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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Kidnapping (incld. Abduction) |
Sentence: |
12-1/2 to 25 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
12.5 |
Year Crime: |
1992 |
Year Convicted: |
1993 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York |
County or Region of Crime: |
Kings |
City of Crime: |
New York City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Reginald Connor and Everton Wagstaffe were codefendants wrongly convicted by a jury on January 27, 1993 of the second-degree kidnapping of Jennifer Negron on January 1, 1992 in New York City. Connor and Wagstaffe were sentenced to 12-1/2 to 25 years in state prison. Connor was released on parole in 2004, but Wagstaffe remained imprisoned because he refused parole if he had to make any admission to being involved in the crime. Wagstaffe educated himself while in prison, and wrote hundreds of letters seeking outside legal help with his case. On September 17, 2014 the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division reversed Connor and Wagstaffe's convictions based on the prosecution “burying” documents that might have shown that detectives and the prime witness had lied. Wagstaffe was released on bail pending the outcome of the appeal by the Kings County DA -- which was denied. On July 27, 2015 the motion by the Kings County DA to dismiss the indictments was granted. In 2009 post-conviction DNA testing excluded Connor and Wagstaffe's profile from being on hairs recovered from the victim, although those tests did identify the DNA profiles of two unknown persons. In 2010 a motion for a new trial based in part on the DNA test results was denied, and that DNA testing was not relied on by Court that reversed the convictions of Connor and Wagstaffe. In 2016 Connor was awarded $3 million under the State of New York's wrongful imprisonment statute. On June 13, 2017 the New York City Law Department announced it had agreed to settle the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Connor and Wagstaffe for a total of $19.35 million: $11.4 million to Wagstaffe, and $7.95 million to Connor." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Prosecutor misconduct of concealing exculpatory evidence. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On July 27, 2015 the motion by the Kings County DA to dismiss the indictments was granted." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$10.95 million total. $3 million (State of New York, 2016) and $7.95 million (City of New York, 6-13-2017)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
23 |
Age When Released: |
36 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Brooklyn men wrongly jailed in '93 kidnapping fully exonerated of crime, By Christina Carrega-Woodby (Staff writer), New York Daily News, July 29, 2015" |
Information Location 1: |
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Information Source 2: |
"After Nearly 23 Years of Legal Struggle, a Conviction Is Reversed, By Jim Dwyer (Staff writer), The New York Times, September 17, 2014" |
Information Location 2: |
"https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB0QFjAAahUKEwjx89_Q4rvIAhUE2mMKHXa2DGg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2014%2F09%2F18%2Fnyregion%2Fafter-nearly-23-years-of-legal-struggle-a-conviction-is-reversed.html&usg=AFQjCNFS9PhU2zCSZmLnehZs6wz7uBI9Wg&bvm=bv.104819420,d.cGc" |
Information Source 3: |
"City must pay $19M to end lawsuits by wrongly convicted pair, By Andrew Keshner (Staff writer), New York Daily News, June 13, 2017" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/city-pay-19m-lawsuits-wrongly-convicted-pair-article-1.3243855 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org