Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Diane Downey

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

4

Year Crime:

1981

Year Convicted:

1982

Year Cleared:

1986

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New Jersey

County or Region of Crime:

Middlesex

City of Crime:

Piscataway

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Diane Downey and Linda Prudden were codefendants wrongly convicted after separate trials of murdering Downey's husband on December 23, 1981 at his home in Piscataway, New Jersey. The convictions of Downey and Prudden was based on circumstantial evidence, the most significant of which was a letter the deceased wrote prior to his death asserting that if he died the likely culprits would be his wife, Prudden, and Prudden's husband. Prudden's husband was apparently not prosecuted. The trial judge overruled the objection of Downey and Prudden to the prosecuton's admission of the letter. After Downey and Prudden were convicted by a jury they were each sentenced to life in prison. Prudden was also sentenced to five years in prison for her conviction of hindering the prosecution of Downey, and 18 months in prison for false swearing. All sentences were to run concurrently. On January 9, 1986 the New Jersey appeals court reversed Downey's conviction on the basis the trial judge prejudically erred in allowing the jury to hear the evidence of the letter, and on October 1, 1986 the appeals court relied on the ruling in Downey's case to reverse the murder and hindering prosecution convictions of Prudden. The appeals court affirmed her conviction of false swearing that was unrelated to the letter."

Conviction Caused By:

Trial judge's erroneous admission of a letter by the victim accusing the defendant's of killing him.

Innocence Proved By:

"On January 9, 1986 the New Jersey appeals court reversed Downey's conviction on the basis the trial judge prejudically erred in allowing the jury to hear the evidence of the letter, and on October 1, 1986 the appeals court relied on the ruling in Downey's case to reverse the murder and hindering prosecution convictions of Prudden. "

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

33

Age When Released:

37

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"State v. Downey, 206 N.J. Super. 382, 502 A. 2d 1171 (NJ Appellate Div. 1986) (Reversing conviction)"

Information Location 1:

"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2555335011468396522&q=State+v.+Prudden+,+515+A.2d+1260&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48&as_vis=1"

Information Source 2:

"State v. Prudden, 212 N.J. Super. 608, 515 A. 2d 1260 (NJ Appellate Div. 1986) (Reversing conviction)"

Information Location 2:

"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12209095971739415868&q=State+v.+Prudden+,+515+A.2d+1260&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48&as_vis=1"

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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