Phillip Scott Cannon

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole
Years Imprisoned:	11
Year Crime:	1998
Year Convicted:	2000
Year Cleared:	2009
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Oregon
County or Region of Crime:	Polk
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Phillip Scott Cannon was wrongly convicted in 2000 of a 1998 triple murder in Polk County, Oregon, west of Salem. Key prosecution evidence was expert testimony based on "comparative bullet lead analysis" that linked Cannon to the crime, although the prosecution's case was primarily circumstantial. After his conviction by a jury Phillip Cannon was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The FBI ceased using the "comparative bullet lead analysis" technique in 2005 because of its unreliability. Cannon filed a post-conviction petition for a new trial based on the new evidence the expert testimony the jury relied on to convict him was unreliable, Cannon's conviction was vacated in August 2009 by a Polk County Circuit Court judge based on the new evidence the bullet analysis technique was discredited junk science. The prosecution dropped the charges and Cannon was released in December 2009. The charges were dismissed and Cannon was released in December 2009."
Conviction Caused By:	"Unreliable expert testimony regarding "comparative bullet lead analysis," a technique the FBI ceased using in 2005 because of its unreliability."
Innocence Proved By:	Cannon's conviction was vacated in August 2009 by a Polk County Circuit Court judge based on the new evidence the bullet analysis technique used to compare the bullets relied on to convict him was discredited as unreliable junk science. The prosecution dropped the charges and Cannon was released in December 2009.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	32
Age When Released:	43
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Convict in triple slaying to get new trial, By Alan Gustafson (staff), Statesman Journal (Salem, OR), August 15, 2009"
Information Location 1:	http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090815/NEWS/908150345/1001
Information Source 2:	"Man whose triple murder conviction was overturned takes case to federal appeals court, By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 8, 2017"
Information Location 2:	http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2017/06/man_whose_triple_murder_convic.html
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Phillip Scott Cannon

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole

Years Imprisoned:

11

Year Crime:

1998

Year Convicted:

2000

Year Cleared:

2009

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Oregon

County or Region of Crime:

Polk

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Unreliable expert testimony regarding "comparative bullet lead analysis," a technique the FBI ceased using in 2005 because of its unreliability."

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

32

Age When Released:

43

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Convict in triple slaying to get new trial, By Alan Gustafson (staff), Statesman Journal (Salem, OR), August 15, 2009"

Information Location 1:

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090815/NEWS/908150345/1001

Information Source 2:

"Man whose triple murder conviction was overturned takes case to federal appeals court, By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 8, 2017"

Information Location 2:

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2017/06/man_whose_triple_murder_convic.html

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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