Thomas Kapatos

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Charge:	Second Degree Murder
Sentence:	20 years to life imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	24
Year Crime:	1937
Year Convicted:	1938
Year Cleared:	1962
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	New York
City of Crime:	New York City
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Thomas Kapatos was wrongly convicted in 1938 of second-degree murder in New York City and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. A reinvestigation of Kapatos case discovered the prosecution had failed to disclose that an eyewitness had seen the two men who commmitted the murder, and when shown Kapatos' photo he had told police he wasn't one of the shooters. On July 9, 1961 U.S. District Court Judge Edmund L. Palmieri granted Kapatos' federal habeas corpus petition based on the prosecution's failure to disclose the exculpatory witness evidence, and ordered his release within 30 days if the State didn't appeal his ruling. Kapatos was released on $5,000 bond on July 24, 1962. In August 1962 the State later agreed to dismissal of the charges. Kapatos who had briefly been released on parole in 1954 before being returned to prison for a parole violation, was wrongly imprisoned for 23 years."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On July 9, 1961 U.S. District Court Judge Edmund L. Palmieri granted Kapatos' federal habeas corpus petition based on the prosecution's failure to disclose exculpatory evidence identifying another suspect, and ordered his release within 30 days if the State didn't appeal. Kapatos was released on $5,000 bond on July 24, 1962. In August 1962 the State later agreed to dismissal of the charges."
Defendant Aided By:	"Post-conviction reinvestigation of Thomas Kapatos' case by Joseph Aronstein, who had been Kapatos' court-appointed attorney during his trial."
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	23
Age When Released:	47
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 133+."
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Information Source 2:	"Convict Freed As 1938 Case Is Disputed, By Associated Press writer, Toledo Blade (Toledo, OH), July 25, 1962"
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Thomas Kapatos

Charge:

Second Degree Murder

Sentence:

20 years to life imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

24

Year Crime:

1937

Year Convicted:

1938

Year Cleared:

1962

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

New York

City of Crime:

New York City

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

"Post-conviction reinvestigation of Thomas Kapatos' case by Joseph Aronstein, who had been Kapatos' court-appointed attorney during his trial."

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

23

Age When Released:

47

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 133+."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Convict Freed As 1938 Case Is Disputed, By Associated Press writer, Toledo Blade (Toledo, OH), July 25, 1962"

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Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: