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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Child/Minor Sex Abuse (incl. molestation) |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment with possibility of parole |
Years Imprisoned: |
17 |
Year Crime: |
1995 |
Year Convicted: |
1997 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Oklahoma |
County or Region of Crime: |
Osage |
City of Crime: |
Tulsa |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Matthew Richard Parker was wrongly convicted on March 6, 1997 of repeatedly sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl in Tulsa, Oklahoma sometime between June 1994 and Oct. 1, 1995. Parker's fiancee babysat the child. Parker, 27, was arrested and charged In March 1996, There was no physical, medical, or corroborating witness evidence that the girl had experienced any sexual abuse, The prosecution's case was based on the testimony of the child, and the truthfulness of her testimony was vouched for by a child abuse expert and two state officials who talked with the child. Parker emphatically denied the charges. After the jury convicted Parker he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Parker's direct appeal and state and federal habeas petitions were denied. Then in 2012 the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ordered an evidentiary hearing, in reversing Tulsa District Judge William Musseman's summary denial of Parker's successive post-conviction petition that asserted claims of new evidence, ineffective assistance of his trial counsel, and other issues. Judge Musseman denied Parker's petition in 2012 after holding an evidentiary hearing. Parker appealed. In 2014 the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed Judge Musseman's ruling, and granted Parker's post-conviction petition on the basis he was provided with ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The appeals court overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial. Parker was released on bond in May 2014, and in March 2015 a judge granted a motion filed by the District Attorney's Office to dismiss the charges. On March 9, 2016 Parker filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named the City of Tulsa as a defendant, claiming that his constitutional rights were violated during his prosecution. In addition, Parker also filed a petition in Tulsa District Court for a declaration of actual innocence, so that he could file a claim for compensation from the State of Oklahoma. Parker's petition asserted that under Oklahoma rulings an actual innocence designation is “merely a gatekeeping step designed to set into motion the state’s administrative tort claims machinery, not an ultimate and conclusive determination of exoneration.” Oklahoma State law permits those wrongfully convicted to receive up to $175,000 in compensation." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Ineffective assistance of counsel. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"In 2014 the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed Judge Musseman's ruling, and granted Parker's post-conviction petition on the basis he was provided with ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The appeals court overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial. Parker was released on bond in May 2014, and in March 2015 a judge granted a motion filed by the District Attorney's Office to dismiss the charges." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
28 |
Age When Released: |
45 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Man seeks actual-innocence finding from judge after sex-abuse conviction overturned: He seeks designation after 1997 sex-abuse conviction overturned, By Curtis Killman & Arianna Pickard (World Staff Writers), Tulsa World, April 30, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/man-seeks-actual-innocence-finding-from-judge-after-sex-abuse/article_85055446-2d06-5135-a501-48ca60811962.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Parker v. Scott, 394 F.3d 1302 (10th Cir., Jan. 5, 2005) (Affirming district courts denial of Parker's federal habeas petition.)" |
Information Location 2: |
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/394/1302/521384/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Matthew Richard Parker v. The City of Tulsa, No. 4:2016cv00134 (Dist Ct. ND OK)" |
Information Location 3: |
"https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/10923912/Parker_v_City_of_Tulsa,_The" |
Information Source 4: |
"Hominy Man Gets Life for Abuse, By Staff, Tulsa World, March 8, 1997" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/tulsa-woman-charged-in-shooting/article_1e6c39fe-397b-58ae-9c83-b0ee466ece64.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org