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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Forced disappearance (aggravated) |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
28.33 |
Year Crime: |
1970 |
Year Convicted: |
1974 |
Year Cleared: |
2002 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Pennsylvania |
County or Region of Crime: |
Dauphin |
City of Crime: |
Harrisburg |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Steven Crawford was wrongly convicted three times of murdering his 13-year-old boy neighbor. Crawford was 14 at the time of the crime. He was first convicted in 1974 at the age of 18, and he was convicted of 1st degree murder after each of three trials. Crawford was exonerated when new evidence was discovered that police knew alleged evidence at the crime scene didn't implicate Crawford. Crawford was released on $1 bail in June 2002, and the prosecution's motion to dismiss the murder change was granted on July 16, 2002. On March 28, 2003, Crawford filed two civil rights lawsuits that named a number of defendants as being responsible for his wrongful imprisonment. He was represented by Johnnie Cochran's law firm. On June 20, 2006, Crawford settled his federal civil rights lawsuit for $1,200,000." |
Conviction Caused By: |
False prosecution testimony that crime scene evidence implicated Crawford. |
Innocence Proved By: |
Discovery the prosecution concealed police reports exonerating Crawford |
Defendant Aided By: |
Investigative reporter Pete Shellem with the Harrisburg Patriot-News |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$1,200,000 (Federal civil rights lawsuit, 2006)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
16 |
Age When Released: |
44 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"PA Man Freed After Serving 28 Years Sues, Marc Levy (staff), AP Harrisburg, PA, March 28, 2003." |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.barrister2.blogspot.com/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Man freed after 28 years in prison sues, March 29, 2003, www.cnn.com" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.asuult.net/nemesis/mongolian_judiciary/newsprisonlawsuite.htm |
Information Source 3: |
"Harrisburg man, state settle suits claiming frame-up in 1970 murder, by Pete Shellem (staff), The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA, June 20, 2006" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1150770334309960.xml&coll=1 |
Information Source 4: |
"The Sleuth, By Mario Cattabiani, American Journalism Review, June-July 2007" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4341 |
Information Source 5: |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org