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Wrongly
Convicted Database
Record
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Years
Imprisoned:
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Death and Executed |
Year Convicted: |
1762 |
Year
Cleared:
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1765 |
Location
of Trial:
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France |
Result:
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Judicially Exonerated after Execution |
Summary
of Case:
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"Wrongly convicted on March 9, 1762 of murdering his son by hanging him. 63-year-old Jean Calsas was executed later the same day he was convicted by being strangled and burned. Calas had been horrifically tortured in an effort to extract a confession, but he did not confess. Voltaire took up the cause of finding evidence to prove Calas was innocent. On June 4, 1764, France's Great Council annulled Calas' judgment of guilt. On March 9, 1765, Calas was acquitted after a retrial, and his son's death was officially ruled a suicide. After the decision was announced, Voltaire wrote, "This is an event that seems to allow one to hope for universal tolerance." At the time Voltaire was 71-years-old. After making an application to the King, Madame Calas was awarded 12,000 livres, his two daughters were each awarded 6,000 livres, 3,000 livres was awarded to each of his sons and the Calas’ housekeeper, and 6,000 livers was awarded to the family to cover legal expenses. One thousand livres was equal to 10.8 ounces of gold, so these were very significant sums in 1765 given the generally low standard of living in France." |
Conviction
Caused By:
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Innocence
Proved By:
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On March 9, 1765, Calas was acquitted after a retrial, and his son's death was officially ruled a suicide.
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Defendant
Aided By:
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Compensation Awarded: |
33,000 livres to heirs and a housekeeper |
Was Perpetrator Found? |
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Age
When Imprisoned:
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63 |
Age
When Released:
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Information Source 1: |
Did Biased Judges Condemn Innocent Man?, Matthew Surridge, Old News, April 2006, pp 10-12. |
Information
Location 1:
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Information
Source 2:
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Voltaire – Father Of The Innocence Campaign, By Hans Sherrer, Justice Denied magazine, Issue 35, Winter 2007, 29-30 |
Information
Location 2:
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http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_35/jd_issue_35.pdf |
Information
Source 3:
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Information
Location 3:
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Information
Source 4:
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Information
Location 4:
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Information
Source 5:
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Information
Location 5:
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Ethnicity/Skin:
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White |
Book
About
Case:
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Book
Information:
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Book About Case (2): |
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Book Information (2): |
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org