Michael Saunders

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Charge:	Murder and Rape
Sentence:	40 years
Years Imprisoned:	16
Year Crime:	1994
Year Convicted:	1998
Year Cleared:	2012
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Cook
City of Crime:	Englewood
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Michael Saunders, Terrill Swift, Vincent Thames and Harold Richardson were co-defendants wrongly convicted of the Nov. 7, 1994 rape and murder of 30-year-old prostitute Nina Glover in Englewood, near Chicago. They were dubbed the 'Englewood Four' by the media. Four months after the crime an 18-year-old looking for special consideration on crimes he was facting implicated Swift, Thames, Saunders and Richardson in the crime. After their arrests and intense interrogations, each of them made a confession that differed from each others confession and had inconsistencies with the crime's details. Swift, Saunders and Richardson were each convicted after separate trials in May 1998 based on the informants testimony. Swift was sentenced to 30 years, while Saunders and Richardson were sentenced to 40 years. Thames then pled guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. In April 2011 DNA testing unavailable at the time of their convictions excluded all four of the defendants. The DNA was uploaded to the Illinois DNA database and it matched the DNA profile of Johnny Douglas, a deceased man who was one of the first people interviewed by the police about the crime. On November 16, 2011 the convictions of all four defendants were vacated. On January 17, 2012 the Cook County State's Attorney's office announced the men would not be retried and the charges were dismissed. Saunders and Richardson were released on bail on November 18, 2011. Swift and Thames had already been released on parole. Swift, Thames, Saunders, and Richardson each filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named the City of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, and nine officers involved in the investigation of their case. On May 18, 2017 it was announced that Swift had reached a settlement with the City of Chicago, but it was subject to approval by the city council. On December 13, 2017 the Chicago city council agreed to settle all four lawsuits for a total of $30.99 million."
Conviction Caused By:	False confessions by all four defendants that differed in details from each others confessions and had inconsistencies with the crime's details.
Innocence Proved By:	"On November 16, 2011 the convictions of all four defendants were vacated. On January 17, 2012 the Cook County State's Attorney's office announced the men would not be retried and the charges were dismissed."
Defendant Aided By:	Innocence Project at Cardozo School of Law aided in criminal case. Represented in civil lawsuit by Chicago based law firm of Loevy & Loevy.
Compensation Awarded:	"$7,750,000 (City of Chicago, 12-13-2017)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	15
Age When Released:	31
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Convictions of four men thrown out in 1994 prostitute murder, By Rummana Hussain (Criminal Courts Reporter), Chicago Sun-Times, November 16, 2011 "
Information Location 1:	http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/8881890-418/convictions-of-four-men-thrown-out-in-1994-prostitute-murder.html
Information Source 2:	"DNA Triggers Release Of 2 Inmates In 1994 Murder, CBS - Chicago, November 18, 2012"
Information Location 2:	http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/11/18/2-inmates-released-in-1994-murder/
Information Source 3:	"‘Englewood Four,’ coerced into confessions, to get $31M settlement, By Fran Spielman (Chicago News), Chicago Sun-Times, December 9, 2017"
Information Location 3:	https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/englewood-four-31-million-settlement-tortured-false-confession-exonerated/
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Michael Saunders

Charge:

Murder and Rape

Sentence:

40 years

Years Imprisoned:

16

Year Crime:

1994

Year Convicted:

1998

Year Cleared:

2012

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Englewood

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confessions by all four defendants that differed in details from each others confessions and had inconsistencies with the crime's details.

Innocence Proved By:

"On November 16, 2011 the convictions of all four defendants were vacated. On January 17, 2012 the Cook County State's Attorney's office announced the men would not be retried and the charges were dismissed."

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project at Cardozo School of Law aided in criminal case. Represented in civil lawsuit by Chicago based law firm of Loevy & Loevy.

Compensation Awarded:

"$7,750,000 (City of Chicago, 12-13-2017)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

15

Age When Released:

31

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Convictions of four men thrown out in 1994 prostitute murder, By Rummana Hussain (Criminal Courts Reporter), Chicago Sun-Times, November 16, 2011 "

Information Location 1:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/8881890-418/convictions-of-four-men-thrown-out-in-1994-prostitute-murder.html

Information Source 2:

"DNA Triggers Release Of 2 Inmates In 1994 Murder, CBS - Chicago, November 18, 2012"

Information Location 2:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/11/18/2-inmates-released-in-1994-murder/

Information Source 3:

"‘Englewood Four,’ coerced into confessions, to get $31M settlement, By Fran Spielman (Chicago News), Chicago Sun-Times, December 9, 2017"

Information Location 3:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/englewood-four-31-million-settlement-tortured-false-confession-exonerated/

Information Source 4:

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Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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