Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
48 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
2.5 |
Year Crime: |
2005 |
Year Convicted: |
2014 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Bahamas |
County or Region of Crime: |
New Providence |
City of Crime: |
Nassau |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Jason Reuben Marshall was wrongly convicted on April 23, 2014 of murdering Fabian Joffer in Nassau, Bahamas during a party on January 25, 2005. Sometime after the shooting but before he was charged, Jason Marshall entered the U.S. illegally. He was arrested on October 2, 2010 for simple assault in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after he got into a fight with a man. The police discovered Marshall had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in The Bahamas. After Marshall waived extradition and agreed to voluntarily return to The Bahamas, he was escorted back by two Bahamian officers in November 2011. In August 2012 Marshall was released on $9,500 bail pending his trial because the judge ruled the evidence against him was very weak. During Marshall's trial in April 2014 his attorney argued there were three men called Jason at the party and police investigators had failed to establish which Jason was responsible for the shooting, as they did not hold an identification parade. In convicting Marshall on April 23, 2014 the jury rejected his defense that he was mistakenly arrested as the "Jason" who shot Joffer, and the prosecution argued his illegal entry into the U.S. was evidence of his guilt. Marshall was sentenced on June 11, 2014 to 48 years in prison. On February 23, 2015 The Bahamas Court of Appeal vacated Marshall's conviction and acquitted him on the basis his case should have been withdrawn from the jury at the close of evidence, because the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the shooter. Marshall filed a lawsuit against the District Attorney's Office and the police department based on him being erroneously charged and convicted. As of July 2017 that lawsuit is pending." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Mistaken identification. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On February 23, 2015 The Bahamas Court of Appeal vacated Marshall's conviction and acquitted him on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence at his trial to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
30 |
Age When Released: |
33 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Man Acquitted of Murder on Appeal, By Artesia Davis (Staff reporter), The Nassau Guardian, February 24, 2014" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/54106-man-acquitted-of-murder-on-appeal |
Information Source 2: |
"Court Overturns Murder Conviction, 48-Year Sentence, By Lamech Johnson (Tribune Staff Reporter), Tribune 242 (Nassau, Bahamas), February 23, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.tribune242.com/news/2015/feb/23/court-overturns-murder-conviction-48-year-sentence/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Man Convicted of 2005 Murder, By Artesia Davis (Staff reporter), The Nassau Guardian, April 24, 2014" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/46831-man-convicted-of-2005-murder |
Information Source 4: |
"Former Fugitive Gets Bail on Murder Charge, By Artesia Davis (Staff reporter), The Nassau Guardian, August 9, 2012" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=33228:former-fugitive-gets-bail-on-murder-charge&Itemid=27 |
Information Source 5: |
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Information Location 5: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org