Willie T. Donald

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Charge:	Murder and Robbery
Sentence:	60 years
Years Imprisoned:	23.5
Year Crime:	1992
Year Convicted:	1992
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Indiana
County or Region of Crime:	Lake
City of Crime:	Gary
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Willie T. Donald was wrongly convicted in 1992 of robbery and murder related to a series of robberies in Gary, Indiana on February 27, 1992 that resulted in the death of one man who died from shooting wounds. Donald's prosecution was based on the eyewitness identification of one of the victims, Rhonda Fleming, who first picked him out of a lineup, and later identified him during his trial. After his conviction by a jury, Donald was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Fleming later recanted her identification testimony, and did so under oath in a deposition in 2013. Donald filed a post-conviction petition based on allegations the prosecution withheld evidence and Fleming's recantation. On January 25, 2016 Fleming's convictions were overturned and a new trial ordered. With no credible evidence that Willie Donald committed the crimes, the Lake County DA declined to retry Donald and filed a motion to dismiss the charges. A Lake County judge granted the motion to dismiss, and Donald was released on January 29, 2016."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.
Innocence Proved By:	"On January 25, 2016 Fleming's convictions were overturned and a new trial ordered. With no credible evidence that Donald committed the crimes, the Lake County DA declined to retry Donald and filed a motion to dismiss the charges. A Lake County judge granted the motion to dismiss, and Donald was released on January 29, 2016."
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	23
Age When Released:	47
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Former Medill Innocence Project client exonerated after serving more than 23 years, By Madeline Fox (Campus Editor), The Daily Northwestern, January 29, 2016"
Information Location 1:	http://dailynorthwestern.com/2016/01/29/campus/former-medill-innocence-project-client-exonerated-after-serving-more-than-23-years/
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Willie T. Donald

Charge:

Murder and Robbery

Sentence:

60 years

Years Imprisoned:

23.5

Year Crime:

1992

Year Convicted:

1992

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Indiana

County or Region of Crime:

Lake

City of Crime:

Gary

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

23

Age When Released:

47

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Former Medill Innocence Project client exonerated after serving more than 23 years, By Madeline Fox (Campus Editor), The Daily Northwestern, January 29, 2016"

Information Location 1:

http://dailynorthwestern.com/2016/01/29/campus/former-medill-innocence-project-client-exonerated-after-serving-more-than-23-years/

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Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: