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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Second Degree Murder and Rape |
Sentence: |
15 yrs to Life imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
16.67 |
Year Crime: |
1989 |
Year Convicted: |
1991 |
Year Cleared: |
2006 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York |
County or Region of Crime: |
Westchester |
City of Crime: |
Peekskill |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Jeffrey Mark Deskovic was wrongly convicted in January 1991 of second-degree murder and first-degree rape in the November 1989 rape and murder of a 15-year-old female classmate of his in Peekskill, New York. Jeffrey Deskovic was 16 when he gave a confession in January 1990 to the crime that he later recanted as coerced. Pre-trial DNA testing excluded Deskovic as the source of semen recovered from the victim. No physical, forensic, or eyewitness evidence linked Jeffrey Deskovic to the crime. During Deskovic's trial the prosecution argued his confession established his guilt and explained away the exclusionary DNA test by asserting it was from a consensual sexual encounter by the girl with another boy and Deskovic killed her in a jealous rage. After Deskovic's conviction by a jury of 1st degree rape and 2nd degree murder, he was sentenced in January 1991 to 15 years to life in prison. In 2006 Deskovic was able to get the new Westchester County District Attorney to agree to DNA testing of the semen by state of the art techniques. In September 2006 the DNA profile from the new testing was uploaded to the FBI's CODIS DNA database and there was a match to convicted murderer Steven Cunningham. When interviewed by authorities Cunningham admitted to committing the crime Deskovic was convicted of committing. The charges were dismissed and Jeffrey Deskovic was released on September 20, 2006. Jeffrey Deskovic was wrongly imprisoned for almost 16 years. After his release Deskovic filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Westchester County, two county medical examiners, the lead prosecutor in the case, the city of Peekskill, several Peekskill police officers, Putnam County and the Putnam deputy sheriff who conducted the Deskovic’s polygraph test (that he passed). Deskovic agreed to settle his claims against Westchester County and their employees for $6.5 million on April 12, 2011 ($4 million to be paid in 2011 and the balance of $2.5 million in 2012). Deskovic’s claim against the City of Peekskill was settled on October 1, 2013 for $5.4 millioni. In 2011 Jeffrey Deskovic was awarded $1.85 million compensation by the State of New York under its wrongful imprisonment statute. On October 23, 2014 a federal court jury awarded Deskovic $41.65 million from Putnam County in finding that Putnam County Sheriff's investigator Daniel Stephens fabricated evidence and coerced Deskovic's false confession. Putnam County made a pretrial agreement to limit its liability to $10 million if the jury found for Deskovic. So Deskovic would have to collect the balance from Stephens. Deskovic was awarded a total of $55.35 million, and as of June 2016 had received $23.7 million. Deskovic's mother settled her claim against Westchester County for $250,000. Deskovic was represented in his compensation efforts by the law firm of Neufeld, Scheck & Brustin, two of the partners of which are Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, co-founders of the Innocence Project in New York." |
Conviction Caused By: |
False confession and prosecutor misconduct of ignoring exculpatory DNA evidence. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Exonerated and released on September 20, 2006, after DNA testing unavailable at the time of his conviction excluded him as the girl's murder." |
Defendant Aided By: |
"Innocence Project NY (Criminal case). Represented in civil lawsuits by the New York City law firm of Peter Neufeld, Barry Scheck, & Nick Brustin (NS&B)." |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$55.4 million total awarded. $6.5 million (Westchester County, April 2011), $1,85 million (State of New York, 2011), $5.4 million (City of Peekskill, NY, September 2013), $41.65 million (Putnam County and Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy Daniel Stephens, Oct. 2014)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
16 |
Age When Released: |
33 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"DNA Evidence Frees Man After 15 Years in Prison, By Fernanda Santos and Maria Newman, NY Times, September 20, 2006" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/20/nyregion/20cnd-overturn.html?hp&ex=1158811200&en=ef631e3810137b02&ei=5094&partner=homepage |
Information Source 2: |
"Report on the Conviction of Jeffrey Deskovic, Prepared at the Request of Janet DiFiore, Westchester County District Attorney, June 2007" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.westchesterda.net/Jeffrey%20Deskovic%20Comm%20Rpt.pdf |
Information Source 3: |
"$6.5 Million Settlement in Wrongful Conviction, By Fernanda Santos, The New York Times, April 12, 2011" |
Information Location 3: |
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Information Source 4: |
"Peekskill OKs $5.4 million to Jeffrey Deskovic for wrongful murder conviction, By Jonathan Bandler, The Journal News (White Plains, NY), September. 3, 2013" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.lohud.com/article/20130903/NEWS/309030067/Peekskill-OKs-5-4-million-Deskovic-wrongful-murder-conviction?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s&gcheck=1 |
Information Source 5: |
"Upstate NY man wrongly convicted of rape wins $41.6M lawsuit; lawyers say it’s largest sum in U.S. history, By Stephen Rex Brown, New York Daily News, October 23, 2014" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/upstate-ny-man-wrongly-convicted-rape-wins-41-6m-lawsuit-article-1.1985315 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org