Theodore V. Jordan

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Charge:	First Degree Murder
Sentence:	Death and later resentenced or commuted to Life
Years Imprisoned:	22
Year Crime:	1932
Year Convicted:	1932
Year Cleared:	1964
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Oregon
County or Region of Crime:	Klamath Falls
City of Crime:	Klamath Falls
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Theodore V. Jordan was wrongly convicted in 1933 of first-degree murder in the death of a dining car steward who was attacked on a Southern Pacific train in Klamath Falls, Oregon on June 3, 1932. The steward died of his injuries at the Southern Pacific hospital in San Francisco on October 15, 1932. Jordan's prosecution was solely based on his confession, that he recanted as coerced by police brutality. After his conviction by a jury Theodore Jordan was sentenced to death. His sentence was commutted to life in prison in 1934 by Oregon's Governor Meier. Jordan was released on parole in 1954, but he was arrested in 1963 for violating his parole for leaving the State of Oregon without permission. In 1964 Jordan's murder conviction was set-aside and his indictment was dismissed."
Conviction Caused By:	Coerced confession.
Innocence Proved By:	In 1964 Jordan's murder conviction was set-aside and his indictment was dismissed.
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 132."
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Information Source 2:	"State v. Jordan, 146 Or. 504 (Or. 1934) (Affirming conviction)"
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Theodore V. Jordan

Charge:

First Degree Murder

Sentence:

Death and later resentenced or commuted to Life

Years Imprisoned:

22

Year Crime:

1932

Year Convicted:

1932

Year Cleared:

1964

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Oregon

County or Region of Crime:

Klamath Falls

City of Crime:

Klamath Falls

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Coerced confession.

Innocence Proved By:

In 1964 Jordan's murder conviction was set-aside and his indictment was dismissed.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 132."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"State v. Jordan, 146 Or. 504 (Or. 1934) (Affirming conviction)"

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Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: