William Haughey

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Charge:	Arson
Sentence:	10 yrs
Years Imprisoned:	8.2
Year Crime:	2007
Year Convicted:	2008
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Putnam
City of Crime:	Carmel
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"William Haughey was wrongly convicted on February 15, 2008 of arson in a fire at Smalley's Inn restaurant in Carmel, New York on March 10, 2007. Haughey's prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence and the expert testimony of a fire expert that the fire was arson. After his conviction by a jury, Haughey was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Haughey's conviction was affirmed on direct appeal by the New York state courts and his post-conviction petition based on ineffective assistance of counsel and insufficient evidence was denied. In 2013 Haughey filed a federal habeas corpus petition. The petition included new expert evidence that the fire was not deliberately set, and the expert testimony the jury relied on was not reliable. After new Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy took office in January 2016, the DA's Office reversed course and conceeded that based on the new expert evidence Haughey's conviction was a miscarriage of justice. Haughey was ordered freed on bail on May 9, 2016 with the support of the DA's Office. On May 23, 2016 U.S. District Court Judge Vincent Bricetti granted Haughey's federal habeas corpus petition on the basis he was actually innocent, and ordered his unconditional release."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On May 23, 2016 U.S. District Court Judge Vincent Bricetti granted Haughey's federal habeas corpus petition on the basis he was actually innocent, and ordered his unconditional release."
Defendant Aided By:	Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice.
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	36
Age When Released:	44
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Man exonerated in Smalley's Inn arson conviction, By Jonathan Bandler, The Journal News (lohud.com), May 25, 2016"
Information Location 1:	http://www.lohud.com/story/news/2016/05/24/2008-putnam-arson-conviction-tossed/84860494/
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William Haughey

Charge:

Arson

Sentence:

10 yrs

Years Imprisoned:

8.2

Year Crime:

2007

Year Convicted:

2008

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Putnam

City of Crime:

Carmel

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On May 23, 2016 U.S. District Court Judge Vincent Bricetti granted Haughey's federal habeas corpus petition on the basis he was actually innocent, and ordered his unconditional release."

Defendant Aided By:

Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice.

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

36

Age When Released:

44

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Man exonerated in Smalley's Inn arson conviction, By Jonathan Bandler, The Journal News (lohud.com), May 25, 2016"

Information Location 1:

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/2016/05/24/2008-putnam-arson-conviction-tossed/84860494/

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