James L. Owens Jr.

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole
Years Imprisoned:	21
Year Crime:	1987
Year Convicted:	1988
Year Cleared:	2008
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Maryland
County or Region of Crime:	Baltimore
City of Crime:	Baltimore
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"James L. Owens Jr. was wrongly convicted of murder in 1988 for the 1987 murder and rape of 24-year-old Colleen Willar in Baltimore, Maryland. Owens and Willar were neighbors. Owens' conviction was based on the testimony of his co-defendant James Thompson, who testified he was present when Owens raped and murdered Willar, and a prosecution expert who testified a pubic hair found at the crime scene was visually similar to Thompson's pubic hair. Immediately after he testified Thompson recanted his testimony and said neither Owens nor he was present. Owens was only convicted by the jury of murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. In September, 2006, DNA testing of sperm recovered from the victim identified a male DNA profile that didn't mstch either Owens or Thompson. The pubic hair testified about at trial had been misplaced so it couldn't be testified. On May 24, 2007, Owens was granted a new trial on a joint motion by Owens’ attorney and the prosecution. The charges were dismissed on October 15, 2008 and Owens, 43, was released immediately from prison after 21 yeaars in custody. At the time of his release Owens told reporters, "You can't give me that time back. You can't give me that back. That's all I got to say.""
Conviction Caused By:	Perjurious testimony by co-defendant.
Innocence Proved By:	Charges dismissed after DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial excluded him as the woman's assailant.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	22
Age When Released:	43
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Man freed after 20 years, By Melissa Harris, Baltimore Sun, October 16, 2008"
Information Location 1:	"http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.owens16oct16,0,3653112.story"
Information Source 2:	"Inmate Leaves Prison After DNA Evidence Led To Dropping of Charges, By Dan Morse (staff writer, Washington Post, October 16, 2008"
Information Location 2:	http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/15/AR2008101501805.html
Information Source 3:	"James L. Owens Freed After 21 Years, Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project website"
Information Location 3:	http://www.exonerate.org/2008/james-l-owens-freed-after-21-years/
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Information Location 5:
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James L. Owens Jr.

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole

Years Imprisoned:

21

Year Crime:

1987

Year Convicted:

1988

Year Cleared:

2008

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Maryland

County or Region of Crime:

Baltimore

City of Crime:

Baltimore

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjurious testimony by co-defendant.

Innocence Proved By:

Charges dismissed after DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial excluded him as the woman's assailant.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

22

Age When Released:

43

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Man freed after 20 years, By Melissa Harris, Baltimore Sun, October 16, 2008"

Information Location 1:

"http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.owens16oct16,0,3653112.story"

Information Source 2:

"Inmate Leaves Prison After DNA Evidence Led To Dropping of Charges, By Dan Morse (staff writer, Washington Post, October 16, 2008"

Information Location 2:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/15/AR2008101501805.html

Information Source 3:

"James L. Owens Freed After 21 Years, Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project website"

Information Location 3:

http://www.exonerate.org/2008/james-l-owens-freed-after-21-years/

Information Source 4:

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: