Frank Howell

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Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	15 years to Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	1.67
Year Crime:	1929
Year Convicted:	1929
Year Cleared:	1931
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	West Virginia
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:
Result:	Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Frank Howell was wrongly convicted of robbing a gas station in September 1929 based on an eyewitness identification by the station's owner. His wife Norma was acquitted. Frank Howell was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. On January 5, 1931 a couple awaiting execution confessed to the robbery, and they had a likeness to the Howells. Nine days later West Virginia Governor William G. Conley granted Howell a full pardon. The West Virginia legislature later voted Howell $1,000 compensation."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification by the gas station owner.
Innocence Proved By:	"Pardoned by West Virginia Governor William G. Conley on January 14, 1931."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$1,000 (State of West Virginia, 1931)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Convicting the Innocent - Sixty-Five Actual Errors of Criminal Justice, by Edwin Borchard, Yale Univ Press, 1932"
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Frank Howell

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

15 years to Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

1.67

Year Crime:

1929

Year Convicted:

1929

Year Cleared:

1931

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

West Virginia

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification by the gas station owner.

Innocence Proved By:

"Pardoned by West Virginia Governor William G. Conley on January 14, 1931."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$1,000 (State of West Virginia, 1931)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Convicting the Innocent - Sixty-Five Actual Errors of Criminal Justice, by Edwin Borchard, Yale Univ Press, 1932"

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