Paul Terry

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Charge:	"Murder, Rape and Kidnapping"
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	27
Year Crime:	1976
Year Convicted:	1976
Year Cleared:	2003
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Cook
City of Crime:	Chicago
Result:	Judicially Exonerated and Later Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Paul Terry was co-defendant of Michael Evans. Both men wrongly convicted in 1976 of murdering, kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old girl in Chicago, Illinois. Both men were sentenced to life in prison. On August 22, 2003 the conviction of both men were vacated and they were released after DNA tests unavailable at the time of their trial excluded them as the woman's assailants. Both men were wrongly imprisoned for 27 years. They were both pardoned by Illinois' governor Rod Blagojevich on January 5, 2005. Compensated by the State of Illinois $160,000 for 27 years of wrongful imprisonment. After his pardon Paul Terry filed a suit in state court against the City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department. On March 16, 2009 the Chicago City Council Finance Committee endorsed settling the lawsuit for $2.7 million, or $100,000 per year of his incarceration."
Conviction Caused By:	Prosecution concealed exculpatory evidence
Innocence Proved By:	"Conviction vacated and released in 2003 after DNA test excluded him and his co-defendant as the attackers. Pardoned by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on January 5, 2005."
Defendant Aided By:	Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University (primary). Innocence Project NY (secondary)
Compensation Awarded:	"$2.86 million total. $2.7 million (City of Chicago, March 2009) and $160,000 (State of Illinois, 2004)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	17
Age When Released:	44
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Based on DNA results, judge frees Michael Evans and Paul Terry, Center on Wrongful Convictions - Northwestern School of Law"
Information Location 1:	http://www.law.northwestern.edu/depts/clinic/wrongful/Evans&Terry.htm
Information Source 2:	Actual Innocence - Exonerated Individuals whose cases involved prosecutorial misconduct
Information Location 2:	http://www.publicintegrity.org/pm/default.aspx?sid=sidebarsb&aid=38
Information Source 3:	"Murder Charges To Be Dropped, Steve Mills, Chicago Tribune, Aug 22, 2003"
Information Location 3:
Information Source 4:	"Four Who Were Wrongly Convicted Pardoned, AP, Chicago Sun-Times, January 6, 2004"
Information Location 4:	http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/pardon06.html
Information Source 5:	"Chicago offering $2.7 million in wrongful-conviction case, By Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune, March 17, 2009"
Information Location 5:	"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-police-dna-settlemar17,0,2340057.story"
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Paul Terry

Charge:

"Murder, Rape and Kidnapping"

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

27

Year Crime:

1976

Year Convicted:

1976

Year Cleared:

2003

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Judicially Exonerated and Later Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Prosecution concealed exculpatory evidence

Innocence Proved By:

"Conviction vacated and released in 2003 after DNA test excluded him and his co-defendant as the attackers. Pardoned by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on January 5, 2005."

Defendant Aided By:

Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University (primary). Innocence Project NY (secondary)

Compensation Awarded:

"$2.86 million total. $2.7 million (City of Chicago, March 2009) and $160,000 (State of Illinois, 2004)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

17

Age When Released:

44

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Based on DNA results, judge frees Michael Evans and Paul Terry, Center on Wrongful Convictions - Northwestern School of Law"

Information Location 1:

http://www.law.northwestern.edu/depts/clinic/wrongful/Evans&Terry.htm

Information Source 2:

Actual Innocence - Exonerated Individuals whose cases involved prosecutorial misconduct

Information Location 2:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/pm/default.aspx?sid=sidebarsb&aid=38

Information Source 3:

"Murder Charges To Be Dropped, Steve Mills, Chicago Tribune, Aug 22, 2003"

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

"Four Who Were Wrongly Convicted Pardoned, AP, Chicago Sun-Times, January 6, 2004"

Information Location 4:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/pardon06.html

Information Source 5:

"Chicago offering $2.7 million in wrongful-conviction case, By Hal Dardick, Chicago Tribune, March 17, 2009"

Information Location 5:

"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-police-dna-settlemar17,0,2340057.story"

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