Thomas Oliver

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Charge:	Robbery and Assault
Sentence:	10 to 25 years
Years Imprisoned:	1.33
Year Crime:	1945
Year Convicted:	1945
Year Cleared:	1947
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:	"Thomas Oliver was wrongly convicted of armed robbery and assault in Oct. 1945 by a jury in New York City based on his identification by the victim -- an elderly woman, and the testimony of his codefendant. After Oliver and his codefendant Eddie Lee Wilbur were sentenced, Wilbur admitted that he lied in implicating Oliver in the crime, and that his accomplice was actually a man he only knew as "Jay." The district attorney's office opened an investigation into Oliver's case to determine if Wilbur was telling the truth. Questioning of the victim determined that she in fact didn't recognize Oliver as one of her assailants, but that she had only seen him around with Wilbur. The DA was able to identify that "Jay" was an ex-con who fled New York after the crime Oliver and Wilbur were charged with committing. After some months the ex-con was apprehended, and during his interrogation he confessed to committing the crime with Wilbur and provided extensive details fo the crime. Convinced of Oliver's innocence, the DA's Office filed a petition to set-aside his conviction, which was granted in March 1947. Olvier was released after a year an 4 months in custody. The ex-con pled guilty and he was sentenced to five to ten years in prison. Payment of $6,000 in compensation was authorized by the New York State legislature in 1948 for Oliver's 16 months of wrongful imprisonment."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	Conviction set aside and indictment dismissed.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$6,000 (State of New York, 1948)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"The Innocents, Edward Radin,William Morrow & Co., 1964, p. 247."
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Information Source 2:	"Report of the District Attorney County of New York - 1946-1948, The Case of Thomas Oliver, pp. 148-150"
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Thomas Oliver

Charge:

Robbery and Assault

Sentence:

10 to 25 years

Years Imprisoned:

1.33

Year Crime:

1945

Year Convicted:

1945

Year Cleared:

1947

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:

Innocence Proved By:

Conviction set aside and indictment dismissed.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$6,000 (State of New York, 1948)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"The Innocents, Edward Radin,William Morrow & Co., 1964, p. 247."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Report of the District Attorney County of New York - 1946-1948, The Case of Thomas Oliver, pp. 148-150"

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: