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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
"First Degree Murder, Robbery and Firearm charges" |
Sentence: |
Death |
Years Imprisoned: |
6.67 |
Year Crime: |
2010 |
Year Convicted: |
2012 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Delaware |
County or Region of Crime: |
Kent |
City of Crime: |
Dover |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Isaiah W. McCoy was wrongly convicted in 2012 of first-degree murder, first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and second-degree conspiracy related to the shooting death of a man during a drug deal gone bad in the parking lot of the Rodney Village Bowling Alley in Dover, Delaware on May 4, 2010. Isaiah McCoy was arrested on May 22, 2010. McCoy's prosecution was based on testimony of two alleged accomplices. There was no physical or forensic evidence linking McCoy to the crime and he denied involvement. After his conviction by a jury Isaiah McCoy was sentenced to death for his murder convictions, and a total of 63 years in prison for his other convictions. On January 20, 2015 the Delaware Supreme Court reversed McCoy's convictions and ordered a new trial. The Court reversed based on prosecutor misconduct and errors by the trial judge. Regarding the prosecutors prejudicial misconduct, the Court wrote: "The record reflects a pattern of unprofessional conduct by the prosecutor that impugns the integrity of the judicial process. ... The prosecutor's unprofessional conduct in McCoy's case is the antithesis of the high standards that are the hallmark of Delaware lawyers and must not be repeated." The trial judge's error was refusing to allow McCoy to use one of his peremptory challenges to excuse a juror with "significant potential bias." (McCoy v. State, 112 A. 3d 239 (Del. Supreme Court 2015) After the Supreme Court's ruling McCoy was transfered from death row while awaiting his retrial. Prior to his retrial McCoy rejected the prosecutions offer to plead guilty to manslaughter and be immediately released. On January 19, 2017 Isaiah McCoy was acquitted by Kent County Superior Court Judge Robert B. Young after a bench trial. In his ruling Judge Young ruled there was no physical evidence linking McCoy to the crime and that the two alleged accomplices gave contradictory testimony against him. In July 2017 McCoy filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that current and former state officials wrongfully and maliciously investigated, prosecuted and incarcerated him." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Contradictory testimony by the prosecuton's jailhouse accomplice witnesses. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On January 19, 2017 Isaiah McCoy was acquitted by Kent County Superior Court Judge Robert B. Young after a bench trial. In his ruling Judge Young ruled there was no physical evidence linking McCoy to the crime and that the two alleged accomplices gave contradictory testimony against him." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
23 |
Age When Released: |
29 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Judge Young: McCoy not guilty on all counts, By Craig Anderson, Delaware State News, Jan 19, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
http://delawarestatenews.net/police/judge-young-mccoy-not-guilty-on-all-counts/ |
Information Source 2: |
"McCoy v. State, 112 A. 3d 239 (Del. Supreme Ct, 1-20-2015) (Reversing convictions and ordering retrial based on prosecutor misconduct and the trial judge refusing to exclude a biased juror.)" |
Information Location 2: |
"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6830374014918815932&q=Isaiah+McCoy&hl=en&as_sdt=4,8" |
Information Source 3: |
"Ex-death row inmate sues Delaware officials after acquittal, By Randall Chase, The Washington Post, August 2, 2017" |
Information Location 3: |
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ex-death-row-inmate-later-acquitted-sues-state-officials/2017/08/02/eb05239a-774b-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html?utm_term=.a81a097990f9 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org