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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Attempted Murder and Robbery |
Sentence: |
30 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
9.5 |
Year Crime: |
1996 |
Year Convicted: |
1998 |
Year Cleared: |
2006 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Indiana |
County or Region of Crime: |
Elkhart |
City of Crime: |
Elkhart |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Christopher Parish was co-defendant of Keith Cooper. Both men were wrongly convicted in 1998 charges related to a robbery involving a shooting in an apartment in Elkhart, Indiana on October 29, 1996. Christopher Parish's alibi for his whereabouts at the time of the alleged cirme was he was 110 miles away with his family in Chicago, Illinois. Before trial the prosecution offered Parish a plea deal of one year in prison that he turned down proclaiming his innocence. After his conviction by a jury Parish was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The prosecution failed to disclose that DNA tests of a hat worn by the shooter did not match Cooper or Parish. On December 6, 2005 the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned Parish's conviction and ordered a new trial based on ineffective assistance of his trial counsel for failing to investigate that no robbery or shooting occurred in the apartment -- but that the alleged victim concocted the story to cover-up that he was actually shot in the parking lot while he was on home detention for a gun related conviction. Parish was released on bail after 9-1/2 years in custody. The Elkhart County District Attorney declined to retry Parish, and filed a motion to dismiss the charges that was granted on December 1, 2006. Cooper filed a post-conviction petition based on the evidence Parish discovered that they had been convicted of a non-existent crime. Cooper was released on April 27, 2006 after agreeing to his immediate release in exchange for dropping his petition for a new trial. Parish filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named many defendants. On October 27, 2010, a federal jury awarded Parish $73,125 in compensation from the City of Elkhart, and $5,000 in punitive damages from retired Elkhart Police Detective Steve Rezutko. The total award to Parish was $78,125, plus an award of $191,000 in attorney’s fees and costs. Parish appealed the award, and in December 2012 the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded for a new trial limited to assessing damages. In November 2014 Parish and the two defendants settled his suit for $4.9 million. In September 2016 Indiana Governor Mike Pence declined to pardon Cooper on the basis he had failed to exhaust his judicial options to have his conviction overturned. Cooper subsequently filed a post-conviction petition to reverse his conviction and for a new trial. While Cooper's post-conviction was pending, on February 9, 2017 Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb issued a pardon for Keith Cooper." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by the prosecution's key witness. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"In November 2005 the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned Parish's conviction and ordered a new trial. In December 2006, the Elkhart County District Attorney's motion to dismiss the charges against Parish was granted." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$4.9 mil. (City of Elkhart, Nov. 2014)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
20 |
Age When Released: |
29 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Phantom Robbery And Fake Crime Scene Leads To 30-Year Prison Sentence — The Christopher Parish Story, By Christopher Parish, Justice Denied, Issue 30, Fall 2005, p. 7" |
Information Location 1: |
http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_30/christopher_parish_jd_issue_30.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Parish v. State, no. 20a03-0502-pc-74 (Ind.App. 12-6-2005)" |
Information Location 2: |
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Information Source 3: |
"Indiana v Parish, No. 20D01-0606-FA-05, Motion To Dismiss and Dismissal, 12-1-2006" |
Information Location 3: |
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Information Source 4: |
"Parish v. City of Elkhart, Indiana, et al., No. 11-1669 (7th Cir. 12-20-2012)" |
Information Location 4: |
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1619012.html |
Information Source 5: |
"Former Elkhart man’s wrongful imprisonment triggers $4.9 million payout, a fight among insurance companies, By Jeff Parrott, The Elkhart Truth, November 19, 2014" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.elkharttruth.com/news/crime-fire-courts/2014/11/19/Former-Elkhart-man-s-wrongful-imprisonment-triggers-4-9-million-payout-a-fight-among-insurance-companies.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org