William Jensen Cottrell

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Charge:	Arson
Sentence:	8 yrs 4 months
Years Imprisoned:	5
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	2004
Year Cleared:	2009
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	California - Federal Case
County or Region of Crime:	Los Angeles
City of Crime:	Los Angeles
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"William Jensen Cottrell (aka Billy Cottrell) was wrongly convicted in 2004 in federal court of arson in the firebombing of SUV's in the San Gabriel Valley in 2003. On September 8, 2009, the federal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Cottrell's arson convictions. The court ruled that the trial judge's exclusion of expert testimony about Cottrell's Asperger's syndrome denied him an opportunity to prove he couldn't have had specific intent in aiding and abetting the destruction of the vehicles. Cottrell remained imprisoned on other charges."
Conviction Caused By:	Trial judge wrongly excluded expert testimony that the jury could have relied on to determine Cottrell couldn't have had specific intent.
Innocence Proved By:	"On September 8, 2009, the federal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the arson convictions of William Cottrell."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	24
Age When Released:	29
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Caltech student's arson convictions overturned, By Carol J. Williams (staff), Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2009"
Information Location 1:	"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-suv-bomber11-2009sep11,0,3824113.story"
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Movie About Case:	"Standard Deviation: From physicist to terrorist - the story of Billy Cottrell, 2008, http://www.standarddeviation-themovie.com"
Comments About Case:

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William Jensen Cottrell

Charge:

Arson

Sentence:

8 yrs 4 months

Years Imprisoned:

5

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

2004

Year Cleared:

2009

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

Los Angeles

City of Crime:

Los Angeles

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Trial judge wrongly excluded expert testimony that the jury could have relied on to determine Cottrell couldn't have had specific intent.

Innocence Proved By:

"On September 8, 2009, the federal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the arson convictions of William Cottrell."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

24

Age When Released:

29

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Caltech student's arson convictions overturned, By Carol J. Williams (staff), Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2009"

Information Location 1:

"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-suv-bomber11-2009sep11,0,3824113.story"

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

"Standard Deviation: From physicist to terrorist - the story of Billy Cottrell, 2008, http://www.standarddeviation-themovie.com"

Comments About Case: