Sammy Thomas

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Charge:	Second Degree Murder
Sentence:	20 years to life imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	2.67
Year Crime:	1976
Year Convicted:	1978
Year Cleared:	1981
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Cayuga
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Willie Gene Thomas and Sammy Thomas were brothers and codefendants wrongly convicted in 1978 of a shooting in Cayuga County in 1976. After their convictions by a jury Willie was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison and Sammy to 15 years to life in prison. After their convictions their lawyer obtained multiple witness statements the prosecution refused to provide prior to trial. They disclosed that the testimony of several witnesses was inconsistent with their police statement, the getaway car didn't match any car driven by the Thomas brothers, and that a witness identified the two perpetrators as white -- while the Thomas' are black. On July 13, 1979 the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division reversed the convictions of the Thomas brothers and ordered a new trial on the basis of the prosecutions failure to disclose impeachment and exculpatory evidence prior to trial. Willie Gene Thomas was acquitted after a retrial in June 1980, and his brother Sammy was released in January 1981 after the Cayuga County County DA decided not to retry him and the charges were dismissed."
Conviction Caused By:	Prosecution failed to disclose impeachment and exculpatory evidence prior to trial.
Innocence Proved By:	"On July 13, 1979 the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division reversed the convictions of the Thomas brothers and ordered a new trial on the basis of the prosecutions failure to disclose impeachment and exculpatory evidence prior to trial. Willie Gene Thomas was acquitted after a retrial in June 1980, and his brother Sammy was released in January 1981 after the Cayuga County County DA decided not to retry him and the charges were dismissed."
Defendant Aided By:
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"People v. Thomas, 71 A.D.2d 839, 840 (4th Dep't 1979) (Reversing conviction and ordering new trial.)"
Information Location 1:	"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8144271782876991522&q=People+v.+Thomas,+71+A.D.2d+839&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"
Information Source 2:	"Inevitable Error: Wrongful New York State Homicide Convictions, 1965-1988, by Marty I. Rosenbaum, 18 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 807, 827-828"
Information Location 2:	http://deskovic.org/research/article/id/Inevitable-Error-Wrongful-New-York-State-Homicide-Convictions
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Sammy Thomas

Charge:

Second Degree Murder

Sentence:

20 years to life imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

2.67

Year Crime:

1976

Year Convicted:

1978

Year Cleared:

1981

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Cayuga

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Prosecution failed to disclose impeachment and exculpatory evidence prior to trial.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"People v. Thomas, 71 A.D.2d 839, 840 (4th Dep't 1979) (Reversing conviction and ordering new trial.)"

Information Location 1:

"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8144271782876991522&q=People+v.+Thomas,+71+A.D.2d+839&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"

Information Source 2:

"Inevitable Error: Wrongful New York State Homicide Convictions, 1965-1988, by Marty I. Rosenbaum, 18 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 807, 827-828"

Information Location 2:

http://deskovic.org/research/article/id/Inevitable-Error-Wrongful-New-York-State-Homicide-Convictions

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