Kenneth Marsh

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	#N/A
Years Imprisoned:	21
Year Crime:	1983
Year Convicted:	1983
Year Cleared:	2004
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	California
County or Region of Crime:	San Diego
City of Crime:	San Diego
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Kenneth Marsh was wrongly convicted of murdering his girlfriend's two-year old son. Marsh’s defense was that while babysitting the child fell off the couch and hit his head. The San Diego homicide detectives who investigated the case considered Ken Marsh was innocent from the time he was questioned, however the San Diego County DA prosecuted Marsh for murder at the urging of doctors at the hospital where the child had been taken after falling. The doctors were not experts in forensic pathology. After Marsh was convicted by a jury he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He obtained new forensic pathology medical evidence supporting that the boy died from an accidental fall and the doctors at the hospital had misdiagnosed the child's injuries. Marsh filed a writ of habeas corpus based on the new evidence, and the writ that was granted by a San Diego Superior Court judge on August 10, 2004 and he was released later that day on his own recognizance. San Diego County DA Bonnie M. Dumanis retained an independent medical expert who agreed that the boy could have fallen from the back of a couch as Marsh had maintained from the time he was first questioned. He was exonerated on September 3, 2004 when the DA declined to retry him and the murder charge was dismissed. After his release Marsh married Brenda Buell Warter, the mother of the child who had died. Brenda had supported Marsh during his more than two decades in prison. Kenneth Marsh filed a claim under California wrongful conviction compensation law, and on January 4, 2006 he was awarded $756,900 for his more than 21 years of wrongful imprisonment."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous expert testimony by hospital doctors who were not trained in forensic pathology.
Innocence Proved By:	"Conviction vacated on August 10, 2004, and charged dismissed on September 3, 2004."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$756,900 (State of Calif., Jan. 4, 2006)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	28
Age When Released:	49
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Toddler’s Accidental Death Ends With Babysitter’s Murder Conviction - The Ken Marsh Story, Brenda Buell-Warter, Justice Denied magazine, Issue 25, Summer 2004, p. 4"
Information Location 1:	http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_25/ken_marsh.html
Information Source 2:	"In the Matter of the Claim of Ken Marsh, No. G550140, Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board of the State of California, January 4, 2006"
Information Location 2:	http://www.vcgcb.ca.gov/docs/pc4900/PC-4900-Approved-Marsh.pdf
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Kenneth Marsh

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

#N/A

Years Imprisoned:

21

Year Crime:

1983

Year Convicted:

1983

Year Cleared:

2004

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California

County or Region of Crime:

San Diego

City of Crime:

San Diego

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous expert testimony by hospital doctors who were not trained in forensic pathology.

Innocence Proved By:

"Conviction vacated on August 10, 2004, and charged dismissed on September 3, 2004."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$756,900 (State of Calif., Jan. 4, 2006)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

28

Age When Released:

49

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Toddler’s Accidental Death Ends With Babysitter’s Murder Conviction - The Ken Marsh Story, Brenda Buell-Warter, Justice Denied magazine, Issue 25, Summer 2004, p. 4"

Information Location 1:

http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_25/ken_marsh.html

Information Source 2:

"In the Matter of the Claim of Ken Marsh, No. G550140, Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board of the State of California, January 4, 2006"

Information Location 2:

http://www.vcgcb.ca.gov/docs/pc4900/PC-4900-Approved-Marsh.pdf

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Book About Case:

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Book About Case (2):

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