reversed conviction

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Jussie Smollett Stunner: Court Overturns Conviction

Illinois Supreme Court rules in case of actor's alleged hoax attack in 2019

(Newser) - A big surprise in the case of actor Jussie Smollett : The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned his conviction on allegations that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019, per the AP . The Chicago Sun-Times calls it a "blockbuster" decision "that will...

Missouri Judge Orders Release of Man Cleared but Not Freed

Court threatens prison warden with contempt if Christopher Dunn isn't out in hours

(Newser) - A Missouri judge on Wednesday ordered the release of a man who has spent more than 30 years in prison. St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser issued the order two days after he overturned Christopher Dunn's murder conviction. A state prison ignored a court order to release Dunn, saying...

Harvey Weinstein Stunner: NY Conviction Is Overturned

But he remains convicted of rape in California

(Newser) - New York's highest court delivered what the New York Times describes as a "stunning reversal" in a pivotal case —it overturned the conviction of former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein on sex crime charges and ordered a new trial.
  • Reason: The 4-3 ruling by the New York Court
...

After 'Big Wrong' Cleared by DNA, a Big Settlement

Robert DuBoise, freed in 2020 after 37 years behind bars, to be paid $14M by city of Tampa

(Newser) - A Florida man freed in 2020 from nearly four decades behind bars after DNA evidence cleared him of rape and murder will now receive monetary compensation for that time lost. The New York Times reports that on Thursday, the Tampa City Council unanimously OKed a $14 million settlement for Robert...

They Insisted They Were Framed. Now, Vindication
They Insisted They Were
Framed. Now, Vindication
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Feb 12, 2024 4:00 AM CST

They Insisted They Were Framed. Now, Vindication

Derek Ridgewell, deemed 'Britain's most corrupt cop,' is at center of cases of wrongly convicted men in UK

(Newser) - Nearly a dozen convictions in the UK have been overturned over the past few years, with one common denominator: They were all tied to arrests made by police officer Derek Ridgewell, dubbed "Britain's most corrupt cop" by Simon Hattenstone in the Guardian . The article centers on the convictions...

Kennedy Cousin, Now Exonerated, Is Suing

Michael Skakel wants lead investigator, Connecticut town of Greenwich to pay

(Newser) - Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel , whose conviction in the 1970s murder of a Connecticut teen was overturned, is suing the lead police investigator and the town of Greenwich for alleged malicious prosecution, civil rights violations, and other claimed wrongdoing. Skakel, 63, a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy,...

Inmate Convicted on Blind Man's Eyewitness Testimony Is Freed

Darien Harris released from prison after 12 years behind bars

(Newser) - Darien Harris is a free man, a dozen years after he was convicted of murder based largely on the eyewitness testimony of a man who'd been legally blind for more than a decade before testifying in the trial. Prosecutors originally said they'd retry Harris after a judge vacated...

Army Aims to Rectify 'Largest Mass Execution' in Its History

More than a century later, soldier convictions related to the 1917 Houston riots are overturned

(Newser) - It was, as the Washington Post reports, "the largest mass execution carried out in the history of the US Army." On Dec. 11, 1917, 13 Buffalo Soldiers were hanged in a military camp near Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The African American cavalry soldiers of the...

Adnan Syed, Fighting Victim's Family, Says His Suffers, Too

Court to consider reinstating murder conviction in Hae Min Lee's death

(Newser) - With an appeals court weighing the reinstatement of Adnan Syed's murder conviction in the 1999 death of Hae Min Lee, the newly freed man said he hopes his family's pain is taken into consideration. "We definitely understand Hae's family has suffered so much, and they continue...

3 Exonerated After 28 Years as Prosecutors Point to Killer Cop

Ex-cop Len Davis, now on death row, covered up crimes by his drug dealer associates

(Newser) - Three men imprisoned for 28 years were wrongfully convicted of murder in a 1994 drive-by shooting, now linked to two former police officers who happened to arrive on the scene before the lone eyewitness even finished calling 911, a New Orleans court heard Wednesday. Bernell Juluke, Kunta Gable, and Leroy...

Hae Min Lee's 'Disappointed' Family Files an Appeal

Her brother says hearing that set subject of 'Serial' podcast free wasn't conducted properly

(Newser) - Adnan Syed, convicted and imprisoned for more than two decades after his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, was murdered in 1999, "couldn't believe" his conviction was overturned earlier this month. Neither could Lee's brother, Young Lee, and he's now appealing the decision of Baltimore Circuit Court Judge...

Murder Retrial Nears Verdict in Rule-Breaking Detective's Case

Another look at Louis Scarcella's work has resulted in overturned convictions

(Newser) - In the bloody years when killings peaked in New York City, detective Louis Scarcella built a reputation for closing cases. A second-generation cop who ran marathons, worked a side job at a Coney Island amusement park and jokingly put "adventurer" on his business card, the now-retired sleuth has been...

3 Convictions Tossed in Notorious 1995 NYC Murder

Men were convicted of setting fire to booth of toll clerk

(Newser) - After decades in prison, three men were cleared Friday in one of the most horrifying crimes of New York’s violent 1990s—the killing of a clerk who was set on fire in a subway toll booth, per the AP . A judge dismissed the murder convictions of Vincent Ellerbe, James...

Murder Verdict Reversed in Justine Damond Case

Minnesota Supreme Court rules the charge against ex-cop didn't fit the circumstances

(Newser) - The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the third-degree murder conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an Australian woman in 2017, saying the charge doesn't fit the circumstances in this case. Mohamed Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of...

2 Men Go Free 30 Years After Wrongful Convictions

Carlton Roman, Christopher Ellis were released this week in New York City

(Newser) - Two Black men from New York City who each spent more than 30 years in prison for murder were freed Monday after state judges found their convictions were unjust. "I'm not the only innocent person in there," Carlton Roman said, per the New York Times , following his...

Judges on Reversing Cadet's Rape Conviction: Victim Was Too Quiet

Chief of advocacy group for sexual assault victims calls it 'offensively bad decision' in West Point case

(Newser) - A military appeals court's reversal of a West Point cadet's rape conviction and 21-year prison sentence has outraged sexual assault victim advocates who say the decision is filled with victim-blaming and antiquated notions about rape. But the cadet's attorney says the decision demonstrates the need for checks...

'Incredible' Decision in Serial Podcast Subject's Case

Court upholds new trial for Adnan Syed, but prosecutors have another chance to appeal

(Newser) - Serial subject Adnan Syed moved a step closer to a new trial Thursday when Maryland's Court of Special Appeals upheld a 2016 decision to overturn his murder conviction from 2000 and grant him a retrial. Prosecutors, who objected when a lower court vacated the conviction, haven't said whether...

Defendant Wouldn't Shut Up. Judge's Orders: 'Hit Him'

Terry Lee Morris' conviction has been overturned after judge ordered him electrified during trial

(Newser) - What went down in a Texas courtroom in 2014 was literally shocking enough to result in a man's conviction being overturned late last month. As originally reported by the Texas Lawyer website Tuesday, Terry Lee Morris, who'd been found guilty of sex crimes against a child and given...

Rumor Helped Lock Her Up for Murder. Now, an Exoneration

Judge clears Kirstin Lobato of homeless man's 2001 murder

(Newser) - Kirstin Lobato will be happier than most to leave 2017 behind. Twice convicted of the brutal murder of a homeless man in Las Vegas, the 35-year-old is expected to start a new chapter when she becomes a free woman for the first time since 2001. A judge granted a request...

He Wrongfully Spent 45 Years in Prison in 'Weak at Best' Case

Now 65-year-old Wilbert Jones is free after his rape conviction was overturned

(Newser) - A 65-year-old Louisiana man arrested at 19 and sentenced to life without parole walked out of prison Wednesday, saying "God is so good" after his rape conviction was overturned. Authorities withheld evidence that could have exonerated Wilbert Jones decades ago, and their case against him was "weak at...

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