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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
HIV Exposure (deliberately exposing people to HIV infection) |
Sentence: |
25 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
1 |
Year Crime: |
2008 |
Year Convicted: |
2009 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Iowa |
County or Region of Crime: |
Black Hawk |
City of Crime: |
Cedar Falls |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Nick Rhoades was wrongly convicted in 2009 of haing protected sexual intercourse with a man he met online, but without disclosing he was HIV positive. After he pled guilty, in Black Hawk County, Iowa, Rhoades was sentenced to 25 years in prison. On June 13, 2014 the Iowa Supreme Court vacated Rhoades guilty plea and overturned his conviction on the basis he was provided ineffective assistance of counsel in being advised to pled guilty. The charges were to be dismissed because Iowa passed a law that decriminalized the protected sex that Rhoades and his partner engaged in. A concurring opinion agreed with vacating Rhoades' conviction, but opined that the basis should have been that the facts of the case didn't establish that the state had insufficient evidence he violated every essential element of the crime. In May 2015 Rhoades sued for compensation under Iowa's wrongful imprisonment compensation statute. A judge granted the States motion to dismiss based on a provision in the law that bars compensation to a person who pled guilty to their crime. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the judge's ruling in April 2016." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Ineffective assistance of counsel in advising Rhoades to pled guilty. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On June 13, 2014 the Iowa Supreme Court overturned Nick Rhoades' conviction on the basis he was provided ineffective assistance of counsel in being advised to pled guilty. The charges were to be dismissed because Iowa passed a law that decriminalized the protected sex that Rhoades and his partner engaged in. A concurring opinion agreed with vacating Rhoades' conviction, but opined that the basis should have been that the facts of the case didn't establish that the state had insufficient evidence he violated every essential element of the crime." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
Denied |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
33 |
Age When Released: |
34 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Rhoades v. State, No. 12-0180 (Iowa Supreme Court, 6-13-2014)" |
Information Location 1: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14477637754145868407&q=Nick+Rhoades&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 2: |
"Iowa faces HIV reality, Editorial Bd., Quad-City Times (Davenport, IA), June 18, 2014" |
Information Location 2: |
http://qctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/iowa-faces-hiv-reality/article_7858f4e4-e9af-5e43-b859-3c5b979f9319.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Iowa justices weigh Rhoades HIV case for second time, By Grant Rodgers (Staff writer), The Des Moines Register, March 8, 2016" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2016/03/08/iowa-justices-weigh-rhoades-hiv-case-second-time/81477880/ |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org