Lewis Jim Fogle

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Charge:	Second Degree Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	34.42
Year Crime:	1976
Year Convicted:	1982
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Pennsylvania
County or Region of Crime:	Indiana
City of Crime:	Cherry Tree
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Lewis Jim Fogle (aka Jim Fogle) was wrongly convicted in 1982 of second-degree murder in the rape and shooting death of 15-year-old Deann "Kathy" Long in Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania on July 31, 1976. Five years after the crime Lewis Fogle was arrested in March 1981. There was no physical, forensic, eyewitness or confession evidence linking Fogle to the crime, so his prosecution was based primarily on the testimony of three jailhouse informants who claimed that Fogle confessed to them while jailed after his arrest. Fogle presented an alibi defense. He testified in his own defense and asserted that he spent the afternoon with his parents and brothers and that evening went to a friend’s house and later to a bar. This timeline was supported by his parents. After Fogle's conviction by a jury he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Post-conviction DNA testing excluded Fogle as the source of semen found on Ms. Long's body. The semen was deposited by an unidentified man. On August 13, 2015 Centre County Senior Judge David Grine vacated Fogle's conviction in granting a motion for a new trial filed by Fogle's attorney's that was not opposed by Indiana County DA Patrick Dougherty. Fogle was released later that day on an unsecured bond pending the DA's determination after a 30 day review of whether to pursue Fogle's retrial. On September 14, 2015 Judge Grine granted the DA's motion to dismiss the indictment because in light of the new DNA evidence the case against Fogle was without "prosecutorial merit." Fogle's wife Deb Fogle stayed married to him for the duration of his time in prison, and was waiting for him when he was released on August 13, 2015."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On August 13, 2015 Centre County Senior Judge David Grine vacated Fogle's conviction in granting a motion for a new trial filed by Fogle's attorney's that was not opposed by Indiana County DA Patrick Dougherty. On September 14, 2015 Judge Grine granted the DA's motion to dismiss the indictment because in light of the new DNA evidence the case against Fogle was without "prosecutorial merit.""
Defendant Aided By:	"Pennsylvania Innocence Project, and Innocence Project of New York"
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	29
Age When Released:	63
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Indiana County man wrongfully jailed for 34 years, cleared, By Michael A. Fuoco (Staff writer), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 15, 2015"
Information Location 1:	http://www.post-gazette.com/local/east/2015/09/14/With-murder-conviction-vacated-Indiana-County-man-learns-he-won-t-be-tried-again/stories/201509140165
Information Source 2:	"After 34 years in prison Indiana County man freed thanks to DNA evidence, By Michael A. Fuoco (Staff writer), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 2015"
Information Location 2:	http://www.post-gazette.com/local/east/2015/08/13/DNA-evidence-results-in-vacation-of-conviction-in-Indiana-County-murder-case/stories/201508130176
Information Source 3:	"A long path to justice: After a lengthy legal battle, one man regains his freedom, By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 20, 2015"
Information Location 3:	http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2015/12/20/After-a-lengthy-legal-battle-Jim-Fogle-regains-his-freedom-murder-exoneration/stories/201512140180
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Lewis Jim Fogle

Charge:

Second Degree Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

34.42

Year Crime:

1976

Year Convicted:

1982

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Pennsylvania

County or Region of Crime:

Indiana

City of Crime:

Cherry Tree

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

"Pennsylvania Innocence Project, and Innocence Project of New York"

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

29

Age When Released:

63

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Indiana County man wrongfully jailed for 34 years, cleared, By Michael A. Fuoco (Staff writer), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 15, 2015"

Information Location 1:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/east/2015/09/14/With-murder-conviction-vacated-Indiana-County-man-learns-he-won-t-be-tried-again/stories/201509140165

Information Source 2:

"After 34 years in prison Indiana County man freed thanks to DNA evidence, By Michael A. Fuoco (Staff writer), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/east/2015/08/13/DNA-evidence-results-in-vacation-of-conviction-in-Indiana-County-murder-case/stories/201508130176

Information Source 3:

"A long path to justice: After a lengthy legal battle, one man regains his freedom, By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 20, 2015"

Information Location 3:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2015/12/20/After-a-lengthy-legal-battle-Jim-Fogle-regains-his-freedom-murder-exoneration/stories/201512140180

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