John Thompson (robbery conviction)

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Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	49-1/2 years
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1984
Year Convicted:	1985
Year Cleared:	2000
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Louisiana
County or Region of Crime:	Orleans
City of Crime:	New Orleans
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"John Thompson was wrongly convicted in 1985 of a December 1984 attempted armed robbery in New Orleans, Louisiana. John Thompson was wrongly convicted in 1985 of a December 1984 murder and sentenced to death. (See separate database entry). After John Thompson was arrested for a December 1984 murder his picture was published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The three victims of the attempted armed robbery were shown Thompson's picture by their father, and they identified him as their assailant. Thompson was charged with the attempted armed robbery. During the attempted robbery the robber was cut and bleed on the pants of one of the victims. Two days before Thompson's armed robbery trial the prosecutor was provided a lab report that the attacker had type "B" blood – which didn’t match Thompson's blood type. The report was not provided to Thompson's attorney. Thompson was convicted of the attempted armed robbery on April 12, 1985 based on the testimony of the three eyewitnesses. He was sentenced to 49-1/2 years in prison. Thompson had not had a criminal record, but with the armed robbery conviction now on his record, he declined to testify in his defense during his murder trial and was convicted on May 8, 1985 based on the testimony of his co-defendant Kevin Freeman that Thompson shot the man, and another man, Roger Perkins testified that Thompson made incriminating statements to him. Freeman matched the discription of the shooter provided by an eyewitness, while Thompson didn't, and Perkins was paid a reward by the victims family for his testimony -- although that wasn't disclosed to Thompson's attorney. Thompson was sentenced to death. In late April 1999, several weeks before his scheduled execution, an investigator working with Thompson's attorney came across a reference in a microfiche file that there had been a lab report that the robbery assailant had type "B" blood. Thompson's blood was tested -- he had type "O" blood. Based on the non-disclosed lab report Thompson's executon was stayed. His robbery conviction was overturned in 2000, and his murder conviction was overturned in 2002. He was retried and acquitted in 2003 by a jury that deliberated for less than one hour. Thompson filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on July 16, 2003 against the city of New Orleans and other defendants alleging prosecutorial misconduct and other violations of his constitutional rights. After a five day trial, on February 9, 2007 a federal court jury in New Orleans awarded Thompson $14 million in actual and punitive damages, plus $1,031,841.79 in attorney's fees from the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office. The award was for $1 million for each of the 14 years he spent on death row before his conviction was overturned in 1999. The DA's office appealed the award, but in November 2008 a three-judge panel of the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judgment. The Circuit Court granted the DA's motion for a rehearing en banc. On August 10, 2009 the Court voted 8 to 8, which meant the verdict stands. With interest from February 2007 the total judgment ($14 million plus $1 million in legal fees) had increased to more than $16 million. On March 29, 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the DA's Office was absolutely immune from being sued and vacated the judgment. The State of Louisiana awarded Thompson compensation of $330,000."
Conviction Caused By:	"Erroneous eyewitness identification by the three victims, and prosecutorial misconduct of concealing an exculpatory lab report."
Innocence Proved By:	Conviction overturned in 2000.
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Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Thompson v Connick, 07-30443 (5th Cir., 12-19-2008)"
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John Thompson (robbery conviction)

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

49-1/2 years

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1984

Year Convicted:

1985

Year Cleared:

2000

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Louisiana

County or Region of Crime:

Orleans

City of Crime:

New Orleans

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Erroneous eyewitness identification by the three victims, and prosecutorial misconduct of concealing an exculpatory lab report."

Innocence Proved By:

Conviction overturned in 2000.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Thompson v Connick, 07-30443 (5th Cir., 12-19-2008)"

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