Curtis Kyles

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	14
Year Crime:	1984
Year Convicted:	1984
Year Cleared:	1998
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Louisiana
County or Region of Crime:	Orleans
City of Crime:	New Orleans
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Curtis Kyles was wrongly convicted in 1984 of murder and sentenced to death in New Orleans, Louisiana. After Kyles first trial ended in a mistrial he was convicted after a retrial. Kyles 1984 conviction of capital murder was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court because of the prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct of withholding the evidence that the government's star witness was a paid informant who may have been the actual killer. (Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419 (1995)). After Kyles conviction was overturned he was tried three more times with each trial ending in a hung jury and a mistrial. Kyles was released after 14 years of imprisonment in February 1998, after the prosecution declined to retry him a sixth time. Kyles spent 11 of his 14 years in prison on death row. The Supreme Court used Kyles case to clarify that the duty of a prosecutor to turn over favorable evidence cannot be avoided by allowing the police to keep favorable evidence in their files and not inform the individual prosecutor. Kyles was awarded $150,000 in compensation by the State of Louisiana."
Conviction Caused By:	Prosecutorial misconduct of withholding from the defense that the prosecution's star witness was a paid informant who may have been the actual killer.
Innocence Proved By:	The murder charge was dismissed in 1998 after Curtis Kyles fifth trial ended in a mistrial (hung jury).
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$150,000 (State of Louisiana)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	24
Age When Released:	38
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Curtis Kyles, Innocence Project New Orleans"
Information Location 1:	http://www.ip-no.org/exonoree-profile/curtis-kyles
Information Source 2:	Death Penalty Information Center
Information Location 2:	http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Innocentlist.html
Information Source 3:	""The Lone Star State is Not Alone In Denying Due Process To Those Who Face Execution," Elisabeth Semel, Champion Magazine, July 1999, FN. 26."
Information Location 3:	http://www.criminaljustice.org/public.nsf/championarticles/99jul02?opendocument
Information Source 4:	Patrick Crusade website & database
Information Location 4:	http://www.patrickcrusade.org/wrongful.htm
Information Source 5:	"Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419 (1995)"
Information Location 5:
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Curtis Kyles

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

14

Year Crime:

1984

Year Convicted:

1984

Year Cleared:

1998

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Louisiana

County or Region of Crime:

Orleans

City of Crime:

New Orleans

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Prosecutorial misconduct of withholding from the defense that the prosecution's star witness was a paid informant who may have been the actual killer.

Innocence Proved By:

The murder charge was dismissed in 1998 after Curtis Kyles fifth trial ended in a mistrial (hung jury).

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$150,000 (State of Louisiana)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

24

Age When Released:

38

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Curtis Kyles, Innocence Project New Orleans"

Information Location 1:

http://www.ip-no.org/exonoree-profile/curtis-kyles

Information Source 2:

Death Penalty Information Center

Information Location 2:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Innocentlist.html

Information Source 3:

""The Lone Star State is Not Alone In Denying Due Process To Those Who Face Execution," Elisabeth Semel, Champion Magazine, July 1999, FN. 26."

Information Location 3:

http://www.criminaljustice.org/public.nsf/championarticles/99jul02?opendocument

Information Source 4:

Patrick Crusade website & database

Information Location 4:

http://www.patrickcrusade.org/wrongful.htm

Information Source 5:

"Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419 (1995)"

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

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