David Saraceno

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Charge:	Arson
Sentence:
Years Imprisoned:	1
Year Crime:	1994
Year Convicted:	1998
Year Cleared:	1999
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Connecticut
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"David Saraceno was wrongly convicted in 1998 of the arson of 15 school buses in 1994, based on his confession. After Saraceno was convicted his lawyer learned that the prosecution had concealed the identity of the actual arsonists. Burned by the disclosure of their duplicity, the prosecutors would only agree to dismiss the arson charge without a fight if Saraceno pled guilty to “hindering prosecution by falsely confessing.”"
Conviction Caused By:	False confession
Innocence Proved By:	Discovery that the actual perpetrator was known to prosecutors prior to David Saraceno's trial.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	18
Age When Released:	19
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Suspect Cleared in Bus Arson: Haddam Man Pleads to a Lesser Charge Ending 5-Year Drama, By Gary Libow, Hartford Courant, December. 10, 1999, p A1."
Information Location 1:	1999 WL 30056765
Information Source 2:	"Man Says Confession Was False; Defendant Claims Fear of Jail Led to Lies in Bus Burning Case, By Joseph O’Brien, Hartford Courant, June 2, 1995, p B1"
Information Location 2:	1995 WL 8664548
Information Source 3:	"Questioning of Suspect Criticized; Police Action Faulted in School Bus Action Case, By Joseph O’Brien, Hartford Courant, June 1, 1995, p B1"
Information Location 3:	1995 WL 8664027
Information Source 4:	"The Problem of False Confessions in the Post-DNA World, By Steven A. Drizin & Richard A. Leo, 82 NCLRev 891-1007 (2004)"
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
Book About Case:
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David Saraceno

Charge:

Arson

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

1

Year Crime:

1994

Year Convicted:

1998

Year Cleared:

1999

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Connecticut

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confession

Innocence Proved By:

Discovery that the actual perpetrator was known to prosecutors prior to David Saraceno's trial.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

18

Age When Released:

19

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Suspect Cleared in Bus Arson: Haddam Man Pleads to a Lesser Charge Ending 5-Year Drama, By Gary Libow, Hartford Courant, December. 10, 1999, p A1."

Information Location 1:

1999 WL 30056765

Information Source 2:

"Man Says Confession Was False; Defendant Claims Fear of Jail Led to Lies in Bus Burning Case, By Joseph O’Brien, Hartford Courant, June 2, 1995, p B1"

Information Location 2:

1995 WL 8664548

Information Source 3:

"Questioning of Suspect Criticized; Police Action Faulted in School Bus Action Case, By Joseph O’Brien, Hartford Courant, June 1, 1995, p B1"

Information Location 3:

1995 WL 8664027

Information Source 4:

"The Problem of False Confessions in the Post-DNA World, By Steven A. Drizin & Richard A. Leo, 82 NCLRev 891-1007 (2004)"

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: