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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
2.5 |
Year Crime: |
1989 |
Year Convicted: |
1989 |
Year Cleared: |
1991 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Australia |
County or Region of Crime: |
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City of Crime: |
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Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Jeanie Angel was wrongly convicted in 1991 by an all-white jury of murdering her step-mother in 1989, based on her confession. Jeanie Angel, an Aborigine, claimed she was forced to confess by police interrogators who bullied her by hitting her on the head with a bottle and screamed at her to confess. Her claim was supported by the fact that the police claimed she "signed" a confession, even though she could neither read nor write. She was sentenced to life in prison. After she was imprisoned a witness who came forward with evidence that two other people committed the crime, and they even showed her where they had hidden the victim's body. Based on the new evidence Angel's conviction was quashed by the Western Australia Court of Appeals in 1991. While she was imprisoned her three-year-old son died of a brain infection. In December 2007 her lawyer announced she would be seeking $3.5 million in compensation. In February 2008 the Western Australian police announced they would not open a cold-case investigation into the crime that was requested by Angel's lawyer. In June 2008 West Australian Attorney-General Jim McGinty announced that Angel would not be granted any ex gratia compensation. Angel's efforts for compensation have been for naught, even though in 1996 a Parlimentary Committee recommended that she be compensated." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Hit on the head and screamed at by police interrogators to force her to falsely confess. |
Innocence Proved By: |
Conviction quashed by the Court of Appeals in October 1991 based on new evidence two other women committed the crime. |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
Denied |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
28 |
Age When Released: |
30 |
Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Native |
Information Source 1: |
"Lawyer demands government apology over woman's wrongful conviction, ABC News, December 7, 2007" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/07/2112987.htm |
Information Source 2: |
"Murder suspect 'forced to confess', by Tony Barass, The Australian, December 6, 2007" |
Information Location 2: |
"No cash for aboriginal woman jeanie angel wrongly jailed, The Australian, June 3, 2008" |
Information Source 3: |
"http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23801151-5013172,00.html" |
Information Location 3: |
"Murder suspect 'forced to confess', By Tony Barrass, The Australian, December 6, 2007" |
Information Source 4: |
"http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22878117-2702,00.html" |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org