William Duncan

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Charge:	"Child Pornography (Possession, Manufacture, or Dissemination)"
Sentence:	15 months
Years Imprisoned:	1
Year Crime:	2009
Year Convicted:	2012
Year Cleared:	2014
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	United Kingdom
County or Region of Crime:	England
City of Crime:	Burgessville
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"William Duncan was wrongly convicted on February 29, 2012 of possessing child pornography and making it available over the Internet. Duncan defense at trial was he didn't know that a house guest who he had let use his computer had put the pornography on his computer. The State's key witness was Duncan's house guest who pled guilty and testified against Duncan in exchange for a 15 month sentence. After Duncan's conviction by a jury he was also sentenced ot 15 months in prison on May 15, 2012. Duncan appealed. On December 19, 2013 the UK's Court of Appeal quashed William Duncan's conviction on the basis the judge erroneously instructed the jury that to convict Duncan they didn't have to find he knew there was child pornography on his computer, only that he was "willfully blind" a house guest put the pornography on his computer. The appeals court ruled that "willfully blind" was too broad a definition to give the jury adequate guidance to support Duncan's conviction. On May 16, 2014 the charges were dismissed after the Crown's prosecutor told the judge their key witness wasn't very credible, and that based on the appeals court's ruling about what the proper jury instructions would have to be during a retrial, "there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.""
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous jury instructions allowed the jury to convict Duncan without him committing a crime.
Innocence Proved By:	"In December 2013 the UK's Court of Appeal quashed William Duncan's conviction on the basis the judge erroneously instructed the jury that to convict Duncan they didn't have to find he knew there was child pornography on his computer, only that he was "willfully blind" his house guest put the pornography on his computer. On May 16, 2014 the charges were dismissed after the Crown's prosecutor told the judge that based on the appeals court's ruling about what the proper jury instructions would have to be during a retrial, "there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.""
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	46
Age When Released:	47
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Crown questioned credibility of key witness in the case, By Heather Rivers (Staff writer), Woodstock Sentinel-Review, May 16, 2014"
Information Location 1:	http://www.lfpress.com/2014/05/16/crown-questioned-credibility-of-key-witness-in-the-case
Information Source 2:	"Oxford County man found guilty of possessing child pornography, By Heather Rivers (Staff writer), Wodstock Sentinel-Review, February 29, 2012"
Information Location 2:	http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2012/02/29/oxford-county-man-found-guilty-of-possessing-child-pornography
Information Source 3:	"Former Burgessville man charged with possession and distribution of child pornography has won his appeal, By Heather Rivers (Staff writer), Woodstock Sentinel-Review, March 7, 2014"
Information Location 3:	http://www.simcoereformer.ca/2014/03/07/former-burgessville-man-charged-with-possession-and-distribution-of-child-pornography-has-won-his-appeal
Information Source 4:	"Duncan sentenced to 15 months, By Heather Rivers (Staff writer), Woodstock Sentinel-Review, May 15, 2012"
Information Location 4:	http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2012/05/15/duncan-sentenced-to-15-months
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William Duncan

Charge:

"Child Pornography (Possession, Manufacture, or Dissemination)"

Sentence:

15 months

Years Imprisoned:

1

Year Crime:

2009

Year Convicted:

2012

Year Cleared:

2014

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

England

City of Crime:

Burgessville

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous jury instructions allowed the jury to convict Duncan without him committing a crime.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

46

Age When Released:

47

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Crown questioned credibility of key witness in the case, By Heather Rivers (Staff writer), Woodstock Sentinel-Review, May 16, 2014"

Information Location 1:

http://www.lfpress.com/2014/05/16/crown-questioned-credibility-of-key-witness-in-the-case

Information Source 2:

"Oxford County man found guilty of possessing child pornography, By Heather Rivers (Staff writer), Wodstock Sentinel-Review, February 29, 2012"

Information Location 2:

http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2012/02/29/oxford-county-man-found-guilty-of-possessing-child-pornography

Information Source 3:

"Former Burgessville man charged with possession and distribution of child pornography has won his appeal, By Heather Rivers (Staff writer), Woodstock Sentinel-Review, March 7, 2014"

Information Location 3:

http://www.simcoereformer.ca/2014/03/07/former-burgessville-man-charged-with-possession-and-distribution-of-child-pornography-has-won-his-appeal

Information Source 4:

"Duncan sentenced to 15 months, By Heather Rivers (Staff writer), Woodstock Sentinel-Review, May 15, 2012"

Information Location 4:

http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2012/05/15/duncan-sentenced-to-15-months

Information Source 5:

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Book About Case (2):

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