Roland Fils

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Charge:	Drug Related (Possession or sale)
Sentence:	12 year minimum
Years Imprisoned:	5.5
Year Crime:	2006
Year Convicted:	2008
Year Cleared:	2012
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:	Hampden
City of Crime:	Springfield
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Roland Fils and Sharon Haywood were codefendants wrongly convicted in July 2008 of cocaine trafficking in Springfield, Massachusetts. After their conviction by a jury Fils and Haywood were sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 10 years for their drug convictions, and Fils was sentenced to an additional 2 year consecutive sentence for violating a school drug free zone. Fils and Haywood appealed arguing that their constitutional right to confront their accuser was violated because the lab technician who tested the alleged cocaine and wrote the lab report that the prosecution introduced into evidence did not testify -- and consequently Fils and Haywood couldn't cross-examine him. Their convictions were overturned and retrials ordered after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it violated a defendant's right of confrontation for a lab report not to be introduced by the technician who wrote the report. After a retrial Roland Fils was acquitted of cocaine trafficking by a jury on January 6, 2012. After Fils' acquittal, the Hampden County District Attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Sharon Haywood that was granted on January 19, 2012."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"After a retrial Roland Fils was acquitted of cocaine trafficking by a jury on January 6, 2012."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	State compensation claim denied
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	35
Age When Released:	41
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Roland Fils of Springfield, in jail since 2006, acquitted in retrial of cocaine trafficking charges, By Buffy Spencer, Masslive.com, January 16, 2012"
Information Location 1:	http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/roland_fils_acquited_of_cocain.html
Information Source 2:	"Cocaine trafficking charge against Sharon Haywood of Springfield dropped, By Buffy Spencer, Masslive.com, January 20, 2012"
Information Location 2:	http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/cocaine_trafficking_charge_aga.html
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Roland Fils

Charge:

Drug Related (Possession or sale)

Sentence:

12 year minimum

Years Imprisoned:

5.5

Year Crime:

2006

Year Convicted:

2008

Year Cleared:

2012

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Hampden

City of Crime:

Springfield

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"After a retrial Roland Fils was acquitted of cocaine trafficking by a jury on January 6, 2012."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

State compensation claim denied

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

35

Age When Released:

41

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Roland Fils of Springfield, in jail since 2006, acquitted in retrial of cocaine trafficking charges, By Buffy Spencer, Masslive.com, January 16, 2012"

Information Location 1:

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/roland_fils_acquited_of_cocain.html

Information Source 2:

"Cocaine trafficking charge against Sharon Haywood of Springfield dropped, By Buffy Spencer, Masslive.com, January 20, 2012"

Information Location 2:

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/cocaine_trafficking_charge_aga.html

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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