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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
"Murder, Robbery and Kidnapping" |
Sentence: |
100 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
23.5 |
Year Crime: |
1994 |
Year Convicted: |
1995 |
Year Cleared: |
2018 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Montana |
County or Region of Crime: |
Jefferson |
City of Crime: |
Montana City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Paul Jenkins and Freddie Joe Lawrence were codefendants wrongly convicted on February 24, 1995 of murder, robbery and aggravated kidnapping of 34-year-old Donna Meagher from the Jackson Creek Saloon in Montana City, Jefferson County, Montana on January 12, 1994. Among Meagher's injuries were wounds inflicted by a hammer. However, Meagher's body was found in Lewis and Clark County, so that is where Jenkins and Freddie Lawrence were prosecuted. Their prosecution's were based on the key eyewitness testimony of Mary Jenkins After their convictions by different juries sitting through a joint trial, Paul Jenkins and Freddie Lawrence were both sentenced to 100 years in prison. Their convictions and sentences were upheld by the Montana Supreme Court in October 1997. Post-conviction DNA testing in 2017 of multiple items of crime scene evidence excluded both Jenkins and Lawrence. During that period of time Fred Nelson admitted to the police that David Wayne Nelson, his uncle, admitted to killing Meagher and the robbery. David Nelson was interviewed, and although he didn't admit to the crimes, he did admit to owning a white car in 1995 that matched the car seen at the saloon about the time of Meagher's kidnapping. David Nelson was convicted of a double murder committed in 2015 -- and both those victims were beaten with a hammer. The DNA testing of a rope found near Meagher's body matched Nelson. Based on the exclusionary DNA evidence and the evidence implicating Nelson in the crime, Jenkins and Lawrence filed post-conviction motions for a new trial in January 2018. The petition was granted in April 2018. On June 1, 2018 the prosecution's motion to dismiss the charges against Jenkins and Lawrence was granted. In August 2019 Jenkins and Lawrence filed federal civil rights lawsuits that named as defendants, Lewis and Clark, Jefferson and Ravalli counties along with several investigators, including one with the state Division of Criminal Investigation. The lawsuit alleged the men's constitutional rights were violated and they were framed. In December 2019 Jenkins tentatively entered into a settlement for $6 million, and in January 2020 Ravalli County Commissioners agreed to participate in the universal $6 million settlement of all of Jenkins claims. " |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On June 1, 2018 the prosecution's motion to dismiss the charges against Jenkins and Lawrence was granted." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Montana Innocence Project |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$6 million (Lewis and Clark County, Jefferson County and Ravalli counties, January 2020)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
39 |
Age When Released: |
63 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"2 men exonerated in 1994 Montana City killing sue investigators, By Associated Press, Great Falls Tribune, Aug. 28, 2019" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2019/08/28/2-men-exonerated-1994-montana-city-killing-sue-investigators/2146308001/ |
Information Source 2: |
"County agrees to settlement of wrongful conviction lawsuit, By Michael Howell, Bitterroot Star, January 22, 2020" |
Information Location 2: |
https://spotonmontana.com/glacier-country/222582/county-agrees-to-settlement-of-wrongful.html |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org