Lenell Geter

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Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	2
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	1982
Year Cleared:	1984
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Texas
County or Region of Crime:	Dallas
City of Crime:	Balch Springs
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Lenell Geter was wrongly convicted in 1982 of robbery based on eyewitness error by five people. Geter was an engineer, and his coworkers testified that he couldn't have committed a robbery during the afternoon in Balch Springs, Texas, 50 miles from where he worked in Greenville, Texas, because he was at work. He was nevertheless convicted by a jury. The actual robber was eventually captured and confessed to seven armed robberies, including the robbery Lenell Geter was convicted of committing. Morley Safer helped with Geter's exoneration. Safer's 1983 60 Minutes story, "Lenell Geter's in Jail," contributed to mobilizing support for Geter that resulted in his release. 60 Minutes longtime executive producer, Don Hewitt, would often call that piece "'60 Minutes' finest hour.""
Conviction Caused By:	Eyewitness error by five witnesses.
Innocence Proved By:	Coworkers who testified Geter was at work 50 miles from the robbery location were supported by the confession of the actual robber.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"NY Times, 3-22-84 and 10-14-84."
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Lenell Geter

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

2

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1982

Year Cleared:

1984

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Texas

County or Region of Crime:

Dallas

City of Crime:

Balch Springs

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Eyewitness error by five witnesses.

Innocence Proved By:

Coworkers who testified Geter was at work 50 miles from the robbery location were supported by the confession of the actual robber.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"NY Times, 3-22-84 and 10-14-84."

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