Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Carlos Cardenas

 

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

8 to 25 years

Years Imprisoned:

12

Year Crime:

1994

Year Convicted:

1996

Year Cleared:

2007

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Queens

City of Crime:

New York City

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Carlos Cardenas and Napoleon Cardenas were brothers and codefendants wrongly convicted of being involved in the 1994 robbery of $1.5 million in black pearls robbed at gun point from three jewelers in New York City. Carlos was convicted in 1996 and sentenced to 8 to 25 years in prison, and Napoleon was convicted in 1999 and sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. In 2006 several persons imprisoned for unrelated crimes provided the new evidence that the Cardenas brothers weren't involved in the robbery. The Cardenas brothers also passed polygraph tests. Based on the new evidence of their actual innocence the Cardenas brothers filed motions for a new trial which were granted in January 2007 and the brothers were released. The brothers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against New York City which was settled for a payment of $400,000 to Carlos Cardenas and $800,000 to Napoleon Cardenas."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Based on the new evidence of their actual innocence the Cardenas brothers filed motions for a new trial which were granted in January 2007 and the brothers were released.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$400,000 (City of New York)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

24

Age When Released:

36

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"Carlos Cardenas, The National Registry of Exonerations"

Information Location 1:

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3087

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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