Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Clifford L. Church

 

Charge:

Breaking and entering

Sentence:

3 years probation (revoked and sentenced 18 - 60 months) & $100 costs & fine

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1955

Year Cleared:

2014

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Michigan

County or Region of Crime:

Oakland

City of Crime:

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

"Clifford L. Church was convicted in 1955 of breaking and entering in Oakland County, Michigan. Church was sentenced to 3 years probation (revoked and sentenced to 18 to 60 months imprisonment) and payment of $100 in costs and fine. Clifford L. Church was pardoned by Michigan's governor on December 22, 2014. An executive pardon in Michigan erases a conviction and restores the pardoned person's presumption of innocence the same as a court order vacating a conviction. The Michigan Court of Appeal stated in People v. Van Heck, 252 Mich. App. 207, 651 NW 2d 174 (Mich. Ct. of Appeals 9-24-2002): "As our Supreme Court has observed, such an act of clemency "`reaches both the punishment prescribed for the offense and the guilt of the offender. It releases the punishment and blots out of existence the guilt, so that in the eye of the law the offender is as innocent as if he had never committed the offense.'" People v. Stickle, 156 Mich. 557, 564, 121 N.W. 497 (1909), quoting People, ex rel. Forsyth v. Court of Sessions of Monroe County, 141 N.Y. 288, 294-295, 36 N.E. 386 (1894)."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"Clifford L. Church was pardoned by Michigan's governor on December 22, 2014. An executive pardon in Michigan erases a conviction and restores the pardoned person's presumption of innocence the same as a court order vacating a conviction. The Michigan Court of Appeal stated in People v. Van Heck, 252 Mich. App. 207, 651 NW 2d 174 (Mich. Ct. of Appeals 9-24-2002): "As our Supreme Court has observed, such an act of clemency "`reaches both the punishment prescribed for the offense and the guilt of the offender. It releases the punishment and blots out of existence the guilt, so that in the eye of the law the offender is as innocent as if he had never committed the offense.'" People v. Stickle, 156 Mich. 557, 564, 121 N.W. 497 (1909), quoting People, ex rel. Forsyth v. Court of Sessions of Monroe County, 141 N.Y. 288, 294-295, 36 N.E. 386 (1894)."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Pardons Approved By Governor, 1/1/1969 to 4/30/2015, Mich. Dept. of Corr., Office of the Parole and Commutation Board (List of 69 pardoned individuals sent to Hans Sherrer on 4/30/2015)"

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

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