Joseph R. Fears Jr

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Charge:	Sexual Assault and Robbery
Sentence:	15 to 75 years
Years Imprisoned:	26
Year Crime:	1983
Year Convicted:	1984
Year Cleared:	2009
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Ohio
County or Region of Crime:	Franklin
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Joseph Fears Jr. was wrongly convicted in 1984 of a 1983 rape based on the victim's eyewitness identification. Joseph Fears Jr. was sentenced to between 15 and 75 years in prison. DNA testing unavilable at the time of his trial excluded him as the rapist. Fears' rape conviction was vacated and he was released from prison on March 10, 2009. On July 28, 2010 the Ohio Court of Claims awarded Joesph Fears $237,884.70 in compensation, with Fears to receive $212,534.70 and his lawyer Isabella D. Thomas to receive $25,350."
Conviction Caused By:	Mistaken eyewitness identification by the victim
Innocence Proved By:	"Conviction overturned and released on March 10, 2009 based on DNA tests unavailable at the time of Fears' trial that exclude him as the assailant."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$237,884.70 (State of Ohio, July 28, 2010 -- $212,534.70 to Fears and $25,350 to attorney.)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	25
Age When Released:	61
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Columbus man finally freed from prison, By Mike Wagner and Geoff Dutton, The Columbus Dispatch, March 10, 2009"
Information Location 1:	http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/10/fears_web.html?sid=101
Information Source 2:	"Joseph Fears Jr. v. The State of Ohio, No. 2009-03461-WI (Ohio Ct. of Claims, 7-28-2010) (Decision)"
Information Location 2:	http://cases.ohiocourtofclaims.gov/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/streamfile.p?Serial=100728001210591&Seq=1
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Joseph R. Fears Jr

Charge:

Sexual Assault and Robbery

Sentence:

15 to 75 years

Years Imprisoned:

26

Year Crime:

1983

Year Convicted:

1984

Year Cleared:

2009

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Ohio

County or Region of Crime:

Franklin

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Mistaken eyewitness identification by the victim

Innocence Proved By:

"Conviction overturned and released on March 10, 2009 based on DNA tests unavailable at the time of Fears' trial that exclude him as the assailant."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$237,884.70 (State of Ohio, July 28, 2010 -- $212,534.70 to Fears and $25,350 to attorney.)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

25

Age When Released:

61

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Columbus man finally freed from prison, By Mike Wagner and Geoff Dutton, The Columbus Dispatch, March 10, 2009"

Information Location 1:

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/10/fears_web.html?sid=101

Information Source 2:

"Joseph Fears Jr. v. The State of Ohio, No. 2009-03461-WI (Ohio Ct. of Claims, 7-28-2010) (Decision)"

Information Location 2:

http://cases.ohiocourtofclaims.gov/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/streamfile.p?Serial=100728001210591&Seq=1

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

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Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: