Ralph Edward Plotner Jr.

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Charge:	Attempted Rape
Sentence:	20 years
Years Imprisoned:	2
Year Crime:	1983
Year Convicted:	1984
Year Cleared:	1988
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Oklahoma
County or Region of Crime:	Oklahoma
City of Crime:	Oklahoma City
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Ralph Plotner Jr. was wrongly convicted in 1984 of the attempted rape of Janice Rae Benham on November 6, 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Plotner was the wealthy owner of Ralph E. Plotner Oil and Gas Investments. Benham's lawyer reported the alleged crimes to the police on November 23, 1983 -- more than two weeks after they allegedly occurred -- when Plotner refused Benham's attempt to extort money from him in exchange for her not reporting the alleged crimes. Benham had also made a statement her injuries were caused by her falling down the stairs that she later claimed were caused during the alleged assault by Plotner. Plotner's convictions of attempted rape and and forcible oral-sodomy were based on the testimony of the alleged victim Benham. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. After his conviction Benham filed a civil suit seeking money from Plotner. The civil jury awarded Benham $150,002. Plotner appealed and in 1990 the Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed the jury's award and remanded for a new trial because at the time of the civil trial Plotner's criminal appeal was pending so the judge erred by instructing the jury his conviction was conclusive evidence the events alleged by Benham occurred as she testified. Plotner wound up paying nothing to Benham. In 1988 the Oklahoma Court of Appeals overturned Plotner's attempted rape conviction. Plotner's conviction of forcible oral-sodomy was not overturned, even though it was learned during Benham's civil suit to recover money from him, that the nurse at the hospital where Benham went several weeks after the alleged assault testified Benham told her that her then doctor-boyfriend was her assailant."
Conviction Caused By:	"Perjured testimony by the alleged victim as part of a ploy to sue Ralph Plotner Jr., a wealthy businessman, for money damages."
Innocence Proved By:	In 1988 the Oklahoma Court of Appeals overturned Plotner's attempted rape conviction.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	36
Age When Released:	38
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"The FBI's Junk Science, GQ magazine, January 2001, pp. 114-117, 149. "
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Plotner v. State, 762 P. 2d 936 (Okla. Ct of Crim. Appeals 1988)"
Information Location 2:	"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2043033226864250083&q=Ralph+Plotner+Jr.&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"
Information Source 3:	"Benham v. Plotner, 795 P.2d 510 (Okla. Sup. Ct., 7-17-1990)"
Information Location 3:	http://www.leagle.com/decision/19901305795P2d510_11297
Information Source 4:	"Extortion Attempt Alleged Attorneys Seeks New Trial for Plotner, By Ray Robinson (Staff writer), NewsOK.com (Oklahoma City, OK), May 22, 1985"
Information Location 4:	http://newsok.com/extortion-attempt-alleged-attorneys-seeks-new-trial-for-plotner/article/2109468
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Ralph Edward Plotner Jr.

Charge:

Attempted Rape

Sentence:

20 years

Years Imprisoned:

2

Year Crime:

1983

Year Convicted:

1984

Year Cleared:

1988

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Oklahoma

County or Region of Crime:

Oklahoma

City of Crime:

Oklahoma City

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Perjured testimony by the alleged victim as part of a ploy to sue Ralph Plotner Jr., a wealthy businessman, for money damages."

Innocence Proved By:

In 1988 the Oklahoma Court of Appeals overturned Plotner's attempted rape conviction.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

36

Age When Released:

38

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"The FBI's Junk Science, GQ magazine, January 2001, pp. 114-117, 149. "

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Plotner v. State, 762 P. 2d 936 (Okla. Ct of Crim. Appeals 1988)"

Information Location 2:

"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2043033226864250083&q=Ralph+Plotner+Jr.&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"

Information Source 3:

"Benham v. Plotner, 795 P.2d 510 (Okla. Sup. Ct., 7-17-1990)"

Information Location 3:

http://www.leagle.com/decision/19901305795P2d510_11297

Information Source 4:

"Extortion Attempt Alleged Attorneys Seeks New Trial for Plotner, By Ray Robinson (Staff writer), NewsOK.com (Oklahoma City, OK), May 22, 1985"

Information Location 4:

http://newsok.com/extortion-attempt-alleged-attorneys-seeks-new-trial-for-plotner/article/2109468

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: