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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Accessory after the crime |
Sentence: |
5 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
1.5 |
Year Crime: |
2010 |
Year Convicted: |
2012 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Mississippi |
County or Region of Crime: |
Forrest |
City of Crime: |
Hattiesburg |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Jason Hall was wrongly convicted on July 12, 2012 of being an accessory after the crime of burglary in Forrest County, Mississippi, but he was acquitted by the jury of burglary. The alleged burglary occurred on September 1, 2010 in Hattiesburg, and Hall (and two others) was only indicted for burglary of a building on April 8, 2011. After his conviction by a jury Hall was sentenced as a habitual offender (based on previous conviction) to 5 years in prison. "Hall filed a post-trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, in the alternative, a new trial. He argued, inter alia, that he was convicted of a crime for which he was never indicted; therefore, the trial court should "set[] aside the jury verdict[.]" The trial court denied Hall's motion, and he filed this appeal." On December 12, 2013 the Mississippi Supreme Court set-aside Jason Hall's conviction of being an accessory after the fact to burglary, because he had not been charged with that crime, and it was not a lesser included offense of his indicted crime of burglary. The Court's ruling stated: " We reverse the judgment of conviction and vacate his sentence. We discern no benefit in remanding this case to the circuit court for further proceedings. As Hall was acquitted of burglary, and there is no charging document (indictment) in the record, no further action is necessary by the trial court. ... As Hall was convicted of a crime for which he was not indicted, we are duty bound to reverse the judgment of conviction and vacate Hall's sentence." [All quotes from: Hall v. State, 127 So. 3d 202, 207 - Miss: Supreme Court 2013] On January 30, 2014, Hall filed a complaint against the State of Mississippi, seeking compensation under the Wrongful Conviction Act, Mississippi Code Section 11-44-1 to -15. After some procedual manuevering, a Forrest County Circuit Court judge entered a final order denying Hall's complaint on the basis he had failed to establish his innocence as required by Section 11-44-7(1)(b). Hall appealed. On March 17, 2016 the Mississippi Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Circuit Court judge's ruling in stating: "the offense for which Hall was convicted and sentenced, accessory after the fact, is not a lesser-included offense of burglary of building, as charged in the indictment for cause number 11-178CR. ... Thus, there is (or was) no indictment for the accessory-after-the-fact offense for which Hall was convicted and sentenced, to either dismiss, nol pross, or pass to the files. ... Hall therefore meets the statutory prerequisites of Section 11-44-3(1)(c). Accordingly, the circuit court's finding that Hall had failed to establish his innocence as required by Section 11-44-7(1)(b), on the basis that the Order Passing to Inactive Files was neither a dismissal nor a nol pross pursuant to Section 11-44-3(1)(c), was error." The Court remanded the case back to the Circuit Court for a hearing. [Quotes from: Hall v. State, 187 So. 3d 133 - Miss: Supreme Court 2016]" |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 12, 2013 the Mississippi Supreme Court set-aside Jason Hall's conviction of being an accessory after the fact to burglary, because he had not been charged with that crime, and it was not a lesser included offense of his indicted crime of burglary. The Court's ruling stated: " We reverse the judgment of conviction and vacate his sentence. We discern no benefit in remanding this case to the circuit court for further proceedings. As Hall was acquitted of burglary, and there is no charging document (indictment) in the record, no further action is necessary by the trial court. ... As Hall was convicted of a crime for which he was not indicted, we are duty bound to reverse the judgment of conviction and vacate Hall's sentence." [Hall v. State, 127 So. 3d 202, 207 - Miss: Supreme Court 2013]" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$126,507 (State of Mississippi, Nov. 18, 2016) Plus $31,626.75 attorneys fees, plus attorney expenses of $3,460.90." |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
28 |
Age When Released: |
30 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Hall v. State, 127 So. 3d 202 (Miss: Supreme Court, 12-12-2013) (Reversing ocnviction and sentence because Hall was convicted of a crime of which he wasn't charged.)" |
Information Location 1: |
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=965683570225204374&q=jason+hall+mississippi&hl=en&as_sdt=4006 |
Information Source 2: |
"Hall v. State, 187 So. 3d 133 (Miss: Supreme Court, 3-17-2016) (Reversing dismissal of compensation claim and remanding to Circuit Court for hearing.)" |
Information Location 2: |
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7538841764710653282&q=jason+hall+mississippi&hl=en&as_sdt=4006 |
Information Source 3: |
"Hall v. State, 241 So. 3d 629 (Miss: Supreme Court, 2-1-2018) (Awarding Hall's attorney 25% of Hall's award of $126,507 plus expenses.)" |
Information Location 3: |
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5064112645763428945&q=jason+hall+mississippi&hl=en&as_sdt=4006 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org