Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Randy Druken

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

6

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1995

Year Cleared:

2000

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Canada

County or Region of Crime:

Newfoundland

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"In 1995, Randy Druken was convicted in Newfoundland of murdering his girlfriend Brenda Young. This conviction was overturned on appeal after a key witness, a jailhouse informant, recanted his story claiming that police had bullied him into making a false statement. DNA testing was then done on a cigarette, which was believed to have come from the killer. That DNA did not come from Druken. The Crown then stayed the charge rather than proceed with a new trial. Evidence came to light in 1998 that Randy's brother Paul, was the actual murderer, and it was established he had been with Brenda at the time of her death. Awarded $2.1 million (Canadian) by the Newfoundland and Labrador government in December 2006. "

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Retrial averted when DNA evidence excluded him as the murderer. As of Jan 2005 the case was still stayed.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

CAN$2.1 million in December 2006.

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

30

Age When Released:

35

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Wrongful Convictions Revisited Again, David Allan Harris, August 20, 2003"

Information Location 1:

http://www.lawyers.ca/dharris/articles/wrongfulconvictionspartIV.htm

Information Source 2:

"Nfld. inquiry to probe murder convictions, Kirk Makin, Justice Reporter, March 22, 2003"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"N.l. government awards Randy Druken $2m for wrongful murder conviction, By Tara Brautigam (Canadian Press), Canada East, December 16, 2006"

Information Location 3:

http://www.canada.com/cityguides/halifax/story.html?id=4adb73de-0617-4e98-9121-a1829f2a475d&k=28032

Information Source 4:

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

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