Leonard McSherry

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Charge:	Rape and Kidnapping (abduction)
Sentence:	48 years
Years Imprisoned:	13.18
Year Crime:	1988
Year Convicted:	1988
Year Cleared:	2001
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	California
County or Region of Crime:	Los Angeles
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Leonard McSherry was wrongly convicted on October 25, 1988 of kidnapping and raping a 6-year-old girl on March 11, 1988 in Los Angeles County. McSherry's conviction was based on his identification by the victim and her 4-year-old brother. He was sentenced to 48 years in prison. DNA tests unavailable at the time of his conviction excluded him as the girl's attacker and he was released in 2001, after 13 years of wrongful imprisonment. Leonard McSherry was awarded $481,200 in compensation on August 7, 2002 by the State of California Claims Board for his 4,812 days of wrongful incarceration. McSherry filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Long Beach and several police officers. In March 2009 the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there were material issues of fact for a jury to determine concerning whether McSherry's rights had been violated. In October 2009 the 9th Circuit reversed that ruling. McSherry appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in October 2010 refused to hear the case, thus affirming that McSherry's federal lawsuit couldn't go forward. After his release McSherry had a number of legal problems. On the day that the State was issuing its check to him for $481,200, May 1, 2003, he was in the Los Angeles County Jail charged with five counts of misdemeanor loitering around a Beverly Hills elementary school. McSherry was charged and convicted of child molestation, and sentenced to life in prison."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification by the 6-year-old girl who was the victim and her 4-year-old brother.
Innocence Proved By:	DNA tests unavailable at the time of his conviction excluded him as the boy's attacker and he was released in 2001.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$481,200 (State of Calif., August 2002)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	37
Age When Released:	50
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"In the Matter of the Claim of Leonard McSherry, No. G523223, Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board of the State of California, August 7, 2002"
Information Location 1:	http://www.vcgcb.ca.gov/docs/pc4900/PC-4900-Approved-McSherry.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Not Guilty After All, San Francisco Magazine, November 2004"
Information Location 2:	http://sanfran.com/archives/view_story/200/
Information Source 3:	"Court revives claim Long Beach police fabrication, By Sherri M. Okamoto, Metropolitan News-Enterprise, March 31, 2009"
Information Location 3:	http://www.metnews.com/articles/2009/mcsh033109.htm
Information Source 4:	"City Wins One, Loses One in Supreme Week, By Matt Coker (Staff writer), OC Weekly, October 6, 2010"
Information Location 4:	http://www.ocweekly.com/news/city-wins-one-loses-one-in-supreme-week-6460344
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Leonard McSherry

Charge:

Rape and Kidnapping (abduction)

Sentence:

48 years

Years Imprisoned:

13.18

Year Crime:

1988

Year Convicted:

1988

Year Cleared:

2001

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California

County or Region of Crime:

Los Angeles

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification by the 6-year-old girl who was the victim and her 4-year-old brother.

Innocence Proved By:

DNA tests unavailable at the time of his conviction excluded him as the boy's attacker and he was released in 2001.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$481,200 (State of Calif., August 2002)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

37

Age When Released:

50

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"In the Matter of the Claim of Leonard McSherry, No. G523223, Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board of the State of California, August 7, 2002"

Information Location 1:

http://www.vcgcb.ca.gov/docs/pc4900/PC-4900-Approved-McSherry.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Not Guilty After All, San Francisco Magazine, November 2004"

Information Location 2:

http://sanfran.com/archives/view_story/200/

Information Source 3:

"Court revives claim Long Beach police fabrication, By Sherri M. Okamoto, Metropolitan News-Enterprise, March 31, 2009"

Information Location 3:

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2009/mcsh033109.htm

Information Source 4:

"City Wins One, Loses One in Supreme Week, By Matt Coker (Staff writer), OC Weekly, October 6, 2010"

Information Location 4:

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/city-wins-one-loses-one-in-supreme-week-6460344

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

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