Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Patrick Croy

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

12

Year Crime:

1978

Year Convicted:

1979

Year Cleared:

1990

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California

County or Region of Crime:

Siskiyou

City of Crime:

Yreka

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Patrick Croy and his sister Norma Jean Croy were codefendants convicted in 1979 of murder, conspiracy, and assault related to a murder of a Yreka, California police officer on July 14, 1978. Norma Croy was sentenced to life in prison and Patrick Croy was sentenced to death. Patrick Croy's murder conviction was overturned on direct appeal by the California Supreme Court in 1985, and he was acquitted of murder after a retrial in May 1990. Patrick's 1990 convictions for conspiracy and assault remained, and he was resentenced to ten years probation and released after 12 years in custody. He was arrested in 1997 for probation violations and resentenced to an indeterminate sentence of life in prison for his 1979 conspiracy and assault convictions. In 2005 a federal judge granted Patrick's habeas petition based on ineffective assistance of his trial counsel for his 1979 conspiracy and assault convictions. The Siskiyou County prosecutor's motion to dismiss Patrick's charges was granted and he was released on March 20, 2005. Norma Croy's conviction was overturned in 1996 when the federal court granted her habeas corpus petition that had been denied in state court, and she was released on February 7, 1997, after the prosecution declined to retry her and the charges were dismissed."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Patrick Croy's conviction was reversed and he was acquitted after a retrial in May 1990 and he was released after 12 years in custody. Norma's conviction was overturned in 1997 and she was released after the prosecution declined to retry her and dismissed the charges.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

23

Age When Released:

35

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Native American (Indian)

Information Source 1:

"Death Penalty Focus - Exonerations in California, Oct 2002, deathpenalty.org"

Information Location 1:

http://www.deathpenalty.org/index.php?pid=Innocence

Information Source 2:

Death Penalty Information Center

Information Location 2:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Innocentlist.html

Information Source 3:

California Wrongful Convictions

Information Location 3:

http://www.amnesty-volunteer.org/usa/scal/death/innocence.html

Information Source 4:

"Native woman released 19 years after frame-up, By Luis Talamantez and Gloria La Riva, Workers World Service, 1997"

Information Location 4:

http://www.workers.org/ww/1997/croy.html

Information Source 5:

"People v. Croy (1985), 41 Cal. 3d 1, 221 Cal. Rptr. 592, 710 P.2d 392"

Information Location 5:

http://law.justia.com/cases/california/cal3d/41/1.html

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

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