David Plunkett

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Charge:	Assault - Aggravated (including causing bodily harm)
Sentence:	10 years
Years Imprisoned:	5
Year Crime:	2006
Year Convicted:	2007
Year Cleared:	2012
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Herkimer
City of Crime:	Ilion
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"David Plunkett was wrongly convicted in May 2007 of aggravated assault upon a police officer in Ilion, New York in 2006. Plunkett bit a police officer who answered a call for assistance made by the medical clinic where Plunkett was causing a disturbance. Plunkett's motion to dismiss the aggravated assault charge on the basis his teeth were not a "deadly weapon or dangerous instrument" under New York law was denied by the trial judge, who ruled that while his teeth weren't a deadly weapon under the law, his saliva was. Plunkett then pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on May 30, 2007. Plunkett appealed his conviction on the basis he had pled guilty to actions that weren't criminal under the law, but in 2010 the Appellate Division, Fourth Department ruled that he waived his right to appeal his conviction when he pled guilty. On June 7, 2012 New York's Court of Appeals vacated Plunkett's conviction on the basis he had admitted facts that did not constitute a crime, "A defendant can admit facts, but cannot by his or her admission admit an offense for which the law does not already provide." (The People v. David Plunkett, No. 98 (NY Ct of Appeals, 6-7-2012))"
Conviction Caused By:	"The trial judge applied the wrong standard for what constitutes a "deadly weapon or dangerous instrument" under New York law."
Innocence Proved By:	"On June 7, 2012 New York's Court of Appeals vacated Plunkett's conviction on the basis he had admitted facts that did not constitute a crime."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	43
Age When Released:	48
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"The People v. David Plunkett, No. 98 (NY Ct of Appeals, 6-7-2012)"
Information Location 1:	http://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decisions/2012/Jun12/98opn12.pdf
Information Source 2:	"HIV-positive saliva not a 'deadly weapon' says NY court, \|By Dan Wiessner (Reuters), Chicago Tribune, June 7, 2012"
Information Location 2:	http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-07/news/sns-rt-us-usa-newyork-bitingbre8561b4-20120607_1_hiv-positive-saliva-david-plunkett
Information Source 3:	"HIV-positive man's saliva not a 'deadly weapon', says court, Reuters, NDTV.com, June 8, 2012"
Information Location 3:	http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/hiv-positive-man-s-saliva-not-a-deadly-weapon-says-court-228878
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David Plunkett

Charge:

Assault - Aggravated (including causing bodily harm)

Sentence:

10 years

Years Imprisoned:

5

Year Crime:

2006

Year Convicted:

2007

Year Cleared:

2012

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Herkimer

City of Crime:

Ilion

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"The trial judge applied the wrong standard for what constitutes a "deadly weapon or dangerous instrument" under New York law."

Innocence Proved By:

"On June 7, 2012 New York's Court of Appeals vacated Plunkett's conviction on the basis he had admitted facts that did not constitute a crime."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

43

Age When Released:

48

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"The People v. David Plunkett, No. 98 (NY Ct of Appeals, 6-7-2012)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decisions/2012/Jun12/98opn12.pdf

Information Source 2:

"HIV-positive saliva not a 'deadly weapon' says NY court, |By Dan Wiessner (Reuters), Chicago Tribune, June 7, 2012"

Information Location 2:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-07/news/sns-rt-us-usa-newyork-bitingbre8561b4-20120607_1_hiv-positive-saliva-david-plunkett

Information Source 3:

"HIV-positive man's saliva not a 'deadly weapon', says court, Reuters, NDTV.com, June 8, 2012"

Information Location 3:

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/hiv-positive-man-s-saliva-not-a-deadly-weapon-says-court-228878

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Book About Case (2):

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