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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Drug Related (Possession or sale) |
Sentence: |
1 year & 1 day |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.75 |
Year Crime: |
2006 |
Year Convicted: |
2007 |
Year Cleared: |
2010 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Washington |
County or Region of Crime: |
King |
City of Crime: |
Seattle |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"James Simmons was wrongly convicted in 2007 of dealing crack cocaine in Seattle, Washington on November 7, 2006. Simmons prosecution was based on the testimony of the arresting officer, King County sheriff’s deputy James Schrimpsher, that he observed Simmons dealing cocaine on a street corner in Seattle's University of Washington district, that Simmons confessed to dealing cocaine, and that he had to use a Taser to subdue Simmons who he claimed resisted arrest. Simmons claimed that he was simply giving directions to someone, that he didn't confess, the cocaine was planted on him, and that the bus shelter didn't exist that Schrimpsher claimed Simmons was next to when he was arrested. After Simmons was convicted he was sentenced to one year and one day in jail. Three months after Simmons' jailing deputy Schrimpsher was fired for lying about a different arrest he made in 2006. It had not been disclosed to Simmons' lawyer that at the time of Schrimpsher's testimony he was being investigated for lying in the other case that resulted in his firing. More than two years after Simmons completed serving his sentence, the the King County DA's Office filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Simmons based the unreliability of Schrimpsher's testimony. A King County Superior Court judge granted the motion on January 13, 2010. Simmons unsuccessfully sued in 2013 for compensation under Washington's wrongful imprisonment statute." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by the arresting officer. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"The King County DA's Office filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on new evidence the arresting officer's evidence was unreliable, and a King County Superior Court judge granted the motion on January 13, 2010." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
Denied by State of Washington. |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
46 |
Age When Released: |
47 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Washington vs James Simmons, No. 06-1-10363-3 SEA (King County Superior Court, 01-13-2010) - Order of Dismissal" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/2025_001.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Still Fighting to rebuild after winning a dismissal, By Packrat, Injustice Everywhere, January 18, 2010" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?p=1679 |
Information Source 3: |
"Once a High-Valued IT Professional, Now Homeless and In Search of Justice, By Packrat, Injustice Everywhere, May 17, 2009" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?p=55 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org