Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Cuong Lam

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2002

Year Convicted:

2006

Year Cleared:

2008

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Australia

County or Region of Crime:

Victoria Province

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Cuong Lam was codefendant of Hung Van. The two were convicted of the murder of two cousins who on July 8, 2002 jumped in Melbourne's Icy Yarra to get away from several men who were chasing them. Neither cousin could swim and both drowned. The two defendants were convicted based on their proximity to the drowning and an inconclusive identification by one eyewitness. Both men appealed, and on June 17,2008 Victoria's Court of Appeal quashed the convictions on the basis of insufficiency of the evidence and the unreliability of the identification. The judges ruled the identification "was too fragile a basis to enable a reasonable jury to conclude (guilt) beyond a reasonable doubt.""

Conviction Caused By:

Proximity to the murders and one eyewitness who gave an inconclusive identification.

Innocence Proved By:

"Conviction quashed by Victoria's Court of Appeal on June 17, 2008, based on insufficient evidence that the defendant had any role in the murder, other than one eyewitness who gave an inconclusive identification. The appeals court ruled that the identification "was too fragile a basis to enable a reasonable jury to conclude (guilt) beyond a reasonable doubt.""

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Asian

Information Source 1:

"Three to go free over Salt nightclub killing, By Kate Hagan (staff writers), The Age (Melbourne, AUS), June 18, 2008"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Salt nightclub three go free on killings, By Kate Bice and Mandi Zonneveldt (staff writers), Herald Sun (Melbourne, AUS), June 18, 2008"

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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