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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder and Robbery |
Sentence: |
32 years to life imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
22 |
Year Crime: |
1985 |
Year Convicted: |
1987 |
Year Cleared: |
2007 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
California |
County or Region of Crime: |
Los Angeles |
City of Crime: |
Venice |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Timothy Atkins was wrongly convicted in 1987 of convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of robbery, as an accomplice to a car-jacking committed on New Years Day 1985. Atkins was sentenced to 32 years in prison. His conviction vacated on February 9, 2007, based on the recanting of the state's star witness at Atkins preliminary hearing that she lied. In April 2007 the LA DA's Office announced Atkins would not be retried because of a lack of evidence. He was wrongly imprisoned for more than 20 years. In August 2014 a judge found that Atkins was actually innocent and he filed a compensation claim with the California Victim Compensation & Government Claims Board. His claim was denied on the basis he had not proven he was innocent under the statute." |
Conviction Caused By: |
"Perjury by the eyewitness as the preliminary hearing, which was admitted at trial without her being cross-examined." |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Convictions vacated on February 9, 2007." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
State compensation denied. |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
17 |
Age When Released: |
40 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Taking deep breath of freedom, by Ashraf Khalil (staff), LA Times, February 10, 2007" |
Information Location 1: |
"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-innocent10feb10,1,438124.story" |
Information Source 2: |
"Accused accomplice in 1985 slaying wrongly convicted, judge rules, by Stuart Silverstein (staff), LA Times, February 9, 2007" |
Information Location 2: |
"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-released9feb09,1,5566035.story" |
Information Source 3: |
"D.A. won't retry man held 22 years, By Joe Mozingo (staff writer), Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2007 " |
Information Location 3: |
"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-atkins7apr07,0,6758311.story?coll=la-home-local" |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org