Andrew Johnson

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Charge:	Sexual Assault and Burglary
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	24.08
Year Crime:	1989
Year Convicted:	1989
Year Cleared:	2013
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Wyoming
County or Region of Crime:	Laramie
City of Crime:	Cheyenne
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Andrew Johnson was wrongly convicted in 1989 of sexual assault and burglary in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Johnson's prosecution was based on his identification by the victim. After his conviction by a jury Johnson was sentenced to life in prison. Post-conviction DNA testing of semen recovered from the woman excluded Johnson, and was matched to her then-fiance. Johnson filed a post-conviction petition for a new trial based on the new exculpatory DNA evidence. In 2013 Johnson's petition was granted and his convictions were set-aside. The Laramie County District Attorney declined to retry Johnson and the DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted, and Johnson was released. In April 2017 Johnson filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named the City of Cheyenne and officers involved in his case as defendants. Johnson's lawsuit alleged that the officers withheld favorable evidence from his lawyers -- namely about 20 crime scene photographs -- and failed to properly investigate the case. In July 2017 U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl dismissed Andrew Johnson’s suit, based on numerous legal reasons. The most important reason was Johnson included many claims in his lawsuit he had been brought up in previous lawsuits that had been dismissed by prior judges, and issues that had already been rejected by a judge cannot generally cannot be relitigated: in other words, Johnson couldn't file multiple two lawsuits with the same claims. On December 8, 2017 Johnson appealed Skavdahl's order to the U.S 10th Circuit Court of Appeals."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.
Innocence Proved By:	"Johnson filed a post-conviction petition for a new trial based on the new exculpatory DNA evidence. In 2013 Johnson's petition was granted and his convictions were set-aside. The Laramie County District Attorney declined to retry Johnson and the DA's motion to dismiss the charges was granted, and Johnson was released."
Defendant Aided By:	Rocky Mountain Innocence Center
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	29
Age When Released:	53
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Wyoming prosecutor drops charges against Andrew Johnson for 1989 rape, By Megan Cassidy (Star-Tribune staff writer), Casper Star Tribune, July 20, 2013"
Information Location 1:	http://trib.com/news/local/casper/wyoming-prosecutor-drops-charges-against-andrew-johnson-for-rape/article_91227bc9-526a-5548-9864-21dc6b5f0309.html
Information Source 2:	"Man exonerated of rape charge sues Cheyenne alleging officers withheld evidence, failed to properly investigate, By Elise Schmelzer, Casper Star Tribune, April 20, 2017"
Information Location 2:	http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/man-exonerated-of-rape-charge-sues-cheyenne-alleging-officers-withheld/article_7f35938b-9afb-51b6-9de0-197b6aaac3aa.html
Information Source 3:	"Andrew Johnson, By Staff, Rocky Mountain Innocence Center"
Information Location 3:	http://rminnocence.org/our-exonerees/andrew-johnson.html
Information Source 4:	"Wyoming man wrongfully imprisoned for 24 years files federal court appeal, By Joshua Wolfson, Casper Star Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), Dec. 8, 2017"
Information Location 4:	http://trib.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/wyoming-man-wrongfully-imprisoned-for-years-files-federal-court-appeal/article_5de7489c-c8bf-58a1-a060-fb77177da904.html
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Andrew Johnson

Charge:

Sexual Assault and Burglary

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

24.08

Year Crime:

1989

Year Convicted:

1989

Year Cleared:

2013

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Wyoming

County or Region of Crime:

Laramie

City of Crime:

Cheyenne

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification by the victim.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Rocky Mountain Innocence Center

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

29

Age When Released:

53

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Wyoming prosecutor drops charges against Andrew Johnson for 1989 rape, By Megan Cassidy (Star-Tribune staff writer), Casper Star Tribune, July 20, 2013"

Information Location 1:

http://trib.com/news/local/casper/wyoming-prosecutor-drops-charges-against-andrew-johnson-for-rape/article_91227bc9-526a-5548-9864-21dc6b5f0309.html

Information Source 2:

"Man exonerated of rape charge sues Cheyenne alleging officers withheld evidence, failed to properly investigate, By Elise Schmelzer, Casper Star Tribune, April 20, 2017"

Information Location 2:

http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/man-exonerated-of-rape-charge-sues-cheyenne-alleging-officers-withheld/article_7f35938b-9afb-51b6-9de0-197b6aaac3aa.html

Information Source 3:

"Andrew Johnson, By Staff, Rocky Mountain Innocence Center"

Information Location 3:

http://rminnocence.org/our-exonerees/andrew-johnson.html

Information Source 4:

"Wyoming man wrongfully imprisoned for 24 years files federal court appeal, By Joshua Wolfson, Casper Star Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), Dec. 8, 2017"

Information Location 4:

http://trib.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/wyoming-man-wrongfully-imprisoned-for-years-files-federal-court-appeal/article_5de7489c-c8bf-58a1-a060-fb77177da904.html

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