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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
15 |
Year Crime: |
1986 |
Year Convicted: |
1989 |
Year Cleared: |
2002 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
France |
County or Region of Crime: |
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City of Crime: |
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Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Wrongly convicted of murdering two children in September 1986 when he was a 16-year-old apprentice cook. When questioned in April 1987 he confessed to the murder after 36 continuous hours of questioning, and although he immediately recanted it, his 1989 conviction was based on his confession. A minor at the time the murders occurred, Patrick Dils was sentenced to life in prison. In 1997 lawyers hired by Dils' parents learned that in 1992 serial killer Francis Heaulme admitted that at about the time the two children were known to have been murdered, they threw stones at him, and he provided details of the murder not released to the public. Based on the new evidence Dils was granted a retrial. He was again convicted on June 29, 2001 and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Dils appealed and was awarded another trial. Based on the new evidence by a police expert that Dils did not have time to have committed the crime, he was acquitted by a jury on April 24, 2002 and released later that day. Patrick Dils was wrongly imprisoned for 15 years and awarded compensation of 1 million euros." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Falsely confessed to the murders after 36 hours of continusou interrogation. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"After Dils was in custody for 5 years a serial killer admitted being present at the time of the murders. Dils was granted a retrial, but he was reconvicted in 2001. Dils successfully appealed, and during his third trial in 2002 a police expert testified that Dils did not have time to commit the crime, and Dils was acquitted and released from prison. " |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
1 million euros |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
16 |
Age When Released: |
31 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
""Wrongful Conviction: International Perspectives on Miscarriages of Justice," by C. Ronald Huff (Editor), Martin Killias (Editor), Temple University Press, 2008 " |
Information Location 1: |
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Information Source 2: |
"Patrick Dils business, speedylook.com, (last visited August 30, 2008" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.speedylook.com/Patrick_Dils_business.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Triple Jeopardy - Bistro Metropole Paris (Paris, France), July 2, 2002" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.metropoleparis.com/2001/627/627bistr.html?media=print |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org