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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
First Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
3.6 |
Year Crime: |
2010 |
Year Convicted: |
2011 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Wyoming |
County or Region of Crime: |
Fremont |
City of Crime: |
Riverton |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Gabriel Drennen was wrongly convicted in January 2011 of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Leroy Hoster on May 2, 2010 in Riverton, Wyoming. Drennen was arrested on the day of the shooting. He claimed self-defense in the shooting death of Hoster at a house he rented from Drennen. Hoster had assaulted Drennen, thrown him over a fence, and was approaching Drennen to continue the assault when Drennen shot him. The jury convicted Drennen and the trial judge sentenced him to life in prison. Drennen appealed and on October 1, 2013 the Wyoming Supreme Court overturned his conviction on the basis of the prosecution's prejudicial misconduct for erroneously stating during its opening statement and then arguing during its closing argument and its rebuttal argument that under Wyoming law it is illegal for an unarmed man to be shot under any circumstances. The Court ruled the prosecution prejudicially misled the jury by repeatedly misstating the law regarding self-defense, and it was for the jury to determine the facts and how they applied to the correct application of the self-defense law. On December 18, 2013 the Fremont County DA's Office filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Drennen. Drennen, 40, was released on December 19, 2013 from the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins. A day later, on December 20, Fremont County District Court Judge Norman E. Young granted the motion to dismss the charges. Drennen was in custody for three years, seven months, and 17 days." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 20, the Fremont County DA Office's motion to dismiss the charges against Drennen was granted by Fremont County District Court Judge Norman E. Young." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
36 |
Age When Released: |
40 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Drennen v. State, 2013 WY 118 (Wyo. Supreme Court 2013)" |
Information Location 1: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10188234031531386747&q=Gabriel+Drennen&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 2: |
"Drennen freed: Former murder convict released after nearly four years in prison, By Eric Blom (Staff Writer), The Ranger (Riverton, WY), December 20, 2013" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.dailyranger.com/story.php?story_id=10507&headline=Drennen-freed:-Former-murder-convict-released-after-nearly-four-years-in-prison |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org