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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole |
Years Imprisoned: |
18 |
Year Crime: |
1994 |
Year Convicted: |
1995 |
Year Cleared: |
2012 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Pennsylvania |
County or Region of Crime: |
Allegheny |
City of Crime: |
Pittsburgh |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Terrell Johnson was wrongly convicted in 1995 of murdering 30-year-old Verna Robinson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 22, 1994. In convicting Johnson the jury relied on the testimony of the State's star witness putting Terrell Johnson at the scene of the crime. In exchange for her testimony pending charges were dropped against her for shoplifting and outstanding warrants were dismissed. Johnson's lawyer failed to call alibi witnesses who could establish Johnson was at home and went to bed two hours before the murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 2001 the Innocence Institute of Western Pennsylvania began investigating Johnson's case. Based on the new witness evidence and evidence Johnson's trial counsel was ineffective they discovered, Johnson was granted a new trial in February 2008. Johnson was acquitted on September 12, 2012 after a retrial and he was released after 18 years of wrongful imprisonment.." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by the State's star witness putting Terrell Johnson at the scene of the crime. Johnson's trial lawyer failed to call alibi witnesses who could establish Johnson was at home and went to bed two hours before the murder. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Johnson was acquitted by a jury on September 12, 2012 after a retrial and he was released after 18 years of wrongful imprisonment." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Innocence Institute of Western Pennsylvania |
Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
18 |
Age When Released: |
36 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Man convicted in 1994 Hazelwood murder acquitted in retrial, By Adam Brandolph (Staff writer), Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, September 12, 2012" |
Information Location 1: |
http://triblive.com/news/2591579-74/johnson-robinson-death-1994-charges-hazelwood-prison-spent-county-granted |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org