Michael James Holmes

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Charge:	Drug Related (Possession or sale)
Sentence:	25 yrs
Years Imprisoned:	5
Year Crime:	2003
Year Convicted:	2006
Year Cleared:	2011
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Missouri - Federal Case
County or Region of Crime:	St Louis
City of Crime:	St Louis
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Michael James Holmes was wrongly convicted in 2006 in federal court in St. Louis, Missouri, of possession of crack and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Holmes' conviction after a jury trial was based on the testimony of St. Louis police officers Shell Sharp and Bobby Lee Garrett, who said they found him with drugs in a 2003 raid. Michael Holmes was sentenced to 20 years for his drug conviction and 5 years for his firearm conviction, for a total sentence of 25 years in federal prison. In 2007 Holmes' direct appeal was denied. However, in 2008 and 2009 the credibility of Sharp and Garrett was called into question. Several cases were dismissed based on Sharp lying on search warrant affidavits, and in December 2008 Garrett and another officer were arrested and charged by federal prosecutors with stealing money, dealing drugs and planting evidence on innocent people. After his conviction Garrett was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison and the other officer, Vincent Carr was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Another officer was sentenced to three months in federal prison for stealing money, that he said Garrett pressured him into taking it. Based on the new evidence undermining the credibility of Sharp and Garrett's testimony, a federal judge reversed Holmes' conviction in 2011. The U.S. Attorney's Office's motion to dismiss Holmes' indictment was granted, since they had no credible evidence against Holmes. Holmes was released after five years in federal prison. On December 17, 2012 Holmes filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of St. Louis, Sharp and Garrett for violating his constitutional rights. On March 4, 2016 a jury awarded Holmes $2.5 million."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"Based on the new evidence undermining the credibility of Sharp and Garrett's testimony, a federal judge reversed Holmes' conviction in 2011. The U.S. Attorney's Office's motion to dismiss Holmes' indictment was granted, since they had no credible evidence against Holmes."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$2.5 mil. (City of St. Louis, March 4, 2016)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	47
Age When Released:	52
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"After police discredited, drug charges against St. Louis man are dropped, By Robert Patrick (Staff), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 27, 2011"
Information Location 1:	http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/after-police-discredited-drug-charges-against-st-louis-man-are/article_4d178e22-30eb-11e1-b0bb-0019bb30f31a.html
Information Source 2:	"Man freed from prison wins $2.5 million verdict on claim that St. Louis police officers lied about drugs, By Robert Patrick (Staff), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 4, 2016"
Information Location 2:	http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-freed-from-prison-wins-million-verdict-on-claim-that/article_8325d601-260a-57fa-9b52-a63479803069.html
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Michael James Holmes

Charge:

Drug Related (Possession or sale)

Sentence:

25 yrs

Years Imprisoned:

5

Year Crime:

2003

Year Convicted:

2006

Year Cleared:

2011

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Missouri - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

St Louis

City of Crime:

St Louis

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"Based on the new evidence undermining the credibility of Sharp and Garrett's testimony, a federal judge reversed Holmes' conviction in 2011. The U.S. Attorney's Office's motion to dismiss Holmes' indictment was granted, since they had no credible evidence against Holmes."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$2.5 mil. (City of St. Louis, March 4, 2016)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

47

Age When Released:

52

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"After police discredited, drug charges against St. Louis man are dropped, By Robert Patrick (Staff), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 27, 2011"

Information Location 1:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/after-police-discredited-drug-charges-against-st-louis-man-are/article_4d178e22-30eb-11e1-b0bb-0019bb30f31a.html

Information Source 2:

"Man freed from prison wins $2.5 million verdict on claim that St. Louis police officers lied about drugs, By Robert Patrick (Staff), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 4, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-freed-from-prison-wins-million-verdict-on-claim-that/article_8325d601-260a-57fa-9b52-a63479803069.html

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