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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Third-degree Murder |
Sentence: |
7 years 2 months |
Years Imprisoned: |
3 |
Year Crime: |
2014 |
Year Convicted: |
2015 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Minnesota |
County or Region of Crime: |
Carlton |
City of Crime: |
Cloquet |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Robert Todd Ferguson was wrongly convicted in December 2014 of third-degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Paul Duane Mrosla in Carlton County, Minnesota on January 15, 2014. Ferguson's prosecution was based on Mrosla's consumption of illegally sold fentanyl, a powerful narcotic, that Ferguson's daughter Charity Ferguson, who was Mrosla's friend, testified was provided by Ferguson. Charity was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for agreeing to testify against her father, which made her a legal accomplice and required juror to more severely scrutinize her testimony for its possible truth or falsity. Ferguson denied providing Mrosla with the prescription fentanyl patch to Mrosla, from which he ingested fentanyl. The trial judge denied Ferguson's pretrial motion to dismiss the charge because it was based on Charity's inadmissible uncorroborated accomplice testimony. After his conviction by a jury Robert Ferguson was sentenced to serve 86 months ( 7 years and 2 months) in prison. On February 6, 2017 the Minnesota Court of Appeals unanimously reversed Ferguson's conviction based on insufficient evidence, because the prosecution's case was based on inadmissible uncorroborated accomplice testimony. The Court's ruling stated the record was "devoid of evidence corroborating" Charity's testimony her father sold the fentanyl patch to Mrosla. The appeals court also noted the State failed to file a brief opposing Ferguson's appeal. Ferguson was released on bond after the ruling. The State sought review of the ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court, but on April 26, 2017 the Court issued its order declining to review the case. The Supreme Court's order made the appeals courts ruling final." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Uncorroborated accomplice testimony. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On February 6, 2017 the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed Ferguson's conviction based on insufficient evidence, because the prosecution's case was based on inadmissible uncorroborated accomplice testimony. The State sought review of the ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court, but on April 26, 2017 the Court declined to review the case. The ruling made the appeals courts ruling final." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
50 |
Age When Released: |
53 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"State of Minnesota v. Robert Todd Ferguson, No. A16-0469 (Minn. Ct. of Appeals, Feb. 6, 2017) (Reversing conviction based on insufficient evidence because the prosecution's case was based on uncorroborated accomplice testimony.)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/court-of-appeals/2017/a16-0469.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Supreme Court won’t hear appeal of Cloquet man’s overturned conviction, By Tom Olsen, Duluth News Tribune, April 26, 2017" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/crime/4257345-supreme-court-wont-hear-appeal-cloquet-mans-overturned-conviction |
Information Source 3: |
"Murder conviction tossed in Carlton County fentanyl overdose, By Tom Olsen (Forum News Service), Pioneer Press (Twin Cities), February 6, 2017" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.twincities.com/2017/02/06/murder-conviction-tossed-in-carlton-county-fentanyl-overdose/ |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org