Geither Horn

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Charge:	First Degree Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	24
Year Crime:	1935
Year Convicted:	1935
Year Cleared:	1959
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Washington
County or Region of Crime:	Franklin
City of Crime:	Pasco
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Geither Horn falsely confessed in 1935 to murder because three police officers took him to an open grave and told him they were going to bury him alive if he didn't sign a confession. He was convicted based on his confession and sentenced to life in prison. In 1959 a federal judge granted his writ of habeas corpus based on his newly discovered evidence that his confession had been coerced. He was released after 24 years of wrongful imprisonment. In 1963 the Washington State legislature awarded Horn $6,000 to be paid at $250 a month for 24 months. Horn filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the police officers which was settled in 1963 for an undisclosed amount."
Conviction Caused By:	Falsely confessed to murder because the police took him to an open grave and told him they were going to bury him alive if he didn't sign a confession.
Innocence Proved By:	Writ of Habeas Corpus granted by federal judge in June 1959.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$6,000 (State of Washington, 1963)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 128."
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Information Source 2:	"The Innocents, Edward Radin, William Morrow & Co., 1964, p. 241"
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Geither Horn

Charge:

First Degree Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

24

Year Crime:

1935

Year Convicted:

1935

Year Cleared:

1959

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Washington

County or Region of Crime:

Franklin

City of Crime:

Pasco

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Falsely confessed to murder because the police took him to an open grave and told him they were going to bury him alive if he didn't sign a confession.

Innocence Proved By:

Writ of Habeas Corpus granted by federal judge in June 1959.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$6,000 (State of Washington, 1963)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 128."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"The Innocents, Edward Radin, William Morrow & Co., 1964, p. 241"

Information Location 2:

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Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: