James Levi Byrd

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Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	30 years
Years Imprisoned:	5
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	1997
Year Cleared:	2002
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Texas
County or Region of Crime:	Tarrant
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Wrongly convicted in 1997 of robbery and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. James Byrd was released on December 23, 2002, after five years wrongful imprisonment, when a new investigation established that James brother, Donnie Johnson, was telling the truth when he had fully confessed to the robbery at the time of James arrest in 1997. Byrd was granted a full pardon based on his actual innocence pardons by Texas Gov. Rick Perry on June 2, 2002."
Conviction Caused By:	"Police investigators failed to take the confession of James Byrd's brother, Donnie Johnson, seriously when he confessed to the robbery at the time of James' arrest in 1997."
Innocence Proved By:	"New investigation established that James Byrd's brother Donnie Johnson, was truthful when he confessed to the robbery. Byrd was granted a full pardon based on his actual innocence pardons by Texas Gov. Rick Perry on June 2, 2002."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"A crime he didn’t commit - Law Center program frees man wrongly jailed for five years, By Mike Emery, Campus News, Univ of Houston, January 30, 2003"
Information Location 1:	http://www.uh.edu/uhcnonline/2003/01jan/innocencenetwork13003.html
Information Source 2:	"Pardons by Gov. Rick Perry, The Texas Tribune, Aug. 6, 2014"
Information Location 2:	http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/search-texas-governor-rick-perry-pardons/
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James Levi Byrd

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

30 years

Years Imprisoned:

5

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1997

Year Cleared:

2002

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Texas

County or Region of Crime:

Tarrant

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Police investigators failed to take the confession of James Byrd's brother, Donnie Johnson, seriously when he confessed to the robbery at the time of James' arrest in 1997."

Innocence Proved By:

"New investigation established that James Byrd's brother Donnie Johnson, was truthful when he confessed to the robbery. Byrd was granted a full pardon based on his actual innocence pardons by Texas Gov. Rick Perry on June 2, 2002."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"A crime he didn’t commit - Law Center program frees man wrongly jailed for five years, By Mike Emery, Campus News, Univ of Houston, January 30, 2003"

Information Location 1:

http://www.uh.edu/uhcnonline/2003/01jan/innocencenetwork13003.html

Information Source 2:

"Pardons by Gov. Rick Perry, The Texas Tribune, Aug. 6, 2014"

Information Location 2:

http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/search-texas-governor-rick-perry-pardons/

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

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: