Joseph Pikul

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Charge:	Second Degree Murder
Sentence:	Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing
Years Imprisoned:	0.21
Year Crime:	1987
Year Convicted:	1989
Year Cleared:	1989
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Orange
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Posthumously - Died in prison
Summary of Case:	"Joseph Pikul was convicted on March 16, 1989 after a six week trial of murdering his estranged wife Diane Pikul in 1987 in Orange County, New York. Joseph was a Wall Street securities analyst and his wife Diane was an assistant to the publisher of Harper's magazine. While awaiting sentencing Pikul died on June 3, 1989 after being hospitalized for a week in a Goshen, New York hospital. Under New York State law a conviction had to be vacated if a defendant died before his appeal was decided. On August 22, 1989 Orange County Judge Thomas Byrne vacated Joseph Pikul's conviction restoring his presumption of innocence. Pikul's lawyer. A week before Pikul died his lawyer Ronald J. Bekoff, filed a motion for a new trial based on new tape recording evidence. Pikul was in custody from the date of his conviction on March 16 until his death on June 3."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On August 22, 1989 Orange County Judge Thomas Byrne vacated Joseph Pikul's conviction restoring his presumption of innocence."
Defendant Aided By:	Attorney Ronald J. Bekoff
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	54
Age When Released:	54
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Conviction Is Vacated In Pikul Murder Case, By Staff Writers, The New York Times, December 6, 1989"
Information Location 1:	http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/06/nyregion/conviction-is-vacated-in-pikul-murder-case.html
Information Source 2:	"Wife Killer Dies While He Waits For Prison Term, By James Feron (Special to The New York Times), The New York Times, June 03, 1989"
Information Location 2:	http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/03/nyregion/wife-killer-dies-while-he-waits-for-prison-term.html
Information Source 3:	"Wall St. Analyst Guilty in Murder Of Second Wife, By James Feron (Special to the New York Times), The New York Times, March 17, 1989"
Information Location 3:	http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/17/nyregion/wall-st-analyst-guilty-in-murder-of-second-wife.html
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Joseph Pikul

Charge:

Second Degree Murder

Sentence:

Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing

Years Imprisoned:

0.21

Year Crime:

1987

Year Convicted:

1989

Year Cleared:

1989

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Orange

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Posthumously - Died in prison

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On August 22, 1989 Orange County Judge Thomas Byrne vacated Joseph Pikul's conviction restoring his presumption of innocence."

Defendant Aided By:

Attorney Ronald J. Bekoff

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

54

Age When Released:

54

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Conviction Is Vacated In Pikul Murder Case, By Staff Writers, The New York Times, December 6, 1989"

Information Location 1:

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/06/nyregion/conviction-is-vacated-in-pikul-murder-case.html

Information Source 2:

"Wife Killer Dies While He Waits For Prison Term, By James Feron (Special to The New York Times), The New York Times, June 03, 1989"

Information Location 2:

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/03/nyregion/wife-killer-dies-while-he-waits-for-prison-term.html

Information Source 3:

"Wall St. Analyst Guilty in Murder Of Second Wife, By James Feron (Special to the New York Times), The New York Times, March 17, 1989"

Information Location 3:

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/17/nyregion/wall-st-analyst-guilty-in-murder-of-second-wife.html

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

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Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: