Susan P. Lawrence

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Charge:	Child Endangerment
Sentence:
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Suffolk
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Susan P. Lawrence was wrongly convicted of child endangerment in Suffolk County, New York. Lawrence worked as a tenured teaching assistant who the principle had paired with a 12-year-old autistic girl with an IQ of 40 and physical impairments. The girl required adult supervision while walking and she could understand simple, direct, commands. On the day of the incident Lawrence was helping the girl exit the school bus in the morning when she was distracted by the bus matron who handed her the girl's backpack. The girl moved away from Lawrence and entered into the school building at about the same time the school bell rang, signaled to students they could leave the cafeteria for their school rooms. Lawrence walked fast to catch up to the girl before she reached the large group of students leaving the cafeteria. Lawrence grabbed the girl and told her, "You can't run away from me like that. You have to stay with me." Lawrence was charged with child endangerment based on that incident. During her trial Lawrence testified that to keep the girl safe she grabbed her to "keep [her] from being trampled by other kids." She said she "was trying to protect [the girl] from getting into the mix of all those students and getting pushed and knocked down and getting lost." Lawrence also testified that she thought it was an emergency situation, so it was necessary for her to grab the girl, after which she told her, "You can't run away from me like that. You have to stay with me." There was no evidence presented that Lawrence spoke loudly to the girl, that she yelled at or shook the girl, and she did not lift her off of the floor -- which wouldn't have been possible because the girl was too heavy for her to do so. Lawrence waived her right to a jury trial, and she was convicted following a bench trial. Lawrence appealed. Although her trial lawyer didn't make a motion for a judgment of acquittal, her primary argument was the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove her guilt of child endangerment. On April 6, 2016 the Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, 9th and 10th Judicial Districts reversed Lawrence's conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge. The Court ruled, "we find that the verdict convicting defendant of endangering the welfare of a child was against the weight of the evidence. In order to be convicted of endangering the welfare of a child (Penal Law § 260.10 [1]), the People had to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that defendant "knowingly acted in a manner likely to be injurious to the physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than seventeen years old." ... an acquittal . . . would not have been unreasonable based upon the evidence presented, and secondly, that the trial court failed to accord the evidence the weight it should have been accorded", as the weight of the evidence did not establish that defendant "knowingly acted in a manner [that was] likely to be injurious to the physical, mental or moral welfare" of the complainant. ... Accordingly, the judgment of conviction is reversed and the accusatory instrument is dismissed." (People v. Lawrence, 2016 NY Slip Op 26117 (Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, 9th and 10th Judicial Districts, 4-6-2016)"
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On April 6, 2016 the Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, 9th and 10th Judicial Districts reversed Lawrence's conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"People v. Lawrence, 2016 NY Slip Op 26117, 2014-1618 S CR (Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, 9th and 10th Judicial Districts, 4-6-2016) (Reversing and ordering dismissal of charges because conviction was against the weight of the evidence.)"
Information Location 1:	http://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-term-second-department/2016/2016-ny-slip-op-26117.html
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Susan P. Lawrence

Charge:

Child Endangerment

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Suffolk

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On April 6, 2016 the Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, 9th and 10th Judicial Districts reversed Lawrence's conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"People v. Lawrence, 2016 NY Slip Op 26117, 2014-1618 S CR (Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, 9th and 10th Judicial Districts, 4-6-2016) (Reversing and ordering dismissal of charges because conviction was against the weight of the evidence.)"

Information Location 1:

http://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-term-second-department/2016/2016-ny-slip-op-26117.html

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Book Information (2):

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