Robert H. Blanton

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	6
Year Crime:	1972
Year Convicted:	1974
Year Cleared:	1980
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Louisiana
County or Region of Crime:	Ascension
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Robert H. Blanton III was wrongly convicted in 1974 of committing a murder in Ascension Parish, Louisiana on November 2, 1972. Blanton's alibi defense, supported by several witnesses, was that he was more than 200 miles away in Alabama at the time of the crime. Robert Blanton was sentenced to life in prison. Blanton's conviction was affrim on direct appeal. His state habeas was also denied, which was based on the prosecution's Brady violation of failing to disclose that it made agreements with key eyewitnesses of lighter sentences in exchange for their favorable testimony. Blanton asserted that that tainted testimony reduced the credibility of Blanton's alibi witness testimony. Blanton filed a federal habeas corpus appeal based on the prosecution's Brady violation. On July 29, 1980 the U.S. District Court judge granted Blanton's petition and ordered that he either be retried or the charges dismissed. The District Attorney's office declined to retry Blanton, and their motion to dismiss the charges was granted in 1980 and he was released from prison."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On July 29, 1980 the U.S. District Court judge granted Blanton's petition and ordered that he either be retried or the charges dismissed. The District Attorney's office declined to retry Blanton, and their motion to dismiss the charges was granted in 1980 and he was released from prison."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Blanton v. Blackburn, 494 F. Supp. 895 (M.D. La. 1980) (Granting Blanton's federal habeas petition.)"
Information Location 1:	http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/494/895/2150321/
Information Source 2:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 98."
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	"State v. Blanton, 312 So. 2d 329 (La. 1975)"
Information Location 3:	https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1849273/state-v-blanton/
Information Source 4:
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Robert H. Blanton

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

6

Year Crime:

1972

Year Convicted:

1974

Year Cleared:

1980

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Louisiana

County or Region of Crime:

Ascension

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On July 29, 1980 the U.S. District Court judge granted Blanton's petition and ordered that he either be retried or the charges dismissed. The District Attorney's office declined to retry Blanton, and their motion to dismiss the charges was granted in 1980 and he was released from prison."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Blanton v. Blackburn, 494 F. Supp. 895 (M.D. La. 1980) (Granting Blanton's federal habeas petition.)"

Information Location 1:

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/494/895/2150321/

Information Source 2:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 98."

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"State v. Blanton, 312 So. 2d 329 (La. 1975)"

Information Location 3:

https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1849273/state-v-blanton/

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: