Randall Dale Adams

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	12.25
Year Crime:	1976
Year Convicted:	1977
Year Cleared:	1989
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Texas
County or Region of Crime:	Dallas
City of Crime:	Dallas
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Randall Dale Adams was wrongly convicted in May 1977 of the November 1976 murder of a Dallas policeman based on identification by three witnesses that Randal Dale Adams was in the car seen at the scene of the officers murder, and the testimony of the actual murderer that Adams shot the officer. Adams was sentenced to death, and at one point came within 3 days of execution before obtaining a stay. His case gained national exposure from the documentary 'The Thin Blue Line,' that showed that his conviction was the result of him running out of gas at the wrong place and the wrong time. Adams was released on March 21, 1989, and two days later the DA announced that the charges would be dismissed. Adams was wrongly held in custody for about 12 years and 3 months."
Conviction Caused By:	"Erroneous identification by three witnesses that Adams was in the car seen at the scene of the officres murder. Eyewitness error, false informant, prosecutor misconduct & concealment of evidence, police perjury and rigging of a line-up"
Innocence Proved By:	Informants discredicted & exposure of exculpatory aspects of Adams' case in the documentary 'A Thin Blue Line.'
Defendant Aided By:	Documentary - 'The Thin Blue Line'
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	27
Age When Released:	39
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"“In Spite of Innocence: Erroneous Convictions in Capital Cases,” Michael L Radelet, Hugo Adam Bedau, and Constance E. Putnam, Northeastern University Press, Boston, 1992 p. 60-73."
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Information Source 2:	Death Penalty Information Center
Information Location 2:	http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Innocentlist.html
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Book About Case:	""Adams vs. Texas," Randall Dale Adams, William Hoffer, Marilyn Mona Hoffer, St. Martin's Press; Hd Cover: ISBN: 031205811X; (May 1991). St Martins Mass Market Paper; ISBN: 0312927789; Reprint edition (June 1992)."
Book Information:
Book About Case (2):
Book Information (2):
Movie About Case:	"The Thin Blue Line, MGM, DVD released 2005"
Comments About Case:

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Randall Dale Adams

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

12.25

Year Crime:

1976

Year Convicted:

1977

Year Cleared:

1989

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Texas

County or Region of Crime:

Dallas

City of Crime:

Dallas

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Erroneous identification by three witnesses that Adams was in the car seen at the scene of the officres murder. Eyewitness error, false informant, prosecutor misconduct & concealment of evidence, police perjury and rigging of a line-up"

Innocence Proved By:

Informants discredicted & exposure of exculpatory aspects of Adams' case in the documentary 'A Thin Blue Line.'

Defendant Aided By:

Documentary - 'The Thin Blue Line'

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

27

Age When Released:

39

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"“In Spite of Innocence: Erroneous Convictions in Capital Cases,” Michael L Radelet, Hugo Adam Bedau, and Constance E. Putnam, Northeastern University Press, Boston, 1992 p. 60-73."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

Death Penalty Information Center

Information Location 2:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Innocentlist.html

Information Source 3:

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Book About Case:

""Adams vs. Texas," Randall Dale Adams, William Hoffer, Marilyn Mona Hoffer, St. Martin's Press; Hd Cover: ISBN: 031205811X; (May 1991). St Martins Mass Market Paper; ISBN: 0312927789; Reprint edition (June 1992)."

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

"The Thin Blue Line, MGM, DVD released 2005"

Comments About Case: