Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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M. T. A.

 

Charge:

Arson

Sentence:

Probation

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2014

Year Convicted:

2015

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Florida

County or Region of Crime:

Duval

City of Crime:

Jacksonville

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"M. T. A. was an 11-year-old child wrongly convicted in 2015 of second-degree arson in a fire that burned his father's shed behind their rental trailer home in Jacksonville, Florida on December 13, 2014. M. T. A. was charged with arson based solely on the fact that he initially lied to police about the circumstances of how he accidentally started the fire. After the prosecution rested, the juvenile judge denied the motion of M. T. A.'s lawyer to acquit him and dismiss the charge. After M. T. A. conviction following a bench trial in juvenile court, he was sentenced to juvenile probation. On December 15, 2015 Florida's First District Court of Appeals reversed M. T. A.'s conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge on the basis the trial judge erred because the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case of guilt against M. T. A., since the evidence showed the fire was an accident."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On December 15, 2015 Florida's First District Court of Appeals reversed M. T. A.'s conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge on the basis the trial judge erred because the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case of guilt against M. T. A."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"M.T.A., A Child vs State of Florida, No. 15-2811 (FL 1st DCA, 12-16-2015) (Reversing conviction based on insufficient evidence)"

Information Location 1:

https://edca.1dca.org/DCADocs/2015/2811/152811_DC13_12162015_095857_i.pdf

Information Source 2:

"1st DCA overturns state prosecutors’ arson case against 11-year-old, By Ryan Ray, FloridaPolitics.com, December 16, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/196795-1st-dca-overturns-pam-bondi-state-prosecutors-arson-case-against-11-year-old

Information Source 3:

"Arson Conviction For 11-Year-Old Jacksonville Boy Overturned, By Jessica Palombo, WJCT-TV, December 16, 2015"

Information Location 3:

http://news.wjct.org/post/arson-conviction-11-year-old-jacksonville-boy-overturned

Information Source 4:

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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