Bernard F. Baran Jr.

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Charge:	Child Sexual Assault and Indecent Assault
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	21
Year Crime:	1984
Year Convicted:	1985
Year Cleared:	2009
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:	Berkshire
City of Crime:	Pittsfield
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Bernard F. Baran Jr. was wrongly convicted on January 30, 1985 of three counts of child rape and five counts of indecent assault and battery. The charges involved accusations by five children at the Early Childhood Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in October 1984. The 19-year-old Bernard Baran worked at the childcare center as a teacher's assistant. Baran was convicted on January 30, 1985, of three counts of rape of a child and five counts of indecent assault and battery. Baran was sentenced to concurrent life sentences for each of the rape convictions and to concurrent eight- to ten-year sentences on each of the indecent assault and battery convictions, the latter to be served concurrently with the life sentences. Baran was represented at trial by a civil lawyer with no criminal defense experience that his mother hired and paid less than $1,000. The lawyer did not perform any investigation, and did not hire a private investigator or any experts on Baran's behalf. In June 2006 Baran's convictions were overturned on the basis of ineffective assistance of his trial counsel by Berkshire County Superior Court Judge Francis R. Fecteau. Baran was released on bail after 21 years of imprisonment. The State appealed, but on May 15, 2009 the Massachusetts Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court's dismissal of Baran's convictions. Bernard Baran settled his compensation lawsuit against the State of Massachusetts for $400,000 in 2010."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"In June 2006 Bernard F Baran Jr.'s conviction was overturned on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. Baran was released on bail after 21 years of imprisonment. The State appealed, but on May 15, 2009 the Massachusetts Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court's dismissal of Baran's convictions."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$400,000 (State of Massachusetts, 2010)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	19
Age When Released:	40
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Commonwealth v. Bernard F. Baran, Jr, No. 07-P-1096 (MA Ct of Appeals, May 15, 2009)"
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Appeals court refuses to reinstate molestation conviction, By Jonathan Saltzman, The Boston Globe, May 15, 2009"
Information Location 2:	http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/05/appeals_court_r_1.html
Information Source 3:	"Wrongful Conviction Cases Under G.L. C. 258D As Of August 1, 2016"
Information Location 3:	https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3034698/Wrongful-Conviction-Compensation-Cases.pdf
Information Source 4:	"Massachusetts has paid $8.34 million under wrongful conviction compensation law, By Dan Glaun, MassLive.com, August 31, 2016"
Information Location 4:	http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/massachusetts_has_paid_834_mil.html
Information Source 5:
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Bernard F. Baran Jr.

Charge:

Child Sexual Assault and Indecent Assault

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

21

Year Crime:

1984

Year Convicted:

1985

Year Cleared:

2009

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Berkshire

City of Crime:

Pittsfield

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$400,000 (State of Massachusetts, 2010)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

40

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Commonwealth v. Bernard F. Baran, Jr, No. 07-P-1096 (MA Ct of Appeals, May 15, 2009)"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Appeals court refuses to reinstate molestation conviction, By Jonathan Saltzman, The Boston Globe, May 15, 2009"

Information Location 2:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/05/appeals_court_r_1.html

Information Source 3:

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

Information Location 3:

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

Information Source 4:

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

Information Location 4:

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

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

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