Spencer Antowyn Pierce

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Charge:	First Degree Murder and Robbery
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	2
Year Crime:	2013
Year Convicted:	2013
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Iowa
County or Region of Crime:	Polk
City of Crime:	Des Moines
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Spencer Antowyn Pierce was wrongly convicted on November 6, 2013 of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the shooting death and theft of money and drugs from Steve Harmon in Des Moines, Iowa on June 6, 2013. Pierce's prrosecution was based on the fact he was living with Deanna Hood, the woman accused of the shooting. Pierce and Hood were jointly tried. Neither Pierce nor Hood testified, and neither made a statement to the police implicating themselves in the crimes. The prosecution presented a circumstantial case against Pierce because there was no direct evidence he aided and abetted, was iinvolved in, or even present at the time of the shooting and robbery. After his conviction by a jury Pierce was sentenced to life in prison. On June 10, 2015 the Iowa Court of Appeals unanimously reversed Pierce's convictions on the basis no evidence was presented he was at the crime scene or that he had had contact with Harmon prior to his death. Consequently, the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and remanded his case to the trial court for dismissal of the charges. Hood was also convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, and sentenced to life in prison, The Court stated: "Pierce’s alleged involvement in these crimes is speculative and based primarily on his presence with Hood several hours before, and shaky evidence that he was with Hood afterward." On June 10, 2015 the appeals court affirmed her conviction based on its finding the prosecution introduced circumstantial evidence, including cell phone records, that could be infered to support she committed her convicted crimes -- even though no physical, eyewitness, or confession evidence linked her to the crimes. The Court stated: "While the evidence against Hood is not overwhelming, we have found it is sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact of her guilt.""
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On June 10, 2015 the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed Pierce's convictions on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and remanded to the trial court for dismissal of the charges."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	46
Age When Released:	48
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"State of Iowa vs. Spencer A. Pierce, No. 13-2004 (Iowa Ct. of Appeal, 6-10-2015) (Reversing conviction and ordering dismissal of indictment based on insufficient evidence of guilt.)"
Information Location 1:	http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Court_of_Appeals/Court_of_Appeals_Opinions/Recent_Opinions/20150610/13-2004.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Murder conviction overturned in ’13 Des Moines case, By Associated Press, The Des Moines Register, June 10, 2015"
Information Location 2:	http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2015/06/10/murder-conviction-overturned/71022228/
Information Source 3:	"Murder conviction of Des Moines man overturned, By Associated Press, Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, IA), June 10, 2015"
Information Location 3:	http://wcfcourier.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/murder-conviction-of-des-moines-man-overturned/article_ab9dd1e3-71ec-56a4-8e60-1e73501f5f28.html
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Spencer Antowyn Pierce

Charge:

First Degree Murder and Robbery

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

2

Year Crime:

2013

Year Convicted:

2013

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Iowa

County or Region of Crime:

Polk

City of Crime:

Des Moines

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On June 10, 2015 the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed Pierce's convictions on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and remanded to the trial court for dismissal of the charges."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

46

Age When Released:

48

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"State of Iowa vs. Spencer A. Pierce, No. 13-2004 (Iowa Ct. of Appeal, 6-10-2015) (Reversing conviction and ordering dismissal of indictment based on insufficient evidence of guilt.)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Court_of_Appeals/Court_of_Appeals_Opinions/Recent_Opinions/20150610/13-2004.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Murder conviction overturned in ’13 Des Moines case, By Associated Press, The Des Moines Register, June 10, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2015/06/10/murder-conviction-overturned/71022228/

Information Source 3:

"Murder conviction of Des Moines man overturned, By Associated Press, Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, IA), June 10, 2015"

Information Location 3:

http://wcfcourier.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/murder-conviction-of-des-moines-man-overturned/article_ab9dd1e3-71ec-56a4-8e60-1e73501f5f28.html

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