reversed conviction

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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...

Sheldon Silver's Corruption Conviction Tossed

Federal appeals court cites Supreme Court ruling on Bob McDonnell

(Newser) - The corruption conviction of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was overturned Thursday by a federal appeals court that cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the definition of what it takes to convict a public official. The three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals...

Ex-Zookeeper Cleared of Love-Triangle Assault

A meerkat handler, monkey expert, and llama-keeper, oh my!

(Newser) - Finally, legal closure in a tumultuous zookeeper love triangle across the pond—and perhaps the best lead-in sentence you'll read all week: "A former meerkat expert at London Zoo was cleared Tuesday of assaulting a monkey handler in a love spat over a llama-keeper" is how the AP...

Man Jailed Decades Without Conviction Is Convicted

Texas jury has found Jerry Hartfield guilty in slaying of bus station worker

(Newser) - A 59-year-old mentally ill Texas man imprisoned for more than 35 years despite his original murder conviction being overturned was found guilty a second time yesterday in his retrial . Jerry Hartfield, 59, was convicted of murder in the September 1976 slaying of 55-year-old Eunice Lowe, who sold tickets at a...

Man's Retrial Thanks to Bad Fire Science Ends in Shocker

Ed Graf's retrial for murdering 2 stepsons in shed fire based on new arson science

(Newser) - In 1988, Ed Graf was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for killing his stepsons Joby, 9, and Jason, 8, in 1986 by locking them in a shed, dousing it with gasoline, and setting it on fire. Everything was there to prove the case against the Texas man, per...

Man in Prison 35 Years Without Conviction Gets New Trial

Jerry Hartfield says he doesn't hold a grudge—he just wants to get on with life

(Newser) - For more than 35 years, a Texas man has been in prison even though an appeals court threw out his conviction on a 1976 murder charge that initially had him on death row. Today, 59-year-old Jerry Hartfield returns to court for a retrial, facing a life sentence if convicted of...

24 Years Later, Science Overturns Arson Conviction

Han Tak Lee imprisoned for allegedly murdering daughter

(Newser) - In 1990, Han Tak Lee was convicted of murdering his daughter. Now, almost a quarter-century later, a judge says the 79-year-old's conviction rested on a scientific inaccuracy—and the former New York businessman is finally out of prison, the AP reports. According to a review of his case finished...

Whitey Bulger's FBI Pal Has Murder Verdict Tossed

Justices say that because he didn't pull the trigger, John Connolly couldn't be tried

(Newser) - Whitey Bulger's longtime FBI handler might be on the verge of freedom, after an appeals court threw out his murder conviction yesterday. In a 2-1 decision, the Miami judges ruled that because John Connolly Jr. hadn't actually pulled the trigger, he should never have been tried for the...

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