Rondaiges A. Harper

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Charge:	"Carjacking, Kidnapping & Conspiracy"
Sentence:	30 years
Years Imprisoned:	2
Year Crime:	2013
Year Convicted:	2014
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Delaware
County or Region of Crime:	Kent
City of Crime:	Milford
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Rondaiges A. Harper was wrongly convicted on June 26, 2015 of carjacking, kidnapping, and conspiracy related to the theft of the car of 89-year-old Margaret E. Smith in Milford, Delaware on March 18, 2013, and the locking of her in the trunk for two days. Harper was 17 at the time of the crime. Harper's three codefendants all pled guilty to multiple charges and were given lengthy sentences. Harper was tried by a jury, asserting the defense that when he got in the car he didn't know Smith had been kidnapped and was in the trunk. The trial judge denied Harper's motions for a directed verdict of acquittal at the close of the prosecution's case. After his conviction by a jury that deliberated for 40 minutes, Harper was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Harper appealed. On August 13, 2015 the Supreme Court of Delaware unanimously reversed all of Harper's convictions. The Court ruled he wasn't guilty of carjacking -- which is not a continuing crime -- because the car had been stolen and the victim placed in the trunk before he got into the vehicle and he had no knowledge of what had taken place; there was insuffiicent evidence he committed kidnapping; and, there was insufficient evidence he committed conspiracy."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On August 13, 2015 the Supreme Court of Delaware unanimously reversed all of Harper's convictions. The Court ruled he wasn't guilty of carjacking -- which is not a continuing crime -- because the car had been stolen and the victim placed in the trunk before he got into the vehicle and he had no knowledge of what had taken place; there was insuffiicent evidence he committed kidnapping; and, there was insufficient evidence he committed conspiracy."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	17
Age When Released:	19
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Rondaiges A. Harper v. State of Delaware, No. 453, 2014 (Supreme Ct of Delaware, 8-13-2015) (Reversing all convictions.)"
Information Location 1:	http://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/download.aspx?ID=228110
Information Source 2:	"Teen found guilty in Sussex kidnapping case, By James Fisher, The News Journal, June 27, 2014"
Information Location 2:	http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/06/26/teen-found-guilty-sussex-kidnapping-case/11433489/
Information Source 3:	"Judge dismisses new charges after initial conviction overturned in elderly woman's kidnapping, By Associated Press, Daily Journal, December 17, 2015"
Information Location 3:	http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/a5269cbc5b8e470bb1c5306ef9e23dcf/DE--Woman-Abducted
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Rondaiges A. Harper

Charge:

"Carjacking, Kidnapping & Conspiracy"

Sentence:

30 years

Years Imprisoned:

2

Year Crime:

2013

Year Convicted:

2014

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Delaware

County or Region of Crime:

Kent

City of Crime:

Milford

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

17

Age When Released:

19

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Rondaiges A. Harper v. State of Delaware, No. 453, 2014 (Supreme Ct of Delaware, 8-13-2015) (Reversing all convictions.)"

Information Location 1:

http://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/download.aspx?ID=228110

Information Source 2:

"Teen found guilty in Sussex kidnapping case, By James Fisher, The News Journal, June 27, 2014"

Information Location 2:

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/06/26/teen-found-guilty-sussex-kidnapping-case/11433489/

Information Source 3:

"Judge dismisses new charges after initial conviction overturned in elderly woman's kidnapping, By Associated Press, Daily Journal, December 17, 2015"

Information Location 3:

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/a5269cbc5b8e470bb1c5306ef9e23dcf/DE--Woman-Abducted

Information Source 4:

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