Frank Grace

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	11
Year Crime:	1972
Year Convicted:	1974
Year Cleared:	1985
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Frank Grace was wrongly convicted of murder in 1974 along with his brother. Frank Grace was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Grace's conviction was based on an eyewitness, who recanted after Grace had been imprisoned for a decade. At an evidentiary hearing in 1984 evidence came out that the testimony of the eyewitness had been coached by New Bedford police, and Frank Grace's brother acknowledged he was solely responsible for the murder. Grace's conviction was overturned and he was released in 1985 after 11 years of wrongful imprisonment. Grace was a former Black Panther and activist, and he had been targeted by police as an "extremely dangerous troublemaker." (M of J, 118)"
Conviction Caused By:	Police misconduct by coaching the false testimony of the eyewitness.
Innocence Proved By:	Conviction overturned after an evidenciary hearing in 1984.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 118+."
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Wrongful Murder Convictions in Massachusetts, Amnesty International, June 20, 2004"
Information Location 2:	http://www.amnesty133.org/ai/actionteams/dp/mistake.htm
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Frank Grace

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

11

Year Crime:

1972

Year Convicted:

1974

Year Cleared:

1985

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Police misconduct by coaching the false testimony of the eyewitness.

Innocence Proved By:

Conviction overturned after an evidenciary hearing in 1984.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 118+."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Wrongful Murder Convictions in Massachusetts, Amnesty International, June 20, 2004"

Information Location 2:

http://www.amnesty133.org/ai/actionteams/dp/mistake.htm

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

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Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: