Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

Go to Database Search Page

Go to  Database Index Page

Michael Amick

 

Charge:

Second Degree Murder and Arson

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

8

Year Crime:

2008

Year Convicted:

2011

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Missouri

County or Region of Crime:

Oregon

City of Crime:

Myrtle

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Michael Amick was wrongly convicted on July 1, 2011 of second-degree murder and and second-degree arson in the death of Leona Vaughan at her daughter’s home in Myrtle, Missouri on December 2, 2008. After Vaughan was shot six times in the head with .22 caliber bullets, the house burned to the ground. Amick's prosecution was based on a witness who on the way to a local convenience store claimed he saw Amick's truck parked outside the house of Vaughan's daughter about 11 am, and on the return trip about 11:25 am Amick's truck was gone, and he saw smoke coming from overlaps in the tin pieces of the roof. Also, police investigating the crime discovered that Vaughan had bought a van from Amick, and the same day she died Amick called the Bank of Thayer and was told that $15,000 of a car loan she had taken out would be paid to Amick. Vaughan hadn't yet taken possession of the van, and the title hadn't been transferred. So Amick received $15,000 for the van he still owned. Amick was the husband of Vaughan's granddaughter. Amick was questioned, but he didn't say anthing incriminating, and he said he wasn't near the house at the time of the murder and fire. Three days after the murder the Oregon County Sheriff's Department obtained a search warrant for Amick's house. Nothing was found linking Amick to the crime. After Amick was arrested for suspicion of murdering Vaughan, a jailhouse snitch claimed that Amick told him that Vaughan owed him money that should have been paid a long time ago; that "the bitch" (Vaughan) had it coming; and, that he threw a gun in a pond. The alleged gun was not found. During Amick's trial it was discovered from the witnesses testimony that he gave several different descriptions of the truck he claimed he saw outside the house, and his final description didn't match Amick's truck. The witness also admitted that he had been smoking marijuana before he saw the truck. Amick's lawyer also presented evidence that less than a year before Vaughan's death that Amick had received a $260,000 worker's compensation settlement against BNSF railroad, which undercut the prosecution's allegation he needed the $15,000. After the jury convicted Amick, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after about 30 years for his second-degree murder conviction, and he was sentenced to seven years in prison for second-degree arson. Amick appealed and the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction. The Missouri Supreme Court agreed to review Amick's case, and ordered a new trial because the trial judge erred by allowing an alternate juror to be reseated on the jury after developing health problems and missing about five hours of deliberations. The Court ruled that the alternate juror missed juror's discussions and make have discussed the case with someone outside the jury room. Amick's retrial was a re-run of his first trial with the prosecution and defense presenting almost their same cases again. With no physical or forensic evidence linking Amick to the crime, the jury of seven men and five women deliberated about three hours before acquitting Amick on December 1, 2016."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"Amick's retrial was a re-run of his first trial with the prosecution and defense presenting almost their same cases again. With no physical or forensic evidence linking Amick to the crime, the jury of seven men and five women deliberated about three hours before acquitting Amick on December 1, 2016."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Jury acquits man from Oregon County in murder case retrial, By Gene Hartley, KSPR.com, Dec. 2, 2016"

Information Location 1:

http://www.kspr.com/content/news/murder-acquittal-michael-amick-404331136.html

Information Source 2:

"Missourian who spent 8 years behind bars for murder found not guilty at retrial, By Jesse Bogan (Staff), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 3, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/missourian-who-spent-years-behind-bars-for-murder-found-not/article_36e8ded2-3d75-5d4d-9a43-9bdf6f6a3ddb.html

Information Source 3:

"Prison confession could affect retrial of man accused of murder in rural Missouri, By Jesse Bogan (Staff), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct. 18, 2016"

Information Location 3:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prison-confession-could-affect-retrial-of-man-accused-of-murder/article_0535fe5c-dbd0-5765-9e0c-be31c1f34b25.html

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:

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

Hosted on forejustice.org and mirrored on justicedenied.org .