Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Christopher Roesser

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

6.75

Year Crime:

2006

Year Convicted:

2008

Year Cleared:

2013

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Georgia

County or Region of Crime:

Gwinnett

City of Crime:

Lawrenceville

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Christopher Roesser was wrongly convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a Kevin Price during a drug deal on December 20, 2006 in Lawrenceville, Georgia. During Roesser trial in 2008 his defense was he acted in self-defense. After the jury found him guilty of felony murder and other charges, he was sentenced to life in prison. The trial court granted Roesser's motion for a new trial based on the court's giving of a faulty jury instruction. Roesser was retried in 2011 and the jury acquitted him of all charges except for voluntary manslaughter for which they deadlocked, and the judge declared a mistrial. The jury voted 11 to 1 for acquittal of voluntary manslaughter. When the prosecution sought to retry him for voluntary manslaughter Roesser filed a motion that collateral estoppel barred his retrial because the jury acquitted him of charges that relied on the same facts that his prosecution for voluntary manslaughter was based. The trial court denied the motion and the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the judges ruling. On November 18, 2013 the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that retrying Christopher Roesser for voluntary manslaughter would violate his right against double jeopardy. The Court ruled that in acquitting Roesser of murder the jury "necessarily determined that Roesser acted in self-defense and that this issue of ultimate fact constitutes a critical element of voluntary manslaughter. Thus, we conclude that double jeopardy bars the State from prosecuting Roesser again for voluntary manslaughter."' Roesser v. The State, No. S12G1846 (GA Sup. Ct., 11-18-2013), Op. Cit 12. From the time of Roesser's arrest in February 2007 to his release in November 2013 he was incarcerated for 6 years and 9 months."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On November 18, 2013 the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that retrying Christopher Roesser for voluntary manslaughter would violate his right against double jeopardy."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

25

Age When Released:

32

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Roesser v. The State, No. S12G1846 (GA Sup. Ct., 11-18-2013)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.gasupreme.us/sc-op/pdf/s12g1846.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Gwinnett man's 2008 murder conviction overturned, By Beth Sawicki (staff), Channel 11 (Atlanta, GA), November 18, 2013"

Information Location 2:

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/313376/40/Gwinnett-mans-2008-murder-conviction-overturned

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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