Wahir Habib Abdal (aka Vincent H. Jenkins)

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Charge:	Rape and Robbery (including burglary)
Sentence:	20 years to life imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	17
Year Crime:	1982
Year Convicted:	1983
Year Cleared:	1999
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Erie
City of Crime:	Buffalo
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Habib Wahir Abdal aka Vincent H. Jenkins was wrongly convicted of a 1982 rape in 1983. Exonerated on September 1, 1999 by DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial. Abdal was wrongly imprisoned for more than 16 years. Habib Abdal filed a claim under New York State's wrongful imprisonment statute, and in January 2002 he was awarded $2 million by the New York Court of Claims ($323.62 per day for the 6,180 days he was imprisoned. Abdal, aka Vincent Jenkins was 66 when he died of cancer on September 19, 2005."
Conviction Caused By:	Eyewitness misidentification and prosecutorial misconduct
Innocence Proved By:	"Exonerated on September 1, 1999 by DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial."
Defendant Aided By:	"Manhattan lawyer Eleanor Jackson Piel, who worked for more than a decade pro bono to secure Jenkins release. Aided by the Innocence Project (NY)"
Compensation Awarded:	"$2 million (New York State (Ct. of Claims), Jan. 2002)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	43
Age When Released:	60
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"DNA Evidence Secures Release of Man Convicted of '82 Rape, The New York Times, September 2, 1999"
Information Location 1:	http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/02/nyregion/dna-evidence-secures-release-of-man-convicted-of-82-rape.html
Information Source 2:	"Habib Warith Abdal, Innocence Project database"
Information Location 2:	http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=56
Information Source 3:	"Newsday (NYC), December 11, 2002"
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Wahir Habib Abdal (aka Vincent H. Jenkins)

Charge:

Rape and Robbery (including burglary)

Sentence:

20 years to life imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

17

Year Crime:

1982

Year Convicted:

1983

Year Cleared:

1999

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Erie

City of Crime:

Buffalo

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Eyewitness misidentification and prosecutorial misconduct

Innocence Proved By:

"Exonerated on September 1, 1999 by DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial."

Defendant Aided By:

"Manhattan lawyer Eleanor Jackson Piel, who worked for more than a decade pro bono to secure Jenkins release. Aided by the Innocence Project (NY)"

Compensation Awarded:

"$2 million (New York State (Ct. of Claims), Jan. 2002)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

43

Age When Released:

60

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"DNA Evidence Secures Release of Man Convicted of '82 Rape, The New York Times, September 2, 1999"

Information Location 1:

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/02/nyregion/dna-evidence-secures-release-of-man-convicted-of-82-rape.html

Information Source 2:

"Habib Warith Abdal, Innocence Project database"

Information Location 2:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=56

Information Source 3:

"Newsday (NYC), December 11, 2002"

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: