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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Second Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
7-1/2 to 15 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
9 |
Year Crime: |
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Year Convicted: |
2003 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Michigan |
County or Region of Crime: |
Jackson |
City of Crime: |
Jackson |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Katherine Sue Dendel was wrongly convicted in 2003 of murder in the death of her live-in partner Paul Burley, in Jackson, Michigan. Dendel and Burley had been in a relationship since 1975 and he suffered from a number of serious ailments. Dendel's prosecution was based on the Jackson County District Attorney's theory she administered a lethal dose of insulin. Katherine Dendel waived her right to a jury trial, and after her conviction following a bench trial, she was sentenced to 90 to 180 months in prison. In her direct appeal Dendel claimed her trial lawyer was ineffective for failing to present an expert to refute the testimony of prosecution experts that Burley died from an insulin overdose. The Michigan Court of Appeals remanded for an evidentiary hearing on Dendel's claim. After an evidentiary hearing the trial court denied Dendel's claim. Dendel appealed, and on July 18, 2006 the appeals court vacated Dendel's conviction on the basis her lawyer's ineffectiveness, and ordered a new trial. The State appealed. On May 28, 2008 the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the appeals courts ruling. After more than three more years of legal wrangling, the Michigan Supreme Court issued its final ruling denying Dendel's ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Katherine Dendel filed a federal writ of habeas corpus on September 19, 2012, which was denied by U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson. Dendel was released on parole in 2012 after more than nine years in custody. Dendel appealed that ruling. On May 9, 2016, in a 2 to 1 majority decision, reversed Judge Lawson's ruling and remanded for consideration of Dendel's ineffective assistance of counsel claim. The State of Michigan sought review of the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that was denied on October 31, 2016. On November 17, 2016 U.S. District Court Judge Lawson granted Dendel's petition and ordered the State of Michigan to either retry Dendel within 70 days or vacate her conviction. The Jackson Dounty DA's Office declined to retry Dendel, and the DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted. While Dendel's federal habeas case was pending she completed her sentence and her parole was terminated. Judge Lawson did not dismiss her petition because she had filed it while she was "in custody", and he granted her "petition because of the collateral consequences that flow from a conviction."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
Ineffective assitance of counsel for failing to present rebuttal expert evidence. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On November 17, 2016 U.S. District Court Judge Lawson granted Dendel's petition and ordered the State of Michigan to either retry Dendel or dismiss the charges. The Jackson Dounty DA's Office declined to retry Dendel, and the DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"Dendel v. Washington, No. 12-14153 (Dist. Court, ED Michigan, 11-17-2016) (Granting Dendel's federal habeas petition.)" |
Information Location 1: |
"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12159941427917709966&q=Katherine+Dendel&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 2: |
"Katherine Sue Dendel v. Heidi E. Washington, No. 15-2000 (6th Cir., 5-9-2016) (Reversing denial of federal habeas based on ineffective assistance of counsel and remanding for consideration of claim by the district court.)" |
Information Location 2: |
"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14598454377769961254&q=Katherine+Dendel&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 3: |
"Murder conviction overturned after woman finishes sentence, By Associated Press, Detroit Free Press, May 10, 2016" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/05/10/murder-conviction-overturned-after-woman-finishes-sentence/84202694/ |
Information Source 4: |
"Michigan v. Katherine Sue Dendel, No. 132042 (Mich. Supreme Ct. , 5-28-2008) (Reversing grant of new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel.)" |
Information Location 4: |
http://law.justia.com/cases/michigan/supreme-court/2008/20080528-s132042-120-dendel132042-op.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org