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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder and Rape |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole |
Years Imprisoned: |
17.67 |
Year Crime: |
1994 |
Year Convicted: |
1995 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Vermont |
County or Region of Crime: |
Windham |
City of Crime: |
West Dover |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"John Grega was wrongly convicted on August 4, 1995 for the rape and murder of his wife on September 12, 1994 in West Dover, Vermont. Grega was sentenced to life in prison. Post-conviction DNA testing of evidence in 2012 that was recovered from Grega's wife excluded him as her assailant. Gregas's conviction was vacated with the support of the prosecution and he was released on bond on August 22, 2012. The charges against Grega were dismissed on August 21, 2013. Grega died on January 23, 2014 in Lake Ronkonkoma when he lost control of the van he was driving and it struck a tree. Grega was 52. At the time of his death Grega federal civil rights lawsuit was pending that he filed in 2014 and that named as defendants: The town of Dover; one current and two former state police troopers; and former Windham County State’s Attorney Dan Davis for their role in what Grega described as his false conviction. Grega died in an automobile crash in January 2015. On April 22, 2016 the Vermont AG Bill Sorrell issued a statement that the estate of John Grega had been awarded $1.55 million under Vermont's Innocence Protection Act. After the settlement was announced, Grega's estate agreed to dismissal of his federal civil rights lawsuit." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"Post-conviction DNA testing of evidence in 2012 that was recovered from Grega's wife excluded him as her assailant. Gregas's conviction was vacated in 2012 and he was released on bail. The charges against Grega were dismissed on August 21, 2013." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$1.55 mil (State of Vermont, April 2016)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
32 |
Age When Released: |
50 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Vermont murder charges against LI man dropped, By Kevin Deutsch (staff), Newsday (Long Island ed), August 21, 2013" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/vermont-murder-charges-against-li-man-dropped-1.5934062 |
Information Source 2: |
"NY man whose Vermont murder conviction was vacated after 18 years in prison dies in car crash, By The Associated Press, Daily Journal, January 23, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/5af06407ddd049d495671b31c5c2ce5f/NY--Conviction-Overturned-Traffic-Death/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Grega killed in crash: Was freed from murder conviction in 2012, By Mike Eldred, The Deerfield Valley News, January 30, 2015" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.dvalnews.com/view/full_story_obits/26430185/article-Grega-killed-in-crash--Was-freed-from-murder-conviction-in-2012?instance=home_news_left |
Information Source 4: |
"State to pay $1.55M to man whose murder conviction was overturned, By Staff, Rutland Herald, April 22,2016" |
Information Location 4: |
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20160422/THISJUSTIN/160429813 |
Information Source 5: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org