Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Lewis Gardner

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

30 years

Years Imprisoned:

15

Year Crime:

1992

Year Convicted:

1995

Year Cleared:

2014

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Daniel Taylor, Deon Patrick, Lewis Gardner and Paul Phillips were codefendants. They were four of five men convicted in the murders of Jeffrey Lassiter and Sharon Haugabook in Chicago in November 1992. The four defendants gave inconsistent confessions and recanted them as physically coerced by their police interrogators. A fifth defendant, Dennis Mixon, confessed and said he alone committed the crime that none of the other seven defendants arrested were involvred. In 2001 the Chicago Tribune investigated Taylor's case as part of its series "Cops and Confessions." The investigation discovered evidence supporting Taylor's claim he was in the lockup at Chicago's old Town Hall police station when the murders occurred. Taylor and Patrick had been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Taylor's conviction was vacated in June 2013 with the agreement of the Cook County State's Attorney in the "interest of justice." Patrick was released when his conviction was vacated on January 10, 2014. Gardner and Phillips had been released in 2007 after serving 15 years of their 30 year sentences. On June 24, 2014 the Cook County State's Attorney's motion was granted to dismiss the indictments against Lewis Gardner and Paul Phillips. After Gardner and Phillips were granted writs of actual innocence, the State of Illinois awarded them compensation of $220,732 in 2015."

Conviction Caused By:

False confessions by all four codefendants.

Innocence Proved By:

"On June 24, 2014 the Cook County State's Attorney's motion was granted to dismiss the indictments against Lewis Gardner and Paul Phillips."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$220,732 (State of Illinois, 2015)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

15

Age When Released:

30

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Judge tosses convictions of 2 who spent 15 years in prison, By Steve Mills (Tribune reporter), Chicago Tribune, June 24, 2014"

Information Location 1:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-06-24/news/chi-judge-tosses-convictions-of-2-men-who-spent-15-years-in-prison-20140624_1_judge-tosses-convictions-deon-patrick-murder-convictions

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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