Charles J. Trees

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Charge:	Misappropriating Government Property
Sentence:	Reduction in rank
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	1945
Year Cleared:	1946
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	U.S. Military - Federal Case
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Charles J. Trees was wrongly convicted on November 29, 1945 after a military courtmarshal of misappropriating government property when he was an Army lieutenant colonel in the Office of Strategic Services. He was convicted of giving away fifty government pistols to a British officer to carry out a raid on a Japanese prison in Burma, based on perjured testimony that the pistols weren't surplus. Trees appealed and his conviction was set aside by the Secretary of War on July 22, 1946 based on the fact that under Army regulation the pistols were 'expendable' and Trees was authorized to do whatever he wanted with them. He was reinstated to his full rank. Trees resigned from the Army in 1947. On September 13, 1950 the U.S. Senate approved a bill awarding Trees $21,948 as 'humiliation money' to compensate him for being falsely charged and convicted."
Conviction Caused By:	Perjured testimony by the prosecution's key witness.
Innocence Proved By:	"Trees' conviction was set aside by the Secretary of War on July 22, 1946."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$21,948 (U.S. govt., Sept. 1950)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"'Shame Money' Approved, United Press International wire story, The New York Times, September 13, 1950"
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Charles J. Trees

Charge:

Misappropriating Government Property

Sentence:

Reduction in rank

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1945

Year Cleared:

1946

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

U.S. Military - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjured testimony by the prosecution's key witness.

Innocence Proved By:

"Trees' conviction was set aside by the Secretary of War on July 22, 1946."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$21,948 (U.S. govt., Sept. 1950)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"'Shame Money' Approved, United Press International wire story, The New York Times, September 13, 1950"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: