Leonard O'Neil

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Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	10 to 25 years
Years Imprisoned:	3.5
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	1971
Year Cleared:	1975
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Ohio
County or Region of Crime:	Cuyahoga
City of Crime:	Cleveland
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Leonard O'Neil was wrongly convicted in July 1971 of armed robbery in Cleveland, Ohio and sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison. After O'Neil had served 3 years and 2 months in prison the the actual robber confessed. Based on the new evidence of his innocence O'Neil's conviction was vacated and he was released. In 1981 he filed a claim for $100,000 with the Ohio Board of Claims but it was dismissed for failure to state a claim under state law. The Ohio General Assembly then enacted special legislation authorizing Neil to file a claim for “loss of education and employment and general damages . . . from the erroneous imprisonment.” O'Neil refiled his claim and in January 1983 O'Neil was awarded $6,967. O'Neil appealed the paltry award to the Ohio Supreme Court which in 1984 ruled that the "award of $6,967 for O’Neil’s three-and-one-half years of erroneous imprisonment is grossly inadequate, is against the manifest weight of the evidence, and shocks the conscience.” O’Neil v. State, 469 N.E.2d 1010, 1013 (Ohio Ct. App. 1984). O'Neil's claim was remanded for reconsideration and on December 10, 1984 he was awarded compensation of $80,935.25."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	After O'Neil had served 3 years and 2 months in prison the the actual robber confessed. Based on the new evidence of his innocence O'Neil's conviction was vacated and he was released.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$80,935.25 (State of Ohio, Dec 10, 1984)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	19
Age When Released:	23
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Leonard O'Neil v. State of Ohio, No. C1981-05750 WI, Ohio Board of Claims, 12-10-1984 "
Information Location 1:	http://www.cco.state.oh.us/scripts/ccoc.wsc/ws_civilcasesearch_2007.r?mode=5&CaseNo=198105750
Information Source 2:	"Wrongly Incarcerated, Randomly Compensated — How To Fund Wrongful Conviction Compensation Statutes, By Deborah Mostaghel, Indiana Law Review, Vol. 44-503, 2011 (Vol. 2), 510-511"
Information Location 2:	http://indylaw.indiana.edu/ilr/pdf/vol44p503.pdf
Information Source 3:	"O’Neil v. State, 469 N.E.2d 1010, 1012-13 (Ohio Ct. App. 1984)"
Information Location 3:
Information Source 4:	"Ohio Man Wants Money For Wrongful Jailing, staff writers, Jet magazine, October 24, 1983, p. 38"
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
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Leonard O'Neil

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

10 to 25 years

Years Imprisoned:

3.5

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1971

Year Cleared:

1975

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Ohio

County or Region of Crime:

Cuyahoga

City of Crime:

Cleveland

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

After O'Neil had served 3 years and 2 months in prison the the actual robber confessed. Based on the new evidence of his innocence O'Neil's conviction was vacated and he was released.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$80,935.25 (State of Ohio, Dec 10, 1984)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

23

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Leonard O'Neil v. State of Ohio, No. C1981-05750 WI, Ohio Board of Claims, 12-10-1984 "

Information Location 1:

http://www.cco.state.oh.us/scripts/ccoc.wsc/ws_civilcasesearch_2007.r?mode=5&CaseNo=198105750

Information Source 2:

"Wrongly Incarcerated, Randomly Compensated — How To Fund Wrongful Conviction Compensation Statutes, By Deborah Mostaghel, Indiana Law Review, Vol. 44-503, 2011 (Vol. 2), 510-511"

Information Location 2:

http://indylaw.indiana.edu/ilr/pdf/vol44p503.pdf

Information Source 3:

"O’Neil v. State, 469 N.E.2d 1010, 1012-13 (Ohio Ct. App. 1984)"

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

"Ohio Man Wants Money For Wrongful Jailing, staff writers, Jet magazine, October 24, 1983, p. 38"

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: