Laurence Adams

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	32
Year Crime:	1972
Year Convicted:	1974
Year Cleared:	2004
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:	Suffolk
City of Crime:	Boston
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Laurence Adams was wrongly convicted in 1974 of the 1972 murder of a transit worker. Sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life in prison when Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court invalidated the state's capital statute. Police statements concealed from Adams' trial lawyers were discovered in 1980, that a witness identified two other people as the murders. Also, the state's star witness changed her story several times, and another witness recanted her testimony. On May 20, 2004, Superior Court Judge Robert A. Mulligan vacated Laurence Adams' conviction "to avoid a miscarriage of justice." Adams had originally been sentenced to death, but Massachusetts' death penalty was abolished after his sentencing. He was wrongly imprisoned for more than 30 years. Laurence Adams was awarded $325,000 in compensation by the State of Massachusetts in 2005."
Conviction Caused By:	Police and prosecution concealed exculpatory witness statement.
Innocence Proved By:	"Conviction vacated on May 20, 2004 by Superior Court Judge Robert A. Mulligan "to avoid a miscarriage of justice." "
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$325,000 (State of Massachusetts, 2005)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	19
Age When Released:	51
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Conviction Tossed, Prisoner is Freed, Boston Globe, May 24, 2004."
Information Location 1:	http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/05/21/murder_defendant_freed_after_30_years/
Information Source 2:	"No Retrial For Free Convict in '74 Killing, Boston Globe, pg. B2, June 8, 2004"
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	Laurence Adams
Information Location 3:	http://lonelyabolitionist.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_lonelyabolitionist_archive.html
Information Source 4:	"Wrongful Conviction Cases Under G.L. C. 258D As Of August 1, 2016"
Information Location 4:	https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3034698/Wrongful-Conviction-Compensation-Cases.pdf
Information Source 5:	"Massachusetts has paid $8.34 million under wrongful conviction compensation law, By Dan Glaun, MassLive.com, August 31, 2016"
Information Location 5:	http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/massachusetts_has_paid_834_mil.html
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Laurence Adams

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

32

Year Crime:

1972

Year Convicted:

1974

Year Cleared:

2004

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Suffolk

City of Crime:

Boston

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Police and prosecution concealed exculpatory witness statement.

Innocence Proved By:

"Conviction vacated on May 20, 2004 by Superior Court Judge Robert A. Mulligan "to avoid a miscarriage of justice." "

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$325,000 (State of Massachusetts, 2005)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

51

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Conviction Tossed, Prisoner is Freed, Boston Globe, May 24, 2004."

Information Location 1:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/05/21/murder_defendant_freed_after_30_years/

Information Source 2:

"No Retrial For Free Convict in '74 Killing, Boston Globe, pg. B2, June 8, 2004"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

Laurence Adams

Information Location 3:

http://lonelyabolitionist.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_lonelyabolitionist_archive.html

Information Source 4:

"Wrongful Conviction Cases Under G.L. C. 258D As Of August 1, 2016"

Information Location 4:

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3034698/Wrongful-Conviction-Compensation-Cases.pdf

Information Source 5:

"Massachusetts has paid $8.34 million under wrongful conviction compensation law, By Dan Glaun, MassLive.com, August 31, 2016"

Information Location 5:

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/massachusetts_has_paid_834_mil.html

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