Search | Wrongly Convicted

Federal Jury Awards $9 Million to Illinois Man Cleared of Rape He Was Convicted of as Teenager

Article • August 5, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Sex Offender Registration, Malicious Prosecution, DNA Testing/Samples, Good Time, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency, Collateral consequences of prison, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Immigration, Due Process

Federal Jury Awards $9 Million to Illinois Man Cleared of Rape He Was Convicted of as Teenager by Alejandro Dominguez, who spent four years in prison for a rape he did not commit, was awarded $9 million by a federal jury after DNA evidence cleared him of the charges. Dominguez, …

DNA Keeps Overturning Convictions, But Spike in Exonerations Owed to Other Factors

Article • August 5, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, DNA Testing/Samples, Witnesses, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

DNA Keeps Overturning Convictions, But Spike in Exonerations Owed to Other Factors by Joe Watson Nicole Harris, Henry Lee McCollum and Leon Brown have lived through their own nightmares of injustice. All three were wrongfully convicted of the heinous murders of children. Combined, they spent nearly 70 years in prison …

HRDC Represents Former Illinois Prisoner in Wrongful Conviction Suit

Article • August 2, 2016 • from PLN August, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Malicious Prosecution, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, PLN Litigation, False Arrest, PLN related

Walker. Walker, 39, a student at Fisk University in Tennessee prior to his wrongful imprisonment, filed a federal civil rights action on July 7, 2016 that accused current and former Chicago police officers ...

$7,000 Settlement after Second Circuit Reverses Dismissal of New York Prisoner’s Suit

Article • August 2, 2016 • from PLN August, 2016

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Threats by Staff, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Snitch Jacketing, Malicious Prosecution, Counsel, Failure to Protect (General), Food, Sanitation, Legal Property, Wrongful Imprisonment, Due Process, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Suicides

$7,000 Settlement after Second Circuit Reverses Dismissal of New York Prisoner’s Suit by Derek Gilna In 2007, prisoner Aaron Willey filed a pro se federal civil rights lawsuit against guards employed by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, alleging harassment, inadequate nutrition, theft of legal documents, …

$950,000 Settlement in DC Prisoner’s False Imprisonment Lawsuit

Article • July 29, 2016

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Deaf Prisoners, Jail Specific, Wrongful Imprisonment, Overdetention

$950,000 Settlement in DC Prisoner’s False Imprisonment Lawsuit by The District of Columbia paid $950,000 to settle the lawsuit of Joseph S. Heard for unlawful imprisonment. On November 15, 1998, Heard, a deaf man, was arrested for unlawful entry into a George Washington University building. The case was dismissed October …

Michigan Man Convicted on Faulty Bite Evidence Receives $1.5 Million

Article • July 29, 2016

Filed under: Evidence, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

Michigan Man Convicted on Faulty Bite Evidence Receives $1.5 Million by A $1.5 million settlement was reached in a lawsuit brought by a Michigan man who spent 13 years in prison for a rape charge based on faulty bite mark evidence. Two weeks before the case was set to proceed …

Dallas Conviction Integrity Unit Gains National Notoriety

Article • July 6, 2016 • from PLN July, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Advocacy, Prison Reform, Evidence, Statistics/Trends, Attorney Misconduct, Release and Reentry, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency

Dallas Conviction Integrity Unit Gains National Notoriety by Matthew Clarke The word “first” was applied to Craig M. Watkins multiple times after his election to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office in 2006. He was the county’s first black D.A., the first D.A. who had been a public defender before …

Are Shows Like "Serial" and "Making a Murderer" Clouding the Wider Struggle for Justice?

Article • June 27, 2016

Filed under: Prison Reform, Statistics/Trends, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

to her father's exoneration after 16 years of wrongful imprisonment can easily prompt an emotional meltdown. Listening to Darrell Cannon describe the torture that led to his confession ...

Levy v. Harrington & City of Buffalo, NY, Plf Trial Memo, police misconduct false arrest wrongful imprisonment, 2016

Brief • June 6, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest

Levy v. Harrington & City of Buffalo, NY, Plf Trial Memo, police misconduct false arrest wrongful imprisonment, 2016 Case 1:09-cv-00720-LJV-HBS Document 60 Filed 06/06/16 Page 1 of 6 UNITED STATES ...

Exonerees Fulfill Dreams, Help Other Prisoners Overcome Wrongful Convictions

Article • June 3, 2016 • from PLN June, 2016

Filed under: Lobbying, Advocacy, Prison Reform, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Release and Reentry, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency

Exonerees Fulfill Dreams, Help Other Prisoners Overcome Wrongful Convictions by David Reutter by David Reutter and Joe Watson Former Louisiana death row prisoner John Thompson has spearheaded an organization that aims to help the wrongfully convicted and former prisoners successfully rebuild their lives. Thompson was sentenced to death for the …

Criminal Injustice - A Cost Analysis of Wrongful Convictions, Errors and Failed Prosecutions in California, UCLA Berkeley Law, 2015

Publication • May 26, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest

Criminal Injustice - A Cost Analysis of Wrongful Convictions, Errors and Failed Prosecutions in California, UCLA Berkeley Law, 2015 C R I M I N INJU$TICE AL INTRODUCTION A COST ANALYSIS OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS, ERRORS, AND FAILED PROSECUTIONS IN CALIFORNIA’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM The Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on …

Death Penalty Opponent Delbert Tibbs Dies at 74

Article • May 13, 2016

Filed under: Advocacy, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Death Penalty/Death Row

Death Penalty Opponent Delbert Tibbs Dies at 74 by David Reutter Delbert Tibbs, a peaceful advocate to abolish the death penalty, has lost his battle against cancer and died at the age of 74. His advocacy was borne of personal experience of being wrongfully convicted. Tibbs was born on June …

Texas Remains Leader in Exonerations of Wrongfully Convicted

Article • May 12, 2016

Filed under: Statistics/Trends, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

Texas Remains Leader in Exonerations of Wrongfully Convicted by Derek Gilna A new report by a national prisoner-rights organization says that once again the state of Texas led the nation in 2013 in exonerations, with 13 cases, and Illinois and New York were not far behind with 9 and 8, …

PLN Exclusive: Illinois Prisoner Exonerated, Released after Ten Years

Article • May 5, 2016 • from PLN May, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

PLN Exclusive: Illinois Prisoner Exonerated, Released after Ten Years by Derek Gilna The lies of Chicago police officers, as well as the concealment of clearly exculpatory evidence, kept Jermaine Walker in Illinois prisons for ten years – but he never stopped proclaiming his innocence. Plainclothes officers contended that on February …

New York: $35,000 Awarded for Three-week Illegal Confinement

Article • May 5, 2016 • from PLN May, 2016

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, Overdetention

New York: $35,000 Awarded for Three-week Illegal Confinement by Mark Wilson The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division has upheld a $35,000 damage award in favor of a former prisoner illegally confined for three weeks. In October 2007, Robert Miller was charged with second- and third-degree drug offenses. He …

Strong v. Tessmann, IL, Complaint, Wrongful Conviction & Imprisonment, 2016

Brief • May 3, 2016

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Statements, Testimony or Documents, False Statements/Perjury, Confessions - Coerced

their fabrication, coercion and manipulation from the State's Attorney and from Plaintiff's criminal defense counsel. 3. Throughout his decade and a half of wrongful imprisonment, Plaintiff insisted that he ...

Jones v. Clark County, 6th Cir, KY, Appellant Brief, wrongful imprisonment jail demanded pay-to-stay fees, 2016

Brief • April 25, 2016

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, Booking Fees

Jones v. Clark County, 6th Cir, KY, Appellant Brief, wrongful imprisonment jail demanded pay-to-stay fees, 2016 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT CASE NO. 16-5295 ...

Exclusive! Breaking News: Illinois Prisoner Exonerated, Released after Ten Years

Article • April 14, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

Exclusive! Breaking News: Illinois Prisoner Exonerated, Released after Ten Years by Exclusive! Breaking News: Illinois Prisoner Exonerated, Released after Ten Years by Derek Gilna  The lies of Chicago police officers, as well as the concealment of clearly exculpatory evidence, kept Jermaine Walker in Illinois prisons for ten years – but …

Ninth Circuit: Improper ICE Detainer Constitutes Article III Injury

Article • April 1, 2016 • from PLN April, 2016

Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Immigration

Ninth Circuit: Improper ICE Detainer Constitutes Article III Injury by Mark Wilson The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s dismissal of a false imprisonment suit based upon an improper immigration detainer, as the district court incorrectly held that it lacked Article III standing. In June 2007, Bernardo …

$2.5 Million Award for Wrongfully Convicted Former Michigan Prisoner

Article • March 31, 2016 • from PLN April, 2016

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

$2.5 Million Award for Wrongfully Convicted Former Michigan Prisoner by An exonerated Michigan man will receive $2.5 million for his almost 26 years of wrongful incarceration. He was released from prison after it was discovered that Detroit police had tainted the victim’s identification and withheld exculpatory evidence. Walter Swift was …