John Demjanjuk (2011)

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Charge:	Murder Accessory
Sentence:	Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	2011
Year Cleared:	2012
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Germany
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"John Demjanjuk was convicted on May 12, 2011 in Germany of being an accessory to murder at the Sobibor death camp based only on the prosecution's claim that an ID card established he was a guard at the camp as a young man. The prosecution did not allege that he personally harmed any individual. Demjanjuk's defense was he was the victim of mistaken identity and that the ID card was not authentic "quite likely fabricated by the KGB," according to an FBI report written in 1985 and discovered by the Associated Press as the result of newly declassified documents obtained by the AP in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents were obtained after Demjanjuk's trial began in November 2009. The report stated in part -- “Justice is ill-served in the prosecution of an American citizen on evidence which is not only normally inadmissible in a court of law, but based on evidence and allegations quite likely fabricated by the KGB.” Demjanjuk was released on bail pending resolution of his appeal. While Demjanjuk's appeal was pending he died in March 2012 at th eage of 91, Under German law a defendant is presumed innocent until an appeal is decided, so Demanjanjuk's conviction was invalidated since his death ended his appeal. In 1988 Demjanjuk had been convicted in Israel of murder and sentenced to death for allegedly being Ivan the Terrible, a sadistic guard at the Treblinka death camp during WWII. On appeal Israeli's Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1993 based on evidence that he was the victim of mistaken identity."
Conviction Caused By:	"Conviction based on an ID card of disputed authenticity. An FBI report written in 1985 stated in part, “Justice is ill-served in the prosecution of an American citizen on evidence which is not only normally inadmissible in a court of law, but based on evidence and allegations quite likely fabricated by the KGB.”"
Innocence Proved By:	"While Demjanjuk's appeal was pending he died in March 2012 at th eage of 91, Under German law a defendant is presumed innocent until an appeal is decided, so Demanjanjuk's conviction was invalidated since his death ended his appeal."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Convicted Nazi criminal Demjanjuk deemed innocent in Germany over technicality, HAARETZ.com, March 23, 2012."
Information Location 1:	http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/convicted-nazi-criminal-demjanjuk-deemed-innocent-in-germany-over-technicality-1.420280
Information Source 2:	"FBI thought Soviet Union’s John Demjanjuk evidence was faked,” Cleveland Plain-Dealer, April 12, 2011"
Information Location 2:	http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2011/04/fbi_thought_john_demjanjuk_evi.html
Information Source 3:	"John Demjanjuk: The Last Nazi,” Esquire Magazine, August 11, 2010"
Information Location 3:	http://www.esquire.com/features/john-demjanjuk-1109
Information Source 4:
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Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
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John Demjanjuk (2011)

Charge:

Murder Accessory

Sentence:

Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

2011

Year Cleared:

2012

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Germany

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"While Demjanjuk's appeal was pending he died in March 2012 at th eage of 91, Under German law a defendant is presumed innocent until an appeal is decided, so Demanjanjuk's conviction was invalidated since his death ended his appeal."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Convicted Nazi criminal Demjanjuk deemed innocent in Germany over technicality, HAARETZ.com, March 23, 2012."

Information Location 1:

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/convicted-nazi-criminal-demjanjuk-deemed-innocent-in-germany-over-technicality-1.420280

Information Source 2:

"FBI thought Soviet Union’s John Demjanjuk evidence was faked,” Cleveland Plain-Dealer, April 12, 2011"

Information Location 2:

http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2011/04/fbi_thought_john_demjanjuk_evi.html

Information Source 3:

"John Demjanjuk: The Last Nazi,” Esquire Magazine, August 11, 2010"

Information Location 3:

http://www.esquire.com/features/john-demjanjuk-1109

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: