Frank Sgelirrach

Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	8 to 16 years
Years Imprisoned:	1.25
Year Crime:	1919
Year Convicted:	1919
Year Cleared:	1921
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	New York City
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Frank Pezzulich and Frank Sgelirrach were codefendants wrongly convicted of a robbery committed in New York City on March 22, 1919. Their alibi defense supported by seven witnesses was the two men had been in the kitchen of the lodging house where they lived during the time of the robbery. After they were convicted by a jury based on eyewitness testimony, they were each sentenced on June 29, 1919 to 8 to 16 years in Sing Sing Prison. The actual robbers confessed to New York Assistant District Attorney Owen W. Bohan that Pezzulich and Sgelirrach had no involvement in the crime. Based on the new evidence Pezzulich and Sgelirrach weren't involved in the robbery the DA's Office initiated proceedings to free the two men, who were released from prison on August 19, 1920 after a judge granted the DA's certificate of reasonable doubt. The indictment against the two men was dismissed on April 28, 1921. The two men were "
Conviction Caused By:	Eyewitness error
Innocence Proved By:	"Based on the new evidence Pezzulich and Sgelirrach weren't involved in the robbery the DA's Office initiated proceedings to free the two men, who were released from prison on August 19, 1920 after a judge granted the DA's certificate of reasonable doubt. The indictment against the two men was dismissed on April 28, 1921."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	26
Age When Released:	28
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Convicting the Innocent - Sixty-Five Actual Errors of Criminal Justice, by Edwin Borchard, Yale Univ Press, 1932, pp. 181-185."
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:
Information Location 3:
Information Source 4:
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:

Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Frank Sgelirrach

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

8 to 16 years

Years Imprisoned:

1.25

Year Crime:

1919

Year Convicted:

1919

Year Cleared:

1921

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

New York City

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Eyewitness error

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

26

Age When Released:

28

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Convicting the Innocent - Sixty-Five Actual Errors of Criminal Justice, by Edwin Borchard, Yale Univ Press, 1932, pp. 181-185."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

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: