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two-thirds of the 87 crime occurred in 27 Other findings from Company Pg-4
exonerations involved of the cases. Examples the report showed the
rape and/or murder of these mistakes in • Testimony Pg.6& 7
number of exonera
convictions. cluded: tions resulting from " Sermon Pg-8
Many of the over •Joseph Awe of Wis DNA evidence was
o Privatizing American
in turned convictions consin, who served down again, which has Prisons System Pg.9
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prison for arson until
light or the discovery "I think some DNA ex
officials realized the
that no crime was ac onerations will keep
fire was an accident.
tually committed. happening, but not in Please
• Nicole Harris of Illi
"In a steady number the numbers we saw
nois who was con
10 or 15 years ago," Send All Letters
of cases we make hor
victed of murdering Gross said. "If the
rible mistakes," report And Subscrip
her four-year-old son, other trends continue,
author Samuel Gross,
who it turned out ac they'll become a
a law professor at tions
cidentally suffocated smaller fraction of all
the University of
Michigan, told U.S.
while playing with his exonerations as time For Cry Justice
News & World Report. brother. It was deter goes on."
Seventeen percent of mined that Harris had Gross partially credits Now News
those exonerated had been coerced into law enforcement or
ganizations for the To
at first pleaded guilty pleading guilty by Chi
to a crime they did cago police, who— report's findings, as
P.O. Box 197
38% of the exonera
not commit. This usu during 27 hours of
ally occurred because questioning—pushed tions were initiated by New Bloomfield,
the defendant was such groups.
and threatened her,
offered a plea bar MO.65063-0197
forbid her to use the
Page 2 Cry Justice Now News
A wrongly convicted Seattleman who spent 10 years in bar was charged with burglary and robbery. A KingCounty
prisonafter beingconvicted of robbery and burglary has jury convicted him solely on the basis of eyewitness testi
beenreleased. Brandon Olebarwas releasedfromprison mony and sentenced him to 161/2 years in prison, accord
after theInnocence Project Northwest persuaded King ing to an Innocence Project statement. Project Director Jac
County prosecutors to re-examine his conviction, which was queline McMurtrie said the two law students tracked down
based solely on eyewitness testimony, Two students from and interviewed three of the assailants, who signed sworn
the Innocence Project Northwest, which is based at the Uni statements admitting their involvement and denying that
versity of Washington LawSchool, pulled togetherevidence Olebar was present during the attack. Working with attor
that Olebarwas not among the peoplewho in February 2003 ney Fernanda Torres, they presented the new evidence to
broke into the home of his sister's boyfriend and pistol- Mark Larson, the King County chief criminal dep
whipped and beat the man unconscious. The victim said as uty prosecutor. After interviewing the same people, Satter-
many as eight attackers beat him for more than 10 minutes berg's office moved to vacate the conviction and dismissed
and he recognized Olebar's sister as one of them. The victim the charges. Olebar, 30, was released "Eyewitness misidenti-
later identified Olebarfrom a photo montage. Despitethe fication is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions,"
fact that he did not have a facial tattoo and had an alibi, Ole IPNW Policy Director Lara Zarowsky said.
INNOCENCE: Another Exoneration from Death Row
Reginald Griffin, a former death row inmate from Prosecutors withheld evidence that guards had confis
Missouri, became the 143rd person in the U.S. to be cated a sharpened screwdriver from another inmate,
exonerated and freed from death row since 1973, after Jeffrey Smith, immediately after the stabbing. Both of
the state dismissed all charges related to his death Griffin's co-defendants consistently said the third per
sentence on October 25. Griffin had been sentenced to son involved in the crime was Smith, not Griffin.
death for the murder of a fellowinmate in 1983. His Cyndy Short, the current lead attorney for Griffin,
conviction was overturned in 2011by the Missouri said, "Reggie and his family are overjoyed. This has
Supreme Court (Griffin v. Denney) because the state been a massive weight upon them all for three dec
had withheld critical evidence. Griffin's conviction re ades." Griffin is the 4th person exonerated from death
lied on the testimony of two jailhouse informants who row in Missouri, and the first in the country in 2013.
receivedbenefits in exchange for their testimony.
Arthur Carmona From the beginning, Arthur maintained his innocence.
Convicted of armed robbery, 2 counts, and convicted, Family members and supporters started a campaign
sentence tol2 years and released after serving 2 years. for his release, and began raising money. A Weekly and
A 16 year old student was walking to a friend's house Los Angeles Times columnist, Dana Parsons began
when he noticed a helicopter circling directly above poking holes in the case and eyewitnesses recanted
him. Seconds later, he was stopped at gunpoint by po their testimony, On August 22nd, an Orange County
lice. Arthur was not wearing dark clothing or a cap, Superior Court considered the overwhelming evidence
according to the complaint. Witnesses to both robber that Carmona had been wrongfully convicted of both
ies were brought to the scene of Arthur's arrest. They crimes and ordered his release with the agreement of
could not identify him at first, but when police asked the DA, but only after a stipulation that he would not
Arthur to put on the cap and a jacket, witnesses made sue them or the police.
the identification. Two hours after the two.robber- Arthur was murdered in 2008 while leaving a party
ies he was arrested. Tried as an adult, was convicted with friends.
and sentenced to 12 years based largely on the wit
ness statements.
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