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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Child Molestation |
Sentence: |
27 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
20 |
Year Crime: |
1996 |
Year Convicted: |
1998 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
California |
County or Region of Crime: |
Lake |
City of Crime: |
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Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Luther Jones Jr. was wrongly convicted in 1998 of molesting a 10-year-old child in Lake County, California in 1996. The prosecution's case was based on the testimony of the girl. After his conviction by a jury Jones was sentenced to 27 years in prison. The grown woman recanted in early 2016, saying that she had been told by her mother to lie about Jones because he was in a custody fight with the girl's mother over her 2-year-old half-sister at the time. Based on the recantation the Lake County DA did not oppose the vacating of Jones' conviction, and his charges were dismissed and he was released in February 2016. Jones had completed 18 years of his sentence in addition to being jailed for two years awaiting trial. In Late June 2016 the California legislature approved compensation of $936,8880 for Jones,and California's governor signed the bill on July 1, 2016. Jones was expected to receive the check the first week in July 2016. Jones died in December 2016." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"Based on the recantation the Lake County DA did not oppose the vacating of Jones' conviction, and his charges were dismissed and he was released in February 2016." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$936,880 (State of Calif., July 2016)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
51 |
Age When Released: |
71 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Judge orders man falsely accused of molestation released from prison, By Elizabeth Larson, Lake County News, February 17, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45221:judge-orders-man-falsely-accused-of-molestation-released-from-prison-&catid=1:latest&Itemid=197 |
Information Source 2: |
"Lake County man awarded $936,880 for wrongful conviction, By Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), July 1, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5804037-181/lake-county-man-awarded-936880 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org