Benjamin F. Collins

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Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	2-1/2 to 3-1/2 years
Years Imprisoned:	0.16
Year Crime:	1928
Year Convicted:	1928
Year Cleared:	1928
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:	Middlesex
City of Crime:	Somerville
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Benjamin F. Collins was wrongly convicted on October 23, 1928 of robbery and larceny for the theft of handbags from women in Somerville, Massachusetts in the fall of 1928. Collins arrest on September 1, 1928 and his prosecution, was based on his eyewitness identification by five women who had their bags stolen in separate incidents. After Benjamin Collins was convicted by a jury he was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Patrick M. Keating to 2-1/2 years to 3-1/2 years in prison. Four days after Collins' conviction a man snatched a purse near where the crimes Collins had been convicted of committing. George Hill was shot by a policeman while fleeing. A search of Hill's room discovered evidence that he had committed the crimes Collins had been convicted of committing. On October 29, 1928 the Middlesex County District Attorney Bushnell filed a motion for a new trial, which was granted, and the DA then entered a nolle prosequi. Collins was released from prison. Hill later pled guilty, and while serving is prison sentence he died of septic poisoning as a result of his gunshot wound. A bill was introduced in the Massachusetts legislature to award Collins $1,000 compensation, but it was defeated. One argument by the bill's opponents was the county should pay for the error of Collins' conviction, not the State of Massachusetts."
Conviction Caused By:	Eyewitness error
Innocence Proved By:	Actual culprit discovered.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	Denied by State of Massachusetts
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Convicting the Innocent - Sixty-Five Actual Errors of Criminal Justice, by Edwin Borchard, Yale Univ Press, 1932"
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Benjamin F. Collins

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

2-1/2 to 3-1/2 years

Years Imprisoned:

0.16

Year Crime:

1928

Year Convicted:

1928

Year Cleared:

1928

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Middlesex

City of Crime:

Somerville

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Eyewitness error

Innocence Proved By:

Actual culprit discovered.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Denied by State of Massachusetts

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Convicting the Innocent - Sixty-Five Actual Errors of Criminal Justice, by Edwin Borchard, Yale Univ Press, 1932"

Information Location 1:

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Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

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