Robert J. Enzensperger

Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Charge:	Drug Related (Possession or sale)
Sentence:	2 to 10 years
Years Imprisoned:	0.25
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	1956
Year Cleared:	1956
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Nevada
County or Region of Crime:	Clark
City of Crime:	Las Vegas
Result:	Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Robert J. Enzensperger was wrongly convicted of narcotics possession by a jury in February 1956. He was sentenced to two to ten years in prison. Enzensperger, a teacher in Sunnyvale, California, checked in his suitcase for a flight from the San Francisco airport to Las Vegas His suitcase was "lost" enroute, and after it was recovered by the airline the police inspected its contents, and found it contained marijuana. Enzensperger was charged with narcotics possession. Enzensperger's defense during his trial was that his suitcase had been tampered with after he checked it in at the San Francisco airport. After his conviction his family contacted Col. George White, district supervisor of the Federal Narcotics Bureau in San Francisco, and asked that the bureau investigate Enzensperger's case. Col. White initiated an investigation which discovered evidence -- including that the suitcase was diverted to Burbank, and that an airline manifest showed the weight of Enzensperger's suitcase was significantly different when he checked it in than when it was delvered in Las Vegas -- that supported Enzensperger's claim. The Narcotics Bureau's investigation was submitted to Nevada authorities, with Col. White's comment that he believed "there is a possibility of a miscarriage of justice." Based on the new evidence, Enzensperger was pardoned by the Nevada Board of Pardons and Paroles on May 9, 1956 after 3 months of wrongful imprisonment. No compensation was paid for Enzensperger's ordeal."
Conviction Caused By:	His suitcase was tampered with after it was checked in at the San Francisco airport.
Innocence Proved By:	"Pardoned by the Nevada Board of Pardons and Paroles on May 9, 1956."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	No
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"The Innocents, Edward Radin,William Morrow & Co., 1964, p. 248."
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Convicted Teacher Given Full Pardon in Nevada, By AP, The San Bernardino County Sun, May 10, 1956, pg. 5"
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	"Protection Of The Innocent By The Federal Narcotics Bureau, By Mr. Knowland, Congressional Record -- Senate, 102 Cong. Rec. 12315, July 11, 1956"
Information Location 3:	http://www.azwater.gov/AzDWR/SurfaceWater/Adjudications/documents/Aravaipa_Initial_Disclosures/USAV-00000014.PDF
Information Source 4:	"The Strange Case of the Framed Schoolteacher" By Jay Hubert, Inside Detective (magazine), June 1956"
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
Book About Case:
Book Information:
Book About Case (2):
Book Information (2):
Movie About Case:
Comments About Case:

Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Robert J. Enzensperger

Charge:

Drug Related (Possession or sale)

Sentence:

2 to 10 years

Years Imprisoned:

0.25

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1956

Year Cleared:

1956

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Nevada

County or Region of Crime:

Clark

City of Crime:

Las Vegas

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

His suitcase was tampered with after it was checked in at the San Francisco airport.

Innocence Proved By:

"Pardoned by the Nevada Board of Pardons and Paroles on May 9, 1956."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

No

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"The Innocents, Edward Radin,William Morrow & Co., 1964, p. 248."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Convicted Teacher Given Full Pardon in Nevada, By AP, The San Bernardino County Sun, May 10, 1956, pg. 5"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"Protection Of The Innocent By The Federal Narcotics Bureau, By Mr. Knowland, Congressional Record -- Senate, 102 Cong. Rec. 12315, July 11, 1956"

Information Location 3:

http://www.azwater.gov/AzDWR/SurfaceWater/Adjudications/documents/Aravaipa_Initial_Disclosures/USAV-00000014.PDF

Information Source 4:

"The Strange Case of the Framed Schoolteacher" By Jay Hubert, Inside Detective (magazine), June 1956"

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: