James H. Priester

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Charge:	First Degree Manslaughter
Sentence:	8-1/3 to 25 years
Years Imprisoned:	1.5
Year Crime:	1979
Year Convicted:	1983
Year Cleared:	1984
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Rensselaer
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"James H. Priester was wrongly convicted of first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of a sword-wielding man who confronted him outside his home on June 29, 1979. Priester's defense was he brandished his shotgun to defend himself, and the shooting was unintentional. After his conviction by a jury Priester was sentenced to 8-1/3 to 25 years imprisonment. On December 1, 1983 the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division reversed Priester's conviction and ordered a new trial in ruling: (a) the prosecutor abused his discretion in refusing to *825 grant immunity to a state's witness who subsequently recanted her testimony and sought to testify on the defendant's behalf; and (b) the trial judge improperly injected his personal opinion by offering his interpretation of certain crucial trial evidence. Priester was retried and acquitted by a jury in In April 1984."
Conviction Caused By:	Prosecutor misconduct and errors by the trial judge.
Innocence Proved By:	Priester was retried and acquitted by a jury in In April 1984.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"People v. Priester, 98 A.D.2d 820, 470 N.Y.S.2d 478 (3d Dep't 1983 (Reversing conviction and ordering new trial.)"
Information Location 1:	"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6201329704303754690&q=98+A.D.2d+820,+470+N.Y.S.2d+478&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"
Information Source 2:	"Inevitable Error: Wrongful New York State Homicide Convictions, 1965-1988, by Marty I. Rosenbaum, 18 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 807, 824-825"
Information Location 2:	http://deskovic.org/research/article/id/Inevitable-Error-Wrongful-New-York-State-Homicide-Convictions
Information Source 3:	"Albany Times Union, Apr. 13, 1984, at B1, col. 1."
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James H. Priester

Charge:

First Degree Manslaughter

Sentence:

8-1/3 to 25 years

Years Imprisoned:

1.5

Year Crime:

1979

Year Convicted:

1983

Year Cleared:

1984

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Rensselaer

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Prosecutor misconduct and errors by the trial judge.

Innocence Proved By:

Priester was retried and acquitted by a jury in In April 1984.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"People v. Priester, 98 A.D.2d 820, 470 N.Y.S.2d 478 (3d Dep't 1983 (Reversing conviction and ordering new trial.)"

Information Location 1:

"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6201329704303754690&q=98+A.D.2d+820,+470+N.Y.S.2d+478&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"

Information Source 2:

"Inevitable Error: Wrongful New York State Homicide Convictions, 1965-1988, by Marty I. Rosenbaum, 18 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 807, 824-825"

Information Location 2:

http://deskovic.org/research/article/id/Inevitable-Error-Wrongful-New-York-State-Homicide-Convictions

Information Source 3:

"Albany Times Union, Apr. 13, 1984, at B1, col. 1."

Information Location 3:

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Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: