, contradicting the story.
According to prosecutors, there were as many as five people present at the alleged crime.
Nevertheless, despite the complete lack of evidence to support the prosecution case other than the boy’s original story, and the conflict with the time of death according to Cooper, Jacob Silva was convicted of murder, and another man Ty Lopes was convicted of rape and murder.
Wrongly Convicted Group Website 
You must be logged in to post a comment.