Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

Go to Database Search Page

Go to  Database Index Page

Ashton Simms

 

Charge:

Drug Related (Misdemeanor possession or sale)

Sentence:

20 hours community service

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

2015

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Oregon

County or Region of Crime:

Deschutes

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Ashton Simms was wrongly convicted on March 5, 2015 of cocaine possession in Deschutes County, Oregon. Simms took an alford plea. In late 2015 the Deschutes County District Attorney's Office undertook a review of more than 1,000 cases involving evidence analyzed by Nika Larsen, a forensic analyst with the Oregon State Police Crime Lab in Bend. Larsen came under investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Oregon for allegedly tampering with, substituting, and stealing drug evidence. The OSP suspended controlled substance analysis at the Bend lab on September 3, 2015. In 2016 the DA's review determined that the evidence relied on to convict in a number of cases was unreliable. Simms' conviction was vacated by a Deschutes County Circuit Court judge based on a joint motion by the defendant and the DA's Office that "the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction." A letter was sent to the defendant on March 1, 2016 informing of the dismissal."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"Simms' conviction was vacated by a Deschutes County Circuit Court judge based on a joint motion by the defendant and the DA's Office that "the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction.""

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"State v. Ashton Simms, No. 14FE1312 (Deschutes County Circuit Ct.) (Charges dismissed based on insufficient evidence.) "

Information Location 1:

http://www.dcda.us/c5/files/5514/6359/2366/OSP_Drug_Cases_Reviewed_by_NL.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Oregon DA Is Gunning for Justice in Review of Convictions, By Andrew Selsky (Associated Press reporter), ABC News, June 19, 2006"

Information Location 2:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oregon-da-gunning-justice-review-convictions-39970159

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:

Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

Hosted on forejustice.org and mirrored on justicedenied.org .