Michael Mercer

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Charge:	"Rape, Robbery and Sodomy"
Sentence:	20-1/2 to 41 years
Years Imprisoned:	12
Year Crime:	1991
Year Convicted:	1992
Year Cleared:	2003
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:	"Michael Mercer was wrongly convicted of the March 19, 1991 rape of a 17-year-old girl. Two months after the rape the girl saw Michael Mercer and called the police. He was arrested on May 18, 1991 and based solely on her ID, was charged with her rape. After a jury on June 15, 1992 couldn't reach a verdict, he was convicted on July 15, 1992 after a retrial, during which the victim "adamantly" claimed he was her attacker. He was sentenced to 20-1/2 to 41 years in prison. In January 2003 it was established that DNA preserved from the rape did not match Mercer, but they did match another man. On May 19, 2003, a Brooklyn judge granted a motion by New York County Prosecutor Morgenthau to vacate Mr. Mercer's conviction, and he was immediately released. At his trial Mercer testified that he had been in the same building as the victim on several occasions. Associating his face with being in that building apparently led to her erroneous ID of Mercer. "The victim in recent days has acknowledged that she made a "terrible mistake" and is "extremely upset," Mr. Morgenthau said. She is 29 now, single and working in the city. Her mistake was perhaps understandable, the prosecutor said. She and Mr. Mercer had undoubtedly seen one another in the building, he noted, and she had been traumatized." (DNA Clears Rape Convict After 12 Years, Robert McFadden (staff), NY Times, May 20, 2003)."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification
Innocence Proved By:	DNA test excluded Mercer as the girl's attacker.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	41
Age When Released:	53
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"DNA Clears Rape Convict After 12 Years, Robert McFadden (staff), NY Times, May 20, 2003"
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Michael Mercer

Charge:

"Rape, Robbery and Sodomy"

Sentence:

20-1/2 to 41 years

Years Imprisoned:

12

Year Crime:

1991

Year Convicted:

1992

Year Cleared:

2003

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:

Erroneous eyewitness identification

Innocence Proved By:

DNA test excluded Mercer as the girl's attacker.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

41

Age When Released:

53

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"DNA Clears Rape Convict After 12 Years, Robert McFadden (staff), NY Times, May 20, 2003"

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Book About Case (2):

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Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: