James Edmond Richardson Jr.

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Charge:	"Murder, Rape and Arson"
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole
Years Imprisoned:	10
Year Crime:	1988
Year Convicted:	1989
Year Cleared:	1999
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	West Virginia
County or Region of Crime:	Kanawha
City of Crime:	Cross Lanes
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"James Edmond Richardson Jr. was wrongly convicted on January 27, 1989 of murder, rape and arson in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. The West Virginia State Police crime lab's expert - Fred Zain - fabricated evidence and the prosecutors concealed exculpatory evidence. James Richardson was exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing of crime scene evidence and released in 1996 after 7 years of wrongful imprisonment. James Richardson filed a federal civil rights lawsuit which he settled for a total of $2 million in compensation: $1 million from the State of West Virginia for Zain's false testimony, and $1 million from Kanawha County. James E. Richardson died on Jan. 8, 2011 in Kanawha County at the age of 54."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	Richardson was exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing of crime scene evidence
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:	$2 million total. $1 million (State of West Virginia - federal civil rights lawsuit) and $1 million (Kanawha County)
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	33
Age When Released:	40
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	Actual Innocence - Exonerated Individuals whose cases involved prosecutorial misconduct
Information Location 1:	http://www.publicintegrity.org/pm/default.aspx?sid=sidebarsb&aid=38
Information Source 2:	Innocence Project database
Information Location 2:	http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=52
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James Edmond Richardson Jr.

Charge:

"Murder, Rape and Arson"

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole

Years Imprisoned:

10

Year Crime:

1988

Year Convicted:

1989

Year Cleared:

1999

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

West Virginia

County or Region of Crime:

Kanawha

City of Crime:

Cross Lanes

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Richardson was exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing of crime scene evidence

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

$2 million total. $1 million (State of West Virginia - federal civil rights lawsuit) and $1 million (Kanawha County)

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

33

Age When Released:

40

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

Actual Innocence - Exonerated Individuals whose cases involved prosecutorial misconduct

Information Location 1:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/pm/default.aspx?sid=sidebarsb&aid=38

Information Source 2:

Innocence Project database

Information Location 2:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=52

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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: