Dan L. Bright

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Charge:	Murder and Robbery
Sentence:	Death and later resentenced or commuted to Life
Years Imprisoned:	9
Year Crime:	1995
Year Convicted:	1996
Year Cleared:	2004
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Louisiana
County or Region of Crime:	Orleans
City of Crime:	New Orleans
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Dan L. Bright was wrongly convicted in 1995 of killing a New Orleans man on Super Bowl Sunday and sentenced to death. The strongest evidence against Dan was the testimony of a witness who admitted that he had been drinking for 12 hours prior to the murder and was a convicted felon on parole. On his direct appeal the LA Sup. Ct. vacated his death penalty, and he was resentenced to life in prison. The actual killer's name was learned after a federal judge ordered the FBI to provide an unredacted copy of a report for an in camera review in response to a Freedom of Information request. The Louisiana Supreme Court subsequently vacated Dan Bright's conviction and he was released on June 14, 2004, after nine years of wrongful imprisonment. The State of Louisiana awarded Dan Bright $208,000 compensation. He also received $77,000 in the settlement of a federal civil rights lawsuit."
Conviction Caused By:	Mistaken testimony by an eyewitness.
Innocence Proved By:	"The Louisiana Supreme Court vacated Dan Bright's conviction and he was released on June 14, 2004,"
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project of New Orleans
Compensation Awarded:	"$285,000 total. $208,000 (State of Louisiana) and $77,000 (federal lawsuit)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	26
Age When Released:	35
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Dan Bright, 'Innocence Project New Orleans, June 1, 2004"
Information Location 1:	http://www.ip-no.org/exonoree-profile/dan-bright
Information Source 2:	"FBI Must Provide Unredacted Copy of Document, Morrison-Foerster Press Release, February 18, 2003"
Information Location 2:	http://www.mofo.com/news/media/files/pr922.html
Information Source 3:	"Dan L. Bright - case no. 116, DeathPenaltyInfo.org"
Information Location 3:	http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-cases
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Dan L. Bright

Charge:

Murder and Robbery

Sentence:

Death and later resentenced or commuted to Life

Years Imprisoned:

9

Year Crime:

1995

Year Convicted:

1996

Year Cleared:

2004

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Louisiana

County or Region of Crime:

Orleans

City of Crime:

New Orleans

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Mistaken testimony by an eyewitness.

Innocence Proved By:

"The Louisiana Supreme Court vacated Dan Bright's conviction and he was released on June 14, 2004,"

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project of New Orleans

Compensation Awarded:

"$285,000 total. $208,000 (State of Louisiana) and $77,000 (federal lawsuit)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

26

Age When Released:

35

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Dan Bright, 'Innocence Project New Orleans, June 1, 2004"

Information Location 1:

http://www.ip-no.org/exonoree-profile/dan-bright

Information Source 2:

"FBI Must Provide Unredacted Copy of Document, Morrison-Foerster Press Release, February 18, 2003"

Information Location 2:

http://www.mofo.com/news/media/files/pr922.html

Information Source 3:

"Dan L. Bright - case no. 116, DeathPenaltyInfo.org"

Information Location 3:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-cases

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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