Paula Gray (1987 conviction)

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Charge:	Perjury
Sentence:	10 years
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1978
Year Convicted:	1987
Year Cleared:	2001
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Cook
City of Crime:	Ford Heights
Result:	Judicially Exonerated and Later Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Paula Gray was wrongly convicted of murder, rape and robbery based on her false confession to the same crimes that the Ford Heights Four were convicted of. Her mental state made her highly susceptible to being induced to falsely confess to a crime she knew nothing about and implicate four innocent men (Ford Heights Four) at the same time. Her 1978 Presentence Investigation Report stated that at age 17 she had an IQ of 64 and she couldn't read, write or tell time. Paul Gray was also separately convicted of perjury in 1987 for recanting her testimony against the Ford Heights Four. Her perjury conviction was overturned in July 2001 by Cook County Circuit Court Judge William O'Neal. Gray was pardoned by Illinois Governor George Ryan on November 14, 2002, and that qualified her for a payment of at least $100,000 for her wrongful imprisonment. Gray filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Cook County that the Cook County Board agreed to settle for $4 million on December 18, 2008."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Judge to toss out conviction: Misconduct cited in ruling on Ford Heights Four case, By Ken Armstrong (Tribune legal affairs reporter), Chicago Tribune, July 10, 2001"
Information Location 1:	http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-07-10/news/0107100310_1_murder-and-rape-charges-conviction-perjury
Information Source 2:	"Ford Heights 4 Figure Pardoned: Woman surprised by Ryan action, By Douglas Holt and Steve Mills (Tribune staff reporters), Chicago Tribune, November 15, 2002"
Information Location 2:	http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-11-15/news/0211150398_1_convictions-carol-schmal-perjury
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Paula Gray (1987 conviction)

Charge:

Perjury

Sentence:

10 years

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1978

Year Convicted:

1987

Year Cleared:

2001

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Ford Heights

Result:

Judicially Exonerated and Later Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Judge to toss out conviction: Misconduct cited in ruling on Ford Heights Four case, By Ken Armstrong (Tribune legal affairs reporter), Chicago Tribune, July 10, 2001"

Information Location 1:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-07-10/news/0107100310_1_murder-and-rape-charges-conviction-perjury

Information Source 2:

"Ford Heights 4 Figure Pardoned: Woman surprised by Ryan action, By Douglas Holt and Steve Mills (Tribune staff reporters), Chicago Tribune, November 15, 2002"

Information Location 2:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-11-15/news/0211150398_1_convictions-carol-schmal-perjury

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: