William A. Maynard

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Charge:	First Degree Manslaughter
Sentence:	10 to 20 years
Years Imprisoned:	3
Year Crime:	1968
Year Convicted:	1971
Year Cleared:	1974
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	New York
City of Crime:	New York City
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"William A. Maynard was wrongly convicted of first-degree manslaughter in New York County, New York on February 1971 for a death that occurred in 1968. It was Maynard's third trial -- the first ended in a hung jury and the second in a mistrial. Maynard was sentenced to ten to twenty years in prison. After his conviction Maynard discovered that the prosecution failed to disclose that its key witness was a psychiatric hospitalizations and a criminal record, even though Maynard's lawyer had made “persistent demand[s]” for any evidence the prosecution possessed impeaching the witnesses credibility. On March 29, 1974 the New York State Supreme Court dismissed the charges against Maynard because of the non-disclosed evidence, without opposition by the New York County DA's Office. Maynard was a black activist, and after his release from prison his attorney said a "great wrong was done to an innocent man.""
Conviction Caused By:	The prosecution failed to disclose exculpatory evidence undermining the credibility of their key witness who had a history of psychiatric hospitalizations and a criminal record.
Innocence Proved By:	"On March 29, 1974 the New York State Supreme Court dismissed the charges against Maynard because of the non-disclosed evidence, without opposition by the New York County DA's Office."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"People v. Maynard, 80 Misc.2d 279, 287, 363 N.Y.S.2d 384, 389 (N.Y.Sup.Ct., New York County, 3-29-1974) (dismissing criminal charges)"
Information Location 1:	"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14318866773879055065&q=80+Misc.2d+279,+363+N.Y.S.2d+384&hl=en&as_sdt=4,33,75,99,107,122,138,162,286,287,288,289,349,350,351,352,380"
Information Source 2:	"Inevitable Error: Wrongful New York State Homicide Convictions, 1965-1988, by Marty I. Rosenbaum, 18 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 807, 822"
Information Location 2:	http://deskovic.org/research/article/id/Inevitable-Error-Wrongful-New-York-State-Homicide-Convictions
Information Source 3:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 144."
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William A. Maynard

Charge:

First Degree Manslaughter

Sentence:

10 to 20 years

Years Imprisoned:

3

Year Crime:

1968

Year Convicted:

1971

Year Cleared:

1974

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

New York

City of Crime:

New York City

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

The prosecution failed to disclose exculpatory evidence undermining the credibility of their key witness who had a history of psychiatric hospitalizations and a criminal record.

Innocence Proved By:

"On March 29, 1974 the New York State Supreme Court dismissed the charges against Maynard because of the non-disclosed evidence, without opposition by the New York County DA's Office."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"People v. Maynard, 80 Misc.2d 279, 287, 363 N.Y.S.2d 384, 389 (N.Y.Sup.Ct., New York County, 3-29-1974) (dismissing criminal charges)"

Information Location 1:

"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14318866773879055065&q=80+Misc.2d+279,+363+N.Y.S.2d+384&hl=en&as_sdt=4,33,75,99,107,122,138,162,286,287,288,289,349,350,351,352,380"

Information Source 2:

"Inevitable Error: Wrongful New York State Homicide Convictions, 1965-1988, by Marty I. Rosenbaum, 18 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 807, 822"

Information Location 2:

http://deskovic.org/research/article/id/Inevitable-Error-Wrongful-New-York-State-Homicide-Convictions

Information Source 3:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 144."

Information Location 3:

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Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: