Justin Jamaille Thornton

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Charge:	First Degree Murder
Sentence:	40 years
Years Imprisoned:	4
Year Crime:	2011
Year Convicted:	2014
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Arkansas
County or Region of Crime:	Lincoln
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Justin Jamaille Thornton was wrongly convicted twice of first-degree murder in Lincoln County, Arkansas. Thornton was sentenced to 40 years in prison. On December 3, 2015 the Arkansas Supreme Court in a 4-3 ruling reversed Thornton's December 2014 first-degree murder conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge. Thornton's conviction after a bench trial (judge only) was based solely on circumstantial evidence. Thornton was sentenced to 40 years in prison for that conviction. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled the trial court did not have jurisdiction to retry Thornton for murder after the Court reversed his February 2013 first-degree murder conviction on April 10, 2014 and ordered dismissal of the charge, in ruling "... the evidence cannot sustain the charge of capital murder..." Thornton's first conviction was also by a bench trial, and he had been sentenced to life in prison without parole by the judge. Thornton remained imprisoned on his conviction for other charges."
Conviction Caused By:	Judge's interpretation of circumstantial evidence as enough to support Thornton's conviction.
Innocence Proved By:	"On December 3, 2015 the Arkansas Supreme Court in a 4-3 ruling reversed Thornton's December 2014 first-degree murder conviction and ordered dismissal of the charge. The Court ruled that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to retry Thornton for murder after the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed his February 2013 first-degree murder conviction on April 10, 2014 and ordered dismissal of the charge, in ruling "... the evidence cannot sustain the charge of capital murder...""
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	21
Age When Released:	25
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Thornton v. State, 2015 Ark. 438 (No. CR-15-287) (Arkansas Sup. Ct., 12/3/2015) (Reversing conviction and ordering dismissal of charge)"
Information Location 1:	http://opinions.aoc.arkansas.gov/WebLink8/0/doc/346297/Electronic.aspx
Information Source 2:	"Top court drops murder charge: Justices again rule in favor of man, 25, arrested in 2011, By Spencer Willems, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR), December 4, 2015"
Information Location 2:	http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/dec/04/top-court-drops-murder-charge-20151204/?f=crime
Information Source 3:	"Arkansas court again tosses conviction in 2011 slaying, By Associated Press, THV-11 (Little Rock, Ark.), December 3, 2015"
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Justin Jamaille Thornton

Charge:

First Degree Murder

Sentence:

40 years

Years Imprisoned:

4

Year Crime:

2011

Year Convicted:

2014

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Arkansas

County or Region of Crime:

Lincoln

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Judge's interpretation of circumstantial evidence as enough to support Thornton's conviction.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

21

Age When Released:

25

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Thornton v. State, 2015 Ark. 438 (No. CR-15-287) (Arkansas Sup. Ct., 12/3/2015) (Reversing conviction and ordering dismissal of charge)"

Information Location 1:

http://opinions.aoc.arkansas.gov/WebLink8/0/doc/346297/Electronic.aspx

Information Source 2:

"Top court drops murder charge: Justices again rule in favor of man, 25, arrested in 2011, By Spencer Willems, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR), December 4, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/dec/04/top-court-drops-murder-charge-20151204/?f=crime

Information Source 3:

"Arkansas court again tosses conviction in 2011 slaying, By Associated Press, THV-11 (Little Rock, Ark.), December 3, 2015"

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

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