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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
First Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
6 |
Year Crime: |
1969 |
Year Convicted: |
1990 |
Year Cleared: |
1996 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
California |
County or Region of Crime: |
San Mateo |
City of Crime: |
Foster City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"George Thomas Franklin was wrongly convicted in November 1990 of first-degree murder in the 1969 murder of 8-year-old Susan Nason in Foster City, California. Franklin was sentenced in January 2001 to life in prison. Franklin was the first person in the U.S. convicted of murder based on the testiony of witness who recovered repressed memories of an event for more than 20 years. The witness was Franklin's daughter Eileen. After George Franklin's conviction was affirmed by the California State courts, he filed a federal writ of habeas corpus, which was granted on April 4, 1995. U.S. District Court Judge D. Lowell Jensen ruled that the trial judge permitting the prosecution to repeatedly make comments during the trial and closing argument over the objections of Franklin's counsel regarding Franklin's invocation of his right to remain silent perjudicially violated his Fifth Amendment Right to not incriminate himself. The judge also found that the involvement of his daughter in his interrogation and without the presence of counsel violated his Six Amendment right to counsel. The judge also found that the trial judge's evidentiary rulings had prejudicially deprived Franklin of his Fifth Amendment due process right to present a defense. Although the judge didn't make a specific ruling, he found the trial judge permitting the prosecution to conceal evidence impeaching the credibility of Franklin's daughter was "problematic." The San Mateo County DA declined to retry Franklin and his charges were dismissed and he was released in 1996." |
Conviction Caused By: |
"Unreliable testimony by the eyewitness who only "remembered" the event after being hypnotized." |
Innocence Proved By: |
"George Franklin's federal writ of habeas corpus was granted on April 4, 1995 based on prejudicial violations of this Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, his Fifth Amendment right to due process of law and a fair trial, and his Sixth Amendment right to counsel during his interrogation. The San Mateo County DA declined to retry Franklin and his charges were dismissed and he was released in 1996." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
51 |
Age When Released: |
57 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Franklin v. Duncan, 884 F. Supp. 1435 (Dist. Ct, ND California 1995) (Granting writ of habeas corpus)" |
Information Location 1: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3066228776991890480&q=George+Franklin+hypnosis&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 2: |
"Franklin v. Terr, 201 F. 3d 1098 (9th Ci. 2000) (Ruling that witnesses who commited perjury against Franklin cannot be sued under the federal civil rights laws.)" |
Information Location 2: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1080267059222582296&q=George+Franklin+hypnosis&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 3: |
"Franklin v. Fox, 312 F. 3d 423 (9th Cir. 2002) (Affirming Dist. Ct. dismissal of cvil rights lawsuit against all defendants.)" |
Information Location 3: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11383899760343365071&q=George+Franklin+hypnosis&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 4: |
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Information Location 4: |
"Implanting False Memories: Lost in the Mall & Paul Ingram, www.spring.org.uk, February 2008" |
Information Source 5: |
http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/02/implanting-false-memories-lost-in-mall.php |
Information Location 5: |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org