Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Criminal Mistreatment |
Sentence: |
2 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
1.5 |
Year Crime: |
2011 |
Year Convicted: |
2013 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Oregon |
County or Region of Crime: |
Washington |
City of Crime: |
Hillsboro |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Elesia Kay English and Kevin John Faill were wrongly convicted after separate trials of first-degree criminal mistreatment in Washington County, Oregon after Faill's dog bite her 10-year-old daughter on two different occasions in the summer of 2011. At the time Faill was English's boyfriend..During English's bench (judge only) trial the prosecution argued she was guilty of criminal mistretment of her daughter because she knew the dog had a propensity to bite. At the close of evidence English's lawyer made a motion for a judgment of acquittal based on the argument the prosecution didn't introduce evidence that met the legal standard that she "knowingly engage in assaultive conduct" that is required for a conviction of first-degree criminal mistreatment under ORS 163.205(1)(b)(A). The judge denied the motion, and found her guilty in agreeing with the prosecution's argument that her knowledge of the dog's history of biting people was sufficient for her to be found guilty of first-degree criminal mistreatment, English was sentenced to two years in prison. English appealed, renewing her argument that the prosecution's evidence does not permit an inference she knowingly caused injuries to her daughter. On February 25, 2015 the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed English's conviction on the basis the prosecution failied to introduce sufficient evidence that she "knowingly" committed criminal mistreatment. The Court stated that English's ""failure to remove a dangerous dog did not constitute a knowingly assaultive act, [because] the evidence does not permit an inference that defendant knew her omission was of an assaultive nature. ... The indictment, []charges defendant with a crime that requires proof that she knowingly engaged in assaultive conduct. The evidence is insufficient to show that defendant knowingly caused Vs injuries on either charged occasion, and the conviction must be reversed." State of Oregon v. Elisia Kay English, No. A153228 (Ct. of Appeals, 2-25-2015). On March 18, 2015 the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed Kevin Faill's conviction conviction of first-degree criminal mistreatment. The appeals court's two sentence ruling simply stated: "Reversed. State v. English, 269 Or App 395, ___ P3d ___ (2015)." Elesia and Kevin's married after the incidents in 2011, however, their divorce was final in Marion County Circuit Court in March 2015." |
Conviction Caused By: |
The trial judge allowed the prosecution to misapply Oregon's first-degree criminal mistreatment statute. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On February 25, 2015 the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed English's convictions on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove she committed first-degree criminal mistreatment. On March 18, 2015 the Oregon Court of Appeals cited English's case in reversing Faill's convictions on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove he committed first-degree criminal mistreatment." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
31 |
Age When Released: |
33 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"State of Oregon v. Elisia Kay English, 269 Or App 395, ___ P3d ___ (2015) (Ct. of Appeals, 2-25-2015) (Reversing conviction on the basis of insuffiicent evidence.)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/docs/A153228.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Oregon Court of Appeals reverses mom's conviction for dog bites to daughter, By Emily E. Smith (Staff writer), The Oregonian, February 26, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2015/02/oregon_court_of_appeals_reverses.html |
Information Source 3: |
"State of Oregon v. Kevin John Faill, No. A153229 (Ct. of Appeals, 3-18-2015) (Reversing conviction on the basis of insuffiicent evidence.)" |
Information Location 3: |
http://cases.justia.com/oregon/court-of-appeals/2015-a153229.pdf?ts=1426702579 |
Information Source 4: |
"Divorces, March 9-13, Statesman-Journal (Salem, Oregon), March 13, 2015" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2015/03/14/divorces-march/70311654/ |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org