David Gladden

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	12
Year Crime:	1994
Year Convicted:	1995
Year Cleared:	2007
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Pennsylvania
County or Region of Crime:	Dauphin
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"David Gladden was wrongly convicted in 1995 of murdering an elderly woman who was set on fire. Gladden was implicated by another man who was charged with committing the crime. The man claimed he and Gladden burglarized the woman's apartment and Gladden chocked the woman. Gladden was sentenced to life in prison. In 2006 investigative reporter Pete Shellem with the Harrisburg Patriot-News learned that a serial murderer lived in the same building as the victim in Gladden's case. The paroled killer who lived in the building had preyed on elderly women by sexually assaulting them and then setting fire to one to cover up the crime. That was a method of operation similar to the crime Gladden had been convicted of committing. Shellem took his information to the district attorney, who agreed to reopen the case. Shellem's news stories caused a man to come forth and counter Andrew Dillon's alibi. Gladden's co-defendant was reinterviewed, and he admitted that neither he nor Gladden had anything to do with the crime, but the police had coerced him into confessing and naming Gladden. The man's claims were credible because in his confession he gave the wrong location of the murder, he didn't know details of the crime, and he didn't even know whether the victim was black or white. The charges were dropped against Gladden and he was released on February 16, 2007."
Conviction Caused By:	False confession by co-defendant who was coerced by the police to confess and name Gladden as his accomplice.
Innocence Proved By:	"The charges were dropped against Gladden and he was released on February 16, 2007."
Defendant Aided By:	Investigative reporter Pete Shellem with the Harrisburg Patriot-News
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"The Sleuth, By Mario Cattabiani, American Journalism Review, June-July 2007"
Information Location 1:	http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4341
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David Gladden

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

12

Year Crime:

1994

Year Convicted:

1995

Year Cleared:

2007

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Pennsylvania

County or Region of Crime:

Dauphin

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confession by co-defendant who was coerced by the police to confess and name Gladden as his accomplice.

Innocence Proved By:

"The charges were dropped against Gladden and he was released on February 16, 2007."

Defendant Aided By:

Investigative reporter Pete Shellem with the Harrisburg Patriot-News

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"The Sleuth, By Mario Cattabiani, American Journalism Review, June-July 2007"

Information Location 1:

http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4341

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