Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
7 |
Year Crime: |
2002 |
Year Convicted: |
2004 |
Year Cleared: |
2009 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Belize |
County or Region of Crime: |
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City of Crime: |
San Pedro |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Ernest Savery was a co-defendant of Francis Eiley and Lenton Polonio. All three co-defendants were convicted on August 13, 2004 of the November 2002 murder of a 63-year-old man in San Pedro, Belize. They were sentenced to life in prison. The only evidence against the three was the testiony of the original suspect who was found at the crime scene with the victim's blood on his shoes and clothing. He was charged with murder, but the charge was dismissed in exchange for his testimony against the three men. After the Belize Court of Appeals upheld the three men's convictions and sentences in August 2005, they appealed to the Privy Council in London. After Belize gained its independence from Britain in 1981, it retained the Privy Council as its highest judicial court. On November 4, 2009 the Privy Council in London quashed the conviction of all three co-defendants for lack of evidence and ordered their release." |
Conviction Caused By: |
"Perjurious testimony by the prosecution's key witness, a man who was the likely murderer." |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On November 4, 2009 the Privy Council in London quashed the conviction of all three co-defendants for lack of evidence and ordered their release." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Belize murder convictions quashed by Privy Council, Caribbean Net News, November 5, 2009" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-19696--27-27--.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Privy Council Orders Release of Convicted Killers, 7 Newsbelize.com (Belize City, Belize), November 4, 2009" |
Information Location 2: |
http://7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=15438 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org