Henry W. James Jr

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole
Years Imprisoned:	29.92
Year Crime:	1981
Year Convicted:	1982
Year Cleared:	2011
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Louisiana
County or Region of Crime:	Jefferson
City of Crime:	Westwego
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Henry W. James Jr. was wrongly convicted in May 1982 of the December 1981 rape of a woman in her Westwego, Louisiana home. James lived near the victim and he knew her husband and was acquainted with her. He had several encounters with the woman the day before she was raped. The woman told officers investigating the rape that she did not know her attacker. Yet she identified James from a book of photos she looked at two days afer the crime. Although three alibi witnesses testified Henry James was elsewhere at the time of the rape, the jury convicted him based on the victim's in-court identification of him, and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. In November 2009, with the assistance of the Innocence Project of New Orleans James filed a petition to have crime scene evidence tested that could identify the DNA profile of the woman's assailant. The prosecution didn't oppose the motion but they reported the evidence was missing. The evidence was discovered in May 2010 while an official was looking for evidence in another case. The DNA tests were conducted later in 2010 and in September 2011 the results were released that James was excluded as the perpetrator. James was released on October 21, 2011 after the prosecution agreed to dismiss the charges against him. James is eligible to file a claim for the maximum compensation of $250,000 under Louisiana's wrongful conviction compensation statute that provides for $25,000 per year for a maximum of 10 years. James was wrongly imprisoned for 29 years and 11 months."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.
Innocence Proved By:	"DNA testing of crime scene evidence excluded James as the perpetrator. James was released on October 21, 2011 after the prosecution agreed to dismiss the charges against him. "
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project of New Orleans and aw firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	20
Age When Released:	50
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Westwego Man Exonerated After Serving 30 Years For Rape Conviction, By Paul Rioux (staff), The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), Octoer 21, 2011"
Information Location 1:	http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/10/westwego_man_exonerated_after.html
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Henry W. James Jr

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole

Years Imprisoned:

29.92

Year Crime:

1981

Year Convicted:

1982

Year Cleared:

2011

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Louisiana

County or Region of Crime:

Jefferson

City of Crime:

Westwego

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.

Innocence Proved By:

"DNA testing of crime scene evidence excluded James as the perpetrator. James was released on October 21, 2011 after the prosecution agreed to dismiss the charges against him. "

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project of New Orleans and aw firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

20

Age When Released:

50

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Westwego Man Exonerated After Serving 30 Years For Rape Conviction, By Paul Rioux (staff), The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), Octoer 21, 2011"

Information Location 1:

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/10/westwego_man_exonerated_after.html

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