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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
2.5 |
Year Crime: |
2005 |
Year Convicted: |
2005 |
Year Cleared: |
2007 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Michigan |
County or Region of Crime: |
Ingham |
City of Crime: |
Lansing |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Claude McCollum was wrongly convicted in 2005 of the rape and murder of a college professor. McCollum's conviction was based on his confession after intense police interrogation. In September 2007 McCollum's conviction was vacated because a CCTV video showed that he was in another part of the campus at the time of the attack on the professor. In October the prosecutor dropped the charges and McCollum was released after being wrongly imprisoned for about 2-1/2 years. In August 2008 the Ingham County Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted McCollum was fired for failing to disclose to McCollum's lawyer exculpatory evidence. On July 29, 2010 McCollum settled his lawsuit against the Lansing Community College for $2 million. McCollum's suit alleged that a campus detective had concealed exculpatory evidence." |
Conviction Caused By: |
McCollum falsely confessed after intense police investigation. |
Innocence Proved By: |
In September 2007 Claude McCollum's conviction was vacated because a CCTV video showed that he was in another part of the campus at the time of the attack on the professor. In October the prosecutor dropped the charges. |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$2 million (Lansing Community College, July 29, 2010)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
28 |
Age When Released: |
30 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"State AG to investigate McCollum arrest, trial, by Christine Rook, Lansing State Journal, November 16, 2007" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071116/NEWS01/711160338/1001/news |
Information Source 2: |
"Community reaching out to man wrongly convicted, WLNS Chnl 6 (Lansing, MI), May 21, 2008" |
Information Location 2: |
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Information Source 3: |
"Official ousted in trial inquiry, The Detroit News, August 21, 2008" |
Information Location 3: |
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Information Source 4: |
"McCollum awarded $2 million, By Kevin Grasha, Lansing State Journal, July 29, 2010" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100729/NEWS01/7290339/0/special |
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