Benjamin Harris

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	12
Year Crime:	1984
Year Convicted:	1985
Year Cleared:	1997
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Washington
County or Region of Crime:	Pierce
City of Crime:	Tacoma
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Benjamin Harris was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1985 based on his false confession while he was in a delusional state. Federal Judge Robert Bryan granted Harris' writ of habeas corpus in 1997, finding that his trial and legal representation was so seriously flawed that his guilt wasn't established. Prior to Harris' capital trial, his lawyer spent less two hours with him, and less than 12 other hours working on his case. At the time Harris was the only person in Washington State exonerated and released from death row."
Conviction Caused By:	False confession
Innocence Proved By:	Writ of Habeas Corpus granted by federal judge in 1997.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	Death Penalty Information Center
Information Location 1:	http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Innocentlist.html
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Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Benjamin Harris

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

12

Year Crime:

1984

Year Convicted:

1985

Year Cleared:

1997

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Washington

County or Region of Crime:

Pierce

City of Crime:

Tacoma

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confession

Innocence Proved By:

Writ of Habeas Corpus granted by federal judge in 1997.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

Death Penalty Information Center

Information Location 1:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Innocentlist.html

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Book About Case:

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Book About Case (2):

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Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: