Michael Ray Hansen

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Charge:	Second Degree Murder
Sentence:	14-1-2 years
Years Imprisoned:	6.5
Year Crime:	2004
Year Convicted:	2006
Year Cleared:	2011
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Minnesota
County or Region of Crime:	Douglas
City of Crime:	Alexandria
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Michael Ray Hansen was wrongly convicted in 2006 of second-degree murder in the death of his 3-1/2 month-old Avryonna, in May 2004 in Douglas County, Minnesota. There was expert medical testimony during Hansen's trial that Avryonna died from sudden infant death syndrome. After his conviction by a jury Michael Hansen was sentenced to 14-1/2 years in prison. A post-conviction investigation discovered new evidence that his daughter's fatal skull fracture was caused by an accidental fall from a shopping cart when Hansen wasn't present. In July 2011 Hansen's petition for a new trial was granted and his conviction was vacated based on the new evidence his daughter's death was accidental. A week before Hansen's retrial was scheduled to begin, the Douglas County DA's Office filed a motion to dismiss the charges that stated the DA's Office, "no longer believes that it can prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." A Douglas County judge granted the motion dismissing the charges. Hansen was in custody for more than 6 years. On April 13, 2016 it was reported that Michael Hansen would be receiving $917,000 in compensation. Hansen was one of three men who would be the first to receive compensation under Minnesota's wrongful imprisonment compensation law enacted in 2014."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"In July 2011 Hansen's petition for a new trial was granted and his conviction was vacated based on the new evidence his daughter's death was accidental. The Douglas County DA declined to retry Hansen, and he was released after more than 6 years in custody."
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project of Minnesota
Compensation Awarded:	"$917,000 (State of Minnesota, February 2016)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	28
Age When Released:	34
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Dad freed from conviction: 'It's over'; Murder charges dropped in 2004 death of infant daughter, By Nicole Norfleet (Staff Writer), Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.), September 19, 2011"
Information Location 1:	http://www.chadevanswronglyconvicted.org/documents/CombinedMichaelHansen2008appealand2011articles.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Minn. panel approves payment of $1.8M to three freed after wrongful convictions, By Matt Sepic, MPRNews (St. Paul), April 13, 2016"
Information Location 2:	http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/04/13/payments-to-wrongfully-convicted
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Michael Ray Hansen

Charge:

Second Degree Murder

Sentence:

14-1-2 years

Years Imprisoned:

6.5

Year Crime:

2004

Year Convicted:

2006

Year Cleared:

2011

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Minnesota

County or Region of Crime:

Douglas

City of Crime:

Alexandria

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"In July 2011 Hansen's petition for a new trial was granted and his conviction was vacated based on the new evidence his daughter's death was accidental. The Douglas County DA declined to retry Hansen, and he was released after more than 6 years in custody."

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project of Minnesota

Compensation Awarded:

"$917,000 (State of Minnesota, February 2016)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

28

Age When Released:

34

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Dad freed from conviction: 'It's over'; Murder charges dropped in 2004 death of infant daughter, By Nicole Norfleet (Staff Writer), Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.), September 19, 2011"

Information Location 1:

http://www.chadevanswronglyconvicted.org/documents/CombinedMichaelHansen2008appealand2011articles.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Minn. panel approves payment of $1.8M to three freed after wrongful convictions, By Matt Sepic, MPRNews (St. Paul), April 13, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/04/13/payments-to-wrongfully-convicted

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