Walter L. Mitchell Jr.

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Charge:	Mail Fraud
Sentence:	18 months
Years Imprisoned:	1.25
Year Crime:	1979
Year Convicted:	1983
Year Cleared:	1989
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	California - Federal Case
County or Region of Crime:	Los Angeles
City of Crime:	Los Angeles
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Walter L. Mitchell Jr. was wrongly convicted in 1983 of six counts of mail fraud in 1979. Mitchell was a Redondo Beach councilman in 1979 and he was accused of profiting from his role in getting City Council approval to convert Redondo Beach's largest apartment complex, Brookside Village, into condominiums. After his jury conviction Mitchell was sentenced to 18 months in prison and he was released after serving his sentence. On February 15, 1989 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Mitchell's 1983 mail fraud convictions based on the 1987 US Supreme Court ruling in the McNally case that government officials could be convicted of mail fraud only if prosecutors proved that they used the mails to deprive the government of money or property -- and the government introduced no such evidence during Mitchell's trial and therefore there was insufficient evidence he committed a crime."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On February 15, 1989 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Mitchell's 1983 mail fraud convictions based on a 1987 US Supreme Court ruling in the McNally case that government officials could be convicted of mail fraud only if prosecutors proved that they used the mails to deprive the government of money or property -- and the government introduced no such evidence Mitchell's trial and therefore there was insufficient evidence he committed a crime."
Defendant Aided By:	Attorney Maria Stratton
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	35
Age When Released:	36
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Fraud Conviction Overturned for Ex-Redondo Councilman, By James Rainey (staff), Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1989, p. 12"
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Walter L. Mitchell Jr.

Charge:

Mail Fraud

Sentence:

18 months

Years Imprisoned:

1.25

Year Crime:

1979

Year Convicted:

1983

Year Cleared:

1989

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

Los Angeles

City of Crime:

Los Angeles

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Attorney Maria Stratton

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

35

Age When Released:

36

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Fraud Conviction Overturned for Ex-Redondo Councilman, By James Rainey (staff), Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1989, p. 12"

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