Rudolph Sheeler

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	12
Year Crime:	1936
Year Convicted:	1939
Year Cleared:	1951
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Pennsylvania
County or Region of Crime:	Philadelphia
City of Crime:	Philadelphia
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Rudolph Sheeler was charged with same the murder as George Bilger - but they were not co-defendants and were tried at different times. Two years after Bilger was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia policeman on November 23, 1936, Rudolph Sheeler was arrested as an accomplice in the crime. Sheeler confessed after being tortured by police interrogators. Based on his confession and the testimony of a jailhouse informant Sheeler pled guilty to avoid a possible death sentence if convicted after a trial, and he was sentenced to life in prison. After Sheeler's arrest Bilger was transfered to a mental hospital. Sheeler's conviction was overturned on March 29, 1951 when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted his writ of habeas corpus based on the violation of his constitutional rights by the Philadelphia police. The Court ordered a retrial, which began May 1, 1951. After the evidence was presented Judge James G. Gordon ordered a directed verdict of acquittal. A week before Sheeler's arrest the actual culprit was killed during a shoot-out resisting arrest. After Sheeler's release he was not awarded any compensation."
Conviction Caused By:	False confession and false prosecution informant
Innocence Proved By:	Directed verdict of acquittal during his retrial. The actual culprit was killed resisting arrest
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	No
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"''Not Guilty," Judge Jerome Frank and Barbara Frank, Doubleday, NY, 1957, Chapter 6, pgs. 167-180"
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Information Source 2:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 97+."
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Information Source 3:	"The Innocents, Edward Radin,William Morrow & Co., 1964, p. 241-242."
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Rudolph Sheeler

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

12

Year Crime:

1936

Year Convicted:

1939

Year Cleared:

1951

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Pennsylvania

County or Region of Crime:

Philadelphia

City of Crime:

Philadelphia

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confession and false prosecution informant

Innocence Proved By:

Directed verdict of acquittal during his retrial. The actual culprit was killed resisting arrest

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

No

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"''Not Guilty," Judge Jerome Frank and Barbara Frank, Doubleday, NY, 1957, Chapter 6, pgs. 167-180"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 97+."

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"The Innocents, Edward Radin,William Morrow & Co., 1964, p. 241-242."

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: