Angel Toro

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	23
Year Crime:	1981
Year Convicted:	1983
Year Cleared:	2004
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:	Suffolk
City of Crime:	Dorchester
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Angel Toro, aka Sammy Toro, was wrongly convicted in 1983 of murder in the death of Kathleen Downey, a desk clerk at the Dorchester, Massachusetts Howard Johnson's who was killed during an armed robbery in 1981. Toro's prosecution was based on the testimony of two witnesses. After Toro's conviction by a jury, he was sentenced to life in prison. Toro's conviction was vacated in October 2004 based on the discovery of evidence that the police had pressured two prosecution witnesses to perjure themselves in testifying against Toro, and that the prosecution had concealed from Toro's trial lawyer evidence that another person had actually committed the murder. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office declined to retry Toro, and the DA's motion to dismiss his indictment was granted. In 2007 Toro filed a claim for compensation from the State of Massachusetts under G.L.C. 258D, that he voluntaryily withdrew."
Conviction Caused By:	Perjury by two prosecution witnesses. Prosecution misconduct of concealing exculpatory information about a suspect who was the likely killer.
Innocence Proved By:
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	No. Voluntarily withdrew compensation claim filed with the State of Massachusetts.
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	30
Age When Released:	53
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Toro Cleared in '81 Murder Case, John Ellement, Boston Globe, October 6, 2004"
Information Location 1:	http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/10/06/toro_cleared_in_81_murder_case/
Information Source 2:	"Wrongful Murder Convictions in Massachusetts, March 22, 2006"
Information Location 2:	http://www.nodp.org/ma/mass_mistake.html
Information Source 3:	"Toro, Angel v. Commonwealth, SUCV2007-05664 (Claim for compensation with the State of Massachusetts under G.L.C. 258D was voluntarily withdrawn.)"
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Angel Toro

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

23

Year Crime:

1981

Year Convicted:

1983

Year Cleared:

2004

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Suffolk

City of Crime:

Dorchester

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjury by two prosecution witnesses. Prosecution misconduct of concealing exculpatory information about a suspect who was the likely killer.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

No. Voluntarily withdrew compensation claim filed with the State of Massachusetts.

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

30

Age When Released:

53

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Toro Cleared in '81 Murder Case, John Ellement, Boston Globe, October 6, 2004"

Information Location 1:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/10/06/toro_cleared_in_81_murder_case/

Information Source 2:

"Wrongful Murder Convictions in Massachusetts, March 22, 2006"

Information Location 2:

http://www.nodp.org/ma/mass_mistake.html

Information Source 3:

"Toro, Angel v. Commonwealth, SUCV2007-05664 (Claim for compensation with the State of Massachusetts under G.L.C. 258D was voluntarily withdrawn.)"

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: