|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
First Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
58 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
8.46 |
Year Crime: |
2009 |
Year Convicted: |
2011 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Illinois |
County or Region of Crime: |
Cook |
City of Crime: |
Chicago |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Kerry Masterson was wrongly convicted on October 20, 2011 of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Michael Norton during the robbery of Norton's Sweet Shop in Chicago, Illinois on May 14, 2009. Masterton was a suspect in the case, and she turned herself into the police on May 27, 2009, and taken into custody. The prosecution's case was based on her identification by three eyewitnesses. Masterson's two co-defendants, Beatrice Rosado and Elvin Payton, also implicated her in the crime. Masterson's defense was she was misidentified, but the judge denied her motion to present the testimony of eyewitness identification expert Elizabeth Loftus. After her conviction by a jury, on December 8, 2011 the trial judge denied Masterson's motion for a new trial and she was sentenced to 58 years in prison. Masterson appealed. On September 30, 2013 the Illinois Court of Appeal affirmed Masterson's conviction and sentence, but ordered that the mittimus be modified to reflect credit for 925 days of presentence incarceration applied to her 58 year sentence. "Thereafter, the defendant filed a petition for leave to appeal to the supreme court. On March 30, 2016, the supreme court denied the defendant's petition for leave to appeal and entered a supervisory order directing this court to vacate its judgment and to reconsider its decision in light of the holding in People v. Lerma, 2016 IL 118496. People v. Masterson, No. 118634 (Mar. 30, 2016). In compliance with that order, we vacated our September 30, 2013 decision and judgment and reconsidered our decision as instructed. For the reasons which follow, we now reverse the defendant's conviction and sentence and remand the matter back to the circuit court for a new trial. ... we believe that the defendant's claim of error based on the trial court's refusal to allow her eyewitness identification expert to testify is dispositive of this appeal ..." (People v. Masterson, 2016 IL App (1st) 120385-UB (Ill. Ct. of Appeals, 1st Dist, 6th Div., 5-13-2016), Op. cit. 2) During Mastertson's retrial Rosado and Payton who pled guilty to the murder and were respectively sentenced to 22 years and 47 years in prison, both testified that they lied, and she had nothing to do with the crime Rosado and Payton testified they lied to the police in implicating Masterson in order to mitigate their own punishment. They also testified the third suspect was actually a male gang member. Masteron was also allowed to present her eyewitness identification expert evidence supporting that she had been misidentified by the eyewitnesses. On November 2, 2017 Masterson was acquitted by a jury after her retrial." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Trial judge denied defense to present false identification expert. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"During Mastertson's retrial Rosado and Payton both testified that they lied, and she had nothing to do with the crime. Masteron was also allowed to present her eyewitness identification expert evidence supporting that she had been misidentified by the eyewitnesses. On November 2, 2017 Masterson was acquitted by a jury after her retrial." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions |
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
23 |
Age When Released: |
31 |
Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Legal team responsible for Kerry Masterson's acquittal examines flaws in eyewitness identification, By Elizabeth Byrne (Asst Campus Editor), The Daily Northwestern, November 10, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
https://dailynorthwestern.com/2017/11/10/campus/legal-team-responsible-kerry-mastersons-acquittal-examines-flaws-eyewitness-identification/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Woman acquitted of killing Austin store owner after 8 years in prison, By Jordan Owen, Chicago Sun-Times, November 7, 2017" |
Information Location 2: |
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/woman-acquitted-of-killing-nw-side-store-owner-after-8-years-in-prison/ |
Information Source 3: |
"People v. Masterson, 2016 IL App (1st) 120385-UB (Ill. Ct. of Appeals, 1st Dist, 6th Div., 5-13-2016) (Reversing conviction and remanding for a new trial.)" |
Information Location 3: |
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiCmfqAqLfXAhXJ1IMKHZ3CB3EQFggoMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.illinoiscourts.gov%2FR23_Orders%2FAppellateCourt%2F2016%2F1stDistrict%2F1120385_R23.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3G-N_Tdpv3ZMLIGr3X_Fs6 |
Information Source 4: |
"People v. Masterson, 2014 IL App (1st) 120385-U (Ill. Ct. of Appeals, 1st Dist, 6th Div., 9-30-2013) (Affirming conviction and sentence -- but ordering credit for 925 days of presentence incarceration.)" |
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org