Patrick Pursley

Patrick Pursley was convicted of a 1993 murder, based on unreliable key witness testimony, jailhouse informants, and faulty forensic science.

At trial, the State’s expert concluded that the bullets and cartridges recovered from the crime scene were fired from a gun linked to Pursley “to the exclusion of all other firearms.” However the State’s expert has now admitted that he was wrong, and a defense expert has found that neither the cartridges nor the bullets recovered from the crime came from the gun linked to Pursley. On April 19, 2016 Pursley was granted an evidentiary hearing.

Sources:

http://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/waiting-for-justice/

http://www.jiwc.org/our-cases/patrick-pursley/

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News

March 3, 2017 New trial granted

April 13, 2017 Bond Set “A man who has been in prison for 23 years for murder will be released to await a new trial when $5,000 is paid on a $50,000 bond that Judge Joseph McGraw set today.”

Update: 16 January, 2019 Patrick Pursley found not guilty in murder retrial

 

 

Lamarr Monson

Lamarr Monson was convicted of brutally killing a 12-year-old girl in 1996.

He was tricked into a confessing that he stabbed the girl, but in fact it wasn’t true. A year later, the homicide inspector who oversaw Monson’s interrogation was removed for illegally obtaining confessions.

Now the finger-prints of someone who confessed to his girl friend have been matched to the likely murder weapon, a toilet seat.

The Michigan Innocence Clinic has filed a motion, arguing this new evidence is grounds for Lamarr Monson to get a new trial.

It’s been nearly 20 years since he went to prison.

“I knew he was innocent. But everywhere I went, I could get no help. No help. Nobody believed,” says Delores Monson, Lamarr’s mother.

Source

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Jan 30, 2017: Lamarr Monson, convicted of killing Detroit girl in 1996, granted new trial 

Feb 2, 2017 Released on Bond.

Aug 25, 2017 Case Dismissed

Richard Raugust released

Richard Raugust has been released from prison.

On Dec. 4, a judge released Raugust on his own recognizance pending a new trial, and he took another giant step in his years-long journey to clear his name.

“I knew this day would come. I just didn’t know when,” said his sister, Mary Webster, having traveled from her home in Oxnard, California, to greet her brother. “I’m so excited for him to start anew. I know he’s ready.”

“I just didn’t think it would take 18 years,” Raugust added.

Raugust, whose 1998 conviction for the murder of Joseph Tash was overturned on Nov. 16 by a district court judge, was released from prison following a bail hearing Dec. 4, and will live in an apartment in Missoula awaiting his day in court and the state’s appeal to the Montana Supreme Court.

News Report

Floyd Bledsoe freed

Floyd Bledsoe‘s conviction has been overturned, and he has been released.

News report

Robert Jones

Man ‘wrongly’ jailed for decades for killing UK tourist

28 October 2015

A man has been in prison in the US for 23 years for shooting dead a British tourist even though the judge in his trial and police detectives believe he is innocent of the crime.

Robert Jones was accused of being behind a crime spree of rape, robbery and then the murder of holidaymaker Julie Stott in New Orleans in 1992.

Despite another man being convicted for the murder and being overwhelmingly linked to all the other crimes, Mr Jones was never released.

In June, the Louisiana Supreme Court acknowledged that Mr Jones did not get a fair trial and ruled that his case should be reopened. But he remains behind bars

See BBC video report for details ( it’s a must view! ): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34655025

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News

November 19, 2015 Bail Granted | Story

January 26, 2017 Charges Dropped

 

 

Raymond Tempest

Raymond Tempest, 62, was convicted in 1992 of second-degree murder. He was said to have bludgeoned and strangled 22-year-old Doreen Picard in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in 1982. But new DNA tests reveal hair and blood found at the scene were not his.

Source: Daily Mail, July 14, 2015 – Conviction overturned.

Supported by the New England Innocence Project.

Reversal Ruling also here : a good read.

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News

Bail hearing August 4th : “A Superior Court judge on Tuesday rejected the state’s request that he put on hold his ruling vacating Raymond D. `Beaver’ Tempest’s murder conviction and agreed to consider releasing the 62-year-old on bail Aug. 14.
Judge Daniel A. Procaccini found that Tempest did not pose a flight risk or represent harm to the public.”

August 14 : “After spending 23 years in prison for the murder of Doreen Picard, Raymond “Beaver” Tempest will be released to home confinement on Tuesday.”

September 22 : Bail Granted

Innocence Project Blog 24 September 2015 – Summarises position.

Michael Skakel

Long article in The Atlantic by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. January 2003

Celebrity trials can turn into media lynchings. Last year a Connecticut jury convicted Michael Skakel of killing his neighbor Martha Moxley twenty-seven years ago, even though the prosecution had no fingerprints, no DNA, and no witnesses. The author, a former New York City prosecutor, argues that his cousin’s indictment was triggered by an inflamed media, and that an innocent man is now in prison

Ruling overturning conviction October 2013

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News

Report on bail hearing Nov 21, 2014

Michael Skakel settles lawsuit against HLN host Nancy Grace, claiming slander over murder case Nov 12, 2014

News report Dec 12, 2014

Please see this January 2, 2017 article for an update and full case description.

Henry Keogh freed after 20 years

“a litany of errors during the autopsy, resulting in the bizarre conclusion that he had drowned his fiancee in the bath by lifting her legs over her head”

Via Wrongful Convictions Blog

News Report

Robert Fischer

Featured case #44

Robert Fischer is accused of murdering Lee Radder. Robert was staying with relatives ( he was the step-father of the Lee’s wife ). Lee Radder apparently committed suicide on 30 December 2010, after receiving bad news about a business deal. He had spent the night in a heavy drinking session with Robert. Due to being intoxicated, Robert made some confused, inaccurate statements, stating that he was in bed when the shot was fired, whereas in reality he was in close proximity to Lee.

The prosecution allege Robert staged the scene. However this is scientifically impossible. Forensic evidence conclusively demonstrates that Lee shot himself, and there was no staging.

On 28 February 2014, the trial judge overturned the jury’s verdict, on the grounds that the verdict was contrary to the balance of evidence and prosecution misconduct.

Key Points from the Judge’s ruling

• Lee’s DNA and partial fingerprint were found on the gun

• There was no trace of Robert (DNA or fingerprint) on the gun

• The gun in Lee’s hand and the high velocity back spatter on Lee’s hands is compelling evidence that Lee shot himself.

• Detective Acosta’s opinion that the defendant manipulated Lee’s body and staged the scene is not supported by the physical evidence and lacked credibility.

See here for the full ruling.

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John Horton

Featured Case #41: John Horton was wrongly convicted of murder in 1995. His cousin subsequently confessed to the crime. The case is supported by the Center of Wrongful Convictions of Youth at Northwestern University School of Law.

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News

12 October 2016 : New trial granted

The Court ruled that John was entitled to a new trial because prosecutors had violated his due process rights by not disclosing exculpatory evidence, although a special concurrence penned by one of the Justices added that this case was riddled with “outrageous errors and missteps” and that John has “significant” evidence of actual innocence.

Ruling | News Report

10 February 2016 : Released on Bond.  Judge Joseph G. McGraw set his bond at $50,000.

 

Adam Braseel

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On November 9, 2007, in Grundy County, TN, Adam was wrongfully convicted of murder, felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, criminal attempted first degree murder, aggravated assault, and assault. He is currently serving a life sentence, in a maximum-security prison for crimes he did not commit.

There was no forensic evidence found on any of the items sent to the TBI Crime Lab, nor is there any DNA that places him at either bloody crime scene. We have substantial amount evidence that will prove intentional acts of misconduct and gross negligence from prosecutorial and police officials.

During the investigation, the Sheriff’s department refused to take affidavits from witnesses, and failed to secure video evidence that placed Adam at a different location during the time the crimes were committed. It would be physically impossible for Adam to have murdered this man, and attempted the murder of another, without having a trace of DNA evidence linking him to either crime. There is no way Adam could have done this, having been in a completely different city with friends.

Adam left from one friend’s house to meet with another friend for a planned four-wheeling trip, on his way he stopped at a convenience store, then he stopped to talk with a couple of friends he ran into. When he arrived at his friend’s house, he was in a normal manner, saw, and spoke with his friend’s mom, he had the same clothes on as he did when he left. This is the same clothes the Sheriff ‘s department took as evidence, the same clothes the eye-witness identified him as to wearing, the same clothes the officer took a snap shot of him wearing.

The conviction was based solely on the tainted and suggestive testimonies of two questionable eyewitnesses, whose credibility was never investigated.

Due to the countless amounts of discrepancies and contradictions, in this case, by prosecution, law officials, eyewitnesses, along with the negligence and ineffective assistance of legal counsel, Adam Braseel did not receive a fair trial.

Appeal hearing March 27, 2015

Update August 2, 2019

At 5:20 p.m. Friday, the Tennessee Department of Corrections confirmed that Adam Braseel, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 2007, was officially released from prison.

https://newschannel9.com/news/local/attorneys-make-case-for-convicted-grundy-county-mans-innocence-friday

Hannah Overton

Hannah was sentenced to life in prison after a failure to take a child she was adopting to hospital for an hour or two, even though symptoms could be mistaken for a minor ailment. Prosecutor was an alcoholic, medical evidence shows condition was congenital (Pica), jury was confused about murder by omission.

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Conviction overturned on 16 September, 2014

Judge Recused on 24 November, 2014

Bail granted on 16 December, 2014

Pre-trial hearing 29,30 January, 2015

Case Dismissed April 8, 2015

Exoneration Report

Debra Milke

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Retrial date : 2 February, 2015 – Facebook Page for Retrial

Update : Charges dropped 11 December, 2014.

Prosecution appeal to Arizona Supreme Court denied 17 March, 2015.

Entry at National Registry of Exonerations March 2015.

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito

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Country : Italy ( Amanda Knox is US citizen )

Appeal hearing : 25 March, 2015

Exonerated : 27 March, 2015