By Aaron Aguas Rao, NCIP Case Manager
Santa Clara Law Dean Lisa Kloppenberg and Associate Dean Bradley Joondeph show their support for Wrongful Conviction Day. Photo: Audrey Redmond
On October 4, NCIP joined innocence projects across the globe to celebrate Wrongful Conviction Day. Wrongful Conviction Day is an international day to inform and educate the broader community on the causes and consequences of wrongful conviction. The tremendous personal, social, and emotional costs of wrongful conviction harm both the innocent person in prison as well as their families and loved ones. Wrongful Conviction Day is a time for exonerees and criminal justice system advocates to raise their voices and share the stories.
NCIP marked Wrongful Conviction Day with the Santa Clara Law community and reached out through social media to educate and raise awareness. People from across the SCU community posed with a cut out of the NCIP “I” logo and learned more about our work and this international day of awareness.
NCIP staff spread awareness about the issue of wrongful conviction around the Santa Clara University campus. Photo: Audrey Redmond
NCIP used those pictures to mount a campaign on Facebook and other social media, leading nearly 1000 people to change their profile pictures to include a Wrongful Conviction Day filter. Working with other innocence projects around the globe, NCIP helped make #WrongfulConvictionDay trend nationally on Twitter. Over a million people from six continents accessed content on the Wrongful Conviction Day website. Not bad for only the third year of this day of commemoration.
Members of the Innocence Network work across the United States and the world to free innocent people from prison and reform the criminal justice system to make future wrongful convictions less likely. Together, the members of the Innocence Network have helped to exonerate close to 400 innocent men and women who collectively have spent over 5,000 years in prison. On Wrongful Conviction Day we come together to bring attention to this problem, to take action to ensure that all innocent people get the justice they deserve, and to celebrate the progress we continue to make.
Exonerations in July, August, September, and October 2016
In the four-month period between July and October 2016, 39 people in 19 states were exonerated. The following is a list of their cases, taken from the National Registry of Exonerations.
Duquene Pierre
State: NJ
Date of Exoneration: 7/7/2016
In 1996, Duquene Pierre was convicted of murder and aggravated assault in Union County, New Jersey and sentenced to 60 years in prison. He was acquitted on retrial in 2016 after the only two witnesses who had identified him recanted.
Lavell Jones
State: NY
Date of Exoneration: 7/7/2016
In 1999, Lavell Jones was convicted of murder in Albany, New York and sentenced to 37 1/2 years to life in prison. Jones, along with his co-defendant, Carl Dukes, was exonerated in 2016 after the real killer confessed to the crime.
Carl Dukes
State: NY
Date of Exoneration: 7/7/2016
In 1998, Carl Dukes was convicted of murder in Albany, New York and sentenced to 39 years to life in prison. Dukes, along with his co-defendant, Lavell Jones, was exonerated in 2016 after the real killer confessed to the crime.
Henry Surpris
State: NC
Date of Exoneration: 7/11/2016
In 2014, Barshiri Sandy and Henry Supris were sentenced to prison terms of 10 years and 21 years for robbery. They were exonerated after it was disclosed that the prosecution concealed information that the supposed victim was a drug dealer, and allowed him to commit perjury by denying it.
Barshiri Sandy
State: NC
Date of Exoneration: 7/11/2016
In 2014, Barshiri Sandy and Henry Supris were sentenced to prison terms of 10 years and 21 years for robbery. They were exonerated after it was disclosed that the prosecution concealed information that the supposed victim was a drug dealer, and allowed him to commit perjury by denying it.
Wandra Jacobs
State: TX
Date of Exoneration: 7/13/2016
In 2009, Wandra Jacobs pled guilty to possession of cocaine in Harris County, Texas and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. She was exonerated in 2016 after lab tests were negative for any controlled substance.
Konrad Montgomery
State: MI
Date of Exoneration: 7/14/2016
In 2012, Konrad Montgomery was convicted of armed robbery and assault in Wayne County, Michigan and sentenced to 12 to 27 years in prison. He was exonerated in 2016 based on cell phone analysis that showed he was elsewhere at the time of the crime.
Salaam Moore
State: OK
Date of Exoneration: 7/18/2016
In 2001, Salaam Moore was convicted of murder and attempted murder in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was exonerated in 2016 after the surviving victim recanted her identification of him as the gunman.
Davontae Sanford
State: MI
Date of Exoneration: 7/19/2016
In 2007, 14-year-old Davontae Sanford falsely confessed to a quadruple homicide in Detroit, Michigan. He later pled guilty and was sentenced to 39 to 90 years in prison. He was exonerated in 2016, eight years after the real killer confessed to the crime.
Jose Montanez
State: IL
Date of Exoneration: 7/20/2016
In 1994, Jose Montanez and Armando Serrando were convicted of murder in Chicago and each was sentenced to 55 years in prison. They were exonerated in 2016 after witnesses recanted their testimony and said they were beaten by police.
Armando Serrano
State: IL
Date of Exoneration: 7/20/2016
In 1994, Armando Serrando and Jose Montanez were convicted of murder in Chicago and each was sentenced to 55 years in prison. They were exonerated in 2016 after witnesses recanted their testimony and said they were beaten by police.
Amy Albritton
State: TX
Date of Exoneration: 7/20/2016
In 2010, Amy Albritton pled guilty to possession of cocaine and was sentenced to 45 days in jail in Harris County, Texas. She was exonerated in 2016 after a lab test was negative for any controlled substance.
Les Burns
State: VA
Date of Exoneration: 7/21/2016
In 2014, Les Burns was convicted of conspiring to illegally distribute prescription opioids in Virginia and sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison. He was exonerated in 2016 because the prosecution failed to disclose misconduct by the lead police officer in the case.
Ingmar Guandique
State: DC
Date of Exoneration: 7/28/2016
In 2010, Ingmar Guandique was convicted of the abduction and murder of Chandra Levy in Washington, D.C. and sentenced to 60 years in prison. He was exonerated in 2016 after the jailhouse informant who claimed Guandique had confessed admitted his testimony was false.
Paul Marcucci
State: MA
Date of Exoneration: 7/29/2016
In 2011, Paul Marcucci was convicted of arson in Fall River, Massachusetts and sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison. He was acquitted at a retrial in July 2016 based on new evidence pointing to the owner of the building, and showing that the only eyewitness lied at the first trial.
Dion Harrell
State: NJ
Date of Exoneration: 8/3/2016
In 1992, Dion Harrell was convicted of rape in Monmouth County, New Jersey and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was exonerated in 2016 by DNA testing.
Christopher Rojo
State: TX
Date of Exoneration: 8/5/2016
In 2013, 27-year-old Christopher Rojo pled guilty to possession of marijuana and was sentenced to two days in jail. He was exonerated in 2016 based on a lab test which showed no controlled substance was present.
Derrick Wheatt
State: OH
Date of Exoneration: 8/15/2016
In 1996, Derrick Wheatt, along with Eugene Johnson and Laurese Glover, was convicted of murder in Cleveland, Ohio and was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison. They were exonerated in 2016 after the Ohio Innocence Project found long-concealed police reports pointing to other suspects, and the only eyewitness recanted her testimony.
Laurese Glover
State: OH
Date of Exoneration: 8/15/2016
In 1996, Laurese Glover, along with Derrick Wheatt and Eugene Johnson, was convicted of murder in Cleveland, Ohio and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. They were exonerated in 2016 after the Ohio Innocence Project found long-concealed police reports pointing to other suspects, and the only eyewitness recanted her testimony.
Eugene Johnson
State: OH
Date of Exoneration: 8/15/2016
In 1996, Eugene Johnson, along with Derrick Wheatt and Laurese Glover were convicted of murder in Cleveland, Ohio and was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison. They were exonerated in 2016 after the Ohio Innocence Project found long-concealed police reports pointing to other suspects, and the only eyewitness recanted her testimony.
Neal Robbins
State: TX
Date of Exoneration: 8/18/2016
In 1999, Neal Robbins was convicted of suffocating his girlfriend’s 17-month old daughter and sentenced to life in prison in Montgomery County, Texas. He was exonerated in 2016 after the medical examiner recanted and said the death could have been the result of aggressive resuscitation attempts.
Earnest Leap
State: MO
Date of Exoneration: 8/19/2016
In 1992, Earnest Leap pled guilty to sexually molesting his 5-year-old son and was sentenced to probation in Kansas City, Missouri. He was exonerated by a gubernatorial pardon in 2016 after his son said he had been coerced to lie by his mother.
Anthony Wright
State: PA
Date of Exoneration: 8/23/2016
In 1993, Anthony Wright was convicted of rape and murder in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. After DNA tests identified the rapist, Wright was acquitted at a retrial in 2016.
Johnathan Johnson
State: TX
Date of Exoneration: 8/24/2016
In 2011, Johnathan Johnson pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine in Harris County, Texas and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was exonerated in 2016 after lab tests were negative for any controlled substance.
Darryl Howard
State: NC
Date of Exoneration: 9/2/2016
In 1995, Darryl Howard was sentenced to 80 years in prison for arson and the murders of a woman and her 13-year-old daughter in Durham, North Carolina. He was exonerated in 2016 after the disclosure of a police report pointing to other suspects that had been concealed by the prosecution and DNA tests that linked a career criminal to the crime.
Johnny Small
State: NC
Date of Exoneration: 9/7/2016
In 1989, Johnny Small was sentenced to life in prison for a murder in Wilmington, North Carolina when he was 15. He was exonerated in 2016 after the key witness admitted he falsely implicated Small and police reports contradicting other witnesses were revealed for the first time.
Jimmie Gardner
State: WV
Date of Exoneration: 9/7/2016
In 1990, Jimmie Gardner was convicted of rape and assault in Kanawha County, West Virginia and sentenced to 33 to 110 years in prison based on fraudulent testimony by forensic analyst Fred Zain. Gardner was exonerated in 2016 because he was excluded as the rapist.
Wayne Martin
State: NY
Date of Exoneration: 9/7/2016
In 2010, Wayne Martin was convicted of fatally shooting two men and wounding a third in Brooklyn, New York. He was exonerated in 2016 because police reports pointing to other suspects had been concealed by the prosecution.
Richard Raugust
State: MT
Date of Exoneration: 9/7/2016
In 1998, Richard Raugust was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his best friend in Trout Creek, Montana. He was exonerated in 2016 because the real killer had confessed repeatedly to friends and acquaintances, and a police officer provided previously undisclosed testimony supporting Raugust’s alibi.
Nelson Ruiz
State: PR
Date of Exoneration: 9/27/2016
In 1994, Nelson Ortiz, Jose Caro and Nelson Ruiz were convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, and illegal use of a weapon in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. They were exonerated after the prosecution’s two chief witnesses recanted and DNA tests excluded them as the perpetrators.
Jose Caro
State: PR
Date of Exoneration: 9/27/2016
In 1994, Nelson Ortiz, Jose Caro and Nelson Ruiz were convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, and illegal use of a weapon in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. They were exonerated after the prosecution’s two chief witnesses recanted and DNA tests excluded them as the perpetrators.
Nelson Ortiz
State: PR
Date of Exoneration: 9/27/2016
In 1994, Nelson Ortiz, Jose Caro and Nelson Ruiz were convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, and illegal use of a weapon in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. They were exonerated after the prosecution’s two chief witnesses recanted and DNA tests excluded them as the perpetrators
Mark Maxson
State: IL
Date of Exoneration: 9/27/2016
In 1994, Mark Maxson was convicted of the rape and murder of a 6-year-old boy in Chicago and sentenced to life in prison. He was exonerated in 2016 when DNA on the victim’s clothing was linked to a convicted murderer who confessed to the crimes.(
Chad Tiller
State: TX
Date of Exoneration: 9/29/2016
In January 2016, 40-year-old Chad Tiller pled guilty to possession of cocaine in Magnolia, Texas and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was exonerated in September 2016 after lab tests on the suspected cocaine came back negative for any controlled substance.
Daryl Holloway
State: WI
Date of Exoneration: 10/4/2016
In 1993, Daryl Holloway was sentenced to 120 years in prison for two rapes and armed burglaries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was exonerated in 2016 when DNA tests excluded him as the perpetrator.
Norman McIntosh
State: IL
Date of Exoneration: 10/4/2016
In 2002, Norman McIntosh was sentenced to 45 years in prison for shooting two men, one fatally, in Chicago. He was exonerated in 2016 after all three eyewitnesses recanted their identifications and the real killer was identified.
Kevin Siehl
State: PA
Date of Exoneration: 10/12/2016
In 1992, Kevin Siehl was convicted of murdering his wife in Cambria County, Pennsylvania and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was exonerated in 2016 by new evidence discrediting the prosecution’s blood and fingerprint evidence, some of which had been concealed by the prosecution.
Jules Letemps
State: FL
Date of Exoneration: 10/13/2016
In 1990, Jules Letemps, a Haitian immigrant, was sentenced to life in prison for rape and kidnapping in Orlando, Florida. He was exonerated in 2016 when a review of the forensic evidence showed he was excluded as the source of biological evidence.
Bernard Mims
State: IL
Date of Exoneration: 10/27/2016
In 2006, Bernard Mims was sentenced to 95 years in prison for a murder and two counts of attempted murder in Chicago in 2000. He was exonerated in 2016 by evidence that he was home, injured, at the time of the crime and that other men committed the murder.
