Eric Sarsfield

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	10 to 15 years
Years Imprisoned:	9.5
Year Crime:	1986
Year Convicted:	1987
Year Cleared:	2000
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:	Middlesex
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Eric Sarsfield was exonerated by post-conviction DNA tests. He insisted all along he was innocent and his alibi, corroborated by the DNA tests, was he was either at work or with his wife the entire day the rape occurred. Imprisoned in 1989 after he lost his direct appeal. Released in 1999 on parole. Exonerated in 2000 by DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial in 1987. Wrongly imprisoned for 9-1/2 years. In August 2005, Sarsfield was awarded $500,000 in compensation by the state of Massachusetts under the state wrongful conviction compensation statute. In March 2006 Sarsfield settled his federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Marlborough police department and several police officers for $2,000,000. In October 2006 a federal judge awarded Sarsfield an additional $11,600,000, although who is liable for the payment was undetermined at that time."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	Post-conviction DNA testing.
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project NY
Compensation Awarded:	"$14.1 million total. $500,000 (State of Massachusetts, Aug. 2005), $2,000,000 (City of Marlborough, March 2006) and $11.6 million (City of Marlborough, Oct. 2006)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	26
Age When Released:	36
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Stanley Z. Fisher, Convictions of Innocent Persons in Massachusetts: An Overview,” 12 Boston Univ. Public Interest L.J. 1, 13-14 (2002)."
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Information Source 2:	"Sarsfield, Eric v. Commonwealth, SUCV2005-00666 (Compensation claim with the State of Massachusetts under G.L.C. 258D settled in 2005 for $500,000.)"
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Eric Sarsfield

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

10 to 15 years

Years Imprisoned:

9.5

Year Crime:

1986

Year Convicted:

1987

Year Cleared:

2000

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Middlesex

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Post-conviction DNA testing.

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project NY

Compensation Awarded:

"$14.1 million total. $500,000 (State of Massachusetts, Aug. 2005), $2,000,000 (City of Marlborough, March 2006) and $11.6 million (City of Marlborough, Oct. 2006)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

26

Age When Released:

36

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Stanley Z. Fisher, Convictions of Innocent Persons in Massachusetts: An Overview,” 12 Boston Univ. Public Interest L.J. 1, 13-14 (2002)."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Sarsfield, Eric v. Commonwealth, SUCV2005-00666 (Compensation claim with the State of Massachusetts under G.L.C. 258D settled in 2005 for $500,000.)"

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Movie About Case:

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