Johnny Small

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	28
Year Crime:	1988
Year Convicted:	1989
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	North Carolina
County or Region of Crime:	New Hanover
City of Crime:	Wilmington
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Johnny Small was wrongly convicted of first-degree murder in 1989 for the July 13, 1988 homicide of shopkeeper Pamela Lynn Dreher in Wilmington, North Carolina. Small was 15 when arrested three months after Dreher's murder, and his prosecution was based on two teenage friends of Small and a co-defendant who agreed to be a prosecution witness in exchange for a reduced charge and sentence after he was threatened with the death penalty. After his conviction by a jury, Small was sentenced to life in prison. A post-conviction investigation discovered that the testimony of the teens was heavily influenced by the police, Small's co-defendant recanted his testimony, the prosecution's claim at trial that Small had access to a gun was false, the testimony of a girl who called a hotline claiming to have seen Small leaing Dreher's store wasn't credible, and that the prosecution failed to disclose favorable evidence to Small's trial lawyer. Small filed a petition for a new trial based on the new evidence, that was granted on August 11, 2016. Small was released on bond. The New Hanover District Attorney's Office declined to retry Small and filed a motion to dismiss his charges, which was granted on September 8, 2016."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"Small filed a petition for a new trial based on the new evidence, that was granted in July 2016. He was released on bond in August 2016. The New Hanover District Attorney's Office declined to retry Small and filed a motion to dismiss his charges, which was granted on September 8, 2016."
Defendant Aided By:	NC Center on Actual Innocence
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	15
Age When Released:	43
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Johnny Small free after murder charge dismissed, By F. T. Norton (StarNews Staff), Star News (Wilmington, NC), September 8, 2016"
Information Location 1:	http://www.starnewsonline.com/news/20160908/johnny-small-free-after-murder-charge-dismissed
Information Source 2:	"Man convicted of murder as teen walks free after 28 years, By Crimesider Staff and Associated Press, CBSNews.com, August 12, 2016"
Information Location 2:	http://www.cbsnews.com/news/johnny-small-freed-man-convicted-of-murder-as-teen-walks-free-after-28-years/
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Johnny Small

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

28

Year Crime:

1988

Year Convicted:

1989

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

North Carolina

County or Region of Crime:

New Hanover

City of Crime:

Wilmington

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"Small filed a petition for a new trial based on the new evidence, that was granted in July 2016. He was released on bond in August 2016. The New Hanover District Attorney's Office declined to retry Small and filed a motion to dismiss his charges, which was granted on September 8, 2016."

Defendant Aided By:

NC Center on Actual Innocence

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

15

Age When Released:

43

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Johnny Small free after murder charge dismissed, By F. T. Norton (StarNews Staff), Star News (Wilmington, NC), September 8, 2016"

Information Location 1:

http://www.starnewsonline.com/news/20160908/johnny-small-free-after-murder-charge-dismissed

Information Source 2:

"Man convicted of murder as teen walks free after 28 years, By Crimesider Staff and Associated Press, CBSNews.com, August 12, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/johnny-small-freed-man-convicted-of-murder-as-teen-walks-free-after-28-years/

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Book Information:

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