Richard Danziger

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Charge:	Sexual Assault (includes aggravated)
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	12.42
Year Crime:	1988
Year Convicted:	1990
Year Cleared:	2002
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Texas
County or Region of Crime:	Travis
City of Crime:	Austin
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Richard Danziger was codefendant of Christopher Ochoa. Danziger was wrongly convicted in 1990 of aggravated sexual assault after being implicated in the rape and murder of Nancy DePriest in Austin, Texas by his friend Chris Ochoa's false confession given under pressure of police threats that he would get the death penalty if he didn't confess. In 1996 the real killer, Achim Josef Marino, wrote letters to the Austin Police Department and the Austin American-Statesman confessing to the crime. Ochoa and Danziger were exonerated more than four years later after they were excluded by DNA tests unavailable at the time of their conviction. Those tests also implicated Marino. Danziger and Ochoa filed separate federal civil rights lawsuits against the City of Austin and three former Austin Police Department homicide investigators for violations of their civil rights. On July 17, 2003 the Austin City voted to agree to a settlement of Danziger's lawsuit for $9 million. Danziger's lawyers received 1/3 of the settlement -- $3 million. Danziger settled his federal civil rights lawsuit against Travis County for $1 million. Danziger was also awarded $250,000 in compensation by the State of Texas on December 3, 2009. So Danziger was awarded a total of $10.25 million compensation. In addition, In December 2003 Ochoa settled his lawsuit for $5.3 million from the City of Austin, and he paid Danziger $500,000 of his settlement, because his false confession is what implicated Danziger in the crime."
Conviction Caused By:	False confession by co-defendant Christopher Ochoa under police threats and false prosecution informant
Innocence Proved By:	Exclusionary post-conviction DNA tests.
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:	"$10.25 million total. $9 million (City of Austin, TX, 7-17-2003), $1 million (Travis County), and $250,000 (State of Texas, 12-3-2009)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	18
Age When Released:	30
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"City settles with freed inmate for $9 million---Payment will end suit filed by man wrongly convicted of 1988 murder, By Rick Halperin, Austin American-Statesman, July 18, 2003"
Information Location 1:	http://philebus.tamu.edu/pipermail/dp/2003-July/000764.html
Information Source 2:	"My Only Hope, David Casstevens, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, March 7, 2004"
Information Location 2:	http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/8128688.htm
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Go to Database Search Page

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Richard Danziger

Charge:

Sexual Assault (includes aggravated)

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

12.42

Year Crime:

1988

Year Convicted:

1990

Year Cleared:

2002

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Texas

County or Region of Crime:

Travis

City of Crime:

Austin

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confession by co-defendant Christopher Ochoa under police threats and false prosecution informant

Innocence Proved By:

Exclusionary post-conviction DNA tests.

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

"$10.25 million total. $9 million (City of Austin, TX, 7-17-2003), $1 million (Travis County), and $250,000 (State of Texas, 12-3-2009)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

18

Age When Released:

30

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"City settles with freed inmate for $9 million---Payment will end suit filed by man wrongly convicted of 1988 murder, By Rick Halperin, Austin American-Statesman, July 18, 2003"

Information Location 1:

http://philebus.tamu.edu/pipermail/dp/2003-July/000764.html

Information Source 2:

"My Only Hope, David Casstevens, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, March 7, 2004"

Information Location 2:

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/8128688.htm

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Information Location 3:

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