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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Robbery (includes armed robbery) |
Sentence: |
10 to 25 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
10 |
Year Crime: |
1987 |
Year Convicted: |
1988 |
Year Cleared: |
2005 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York |
County or Region of Crime: |
Queens |
City of Crime: |
New York City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Clinton Turner was wrongly convicted in August 1988 of first-degree robbery and fourth-degree grand larceny in Queens County, New York. Turner's conviction was based ont hetestimony of William Clarke. After his conviction by a jury Turner was sentenced to 10 to 20 years on the robbery conviction and a consecutive sentence of 2 to 4 years on the larceny conviction. Turner was paroled in 1997. While on parole, Turner filed a state post-conviction petition based on new evidence that the prosecution committed a Brady violation by failing to inform his trial lawyer of the impeachment evidence that Clarke had a criminal record, and consequently his lawyer couldn't challenge the truthfulness of Clarke's testimony to the jury that he had no criminal record -- which the prosecution didn't inform Turner's lawyer or the judge was perjurious. After the New York court's denied Turner's petition, he filed a federal habeas corpus petition, which was granted on July 21, 2004 by a federal judge whose ruling stated: ""[T]here has been a violation of due process based upon Brady v Maryland for failure to turn over material impeachment evidence; that holding is sufficient in itself to require relief. In addition, on the facts of this case, there has also been a violation of due process based upon the admission of perjured testimony which the prosecutor should have known was false." The Queens County District Attorney declined to retry Turner, and the DA's motion to dismiss his charges was granted in 2005. Turner filed a compensation claim with the New York State Court of Claims, which ruled on December 11, 2015 that Turner met the requirements for compensation because he was innocent and had been wrongfully imprisoned under the statute. The Court's ruling stated: "In sum, the Court concludes that by clear and convincing evidence: Clinton Turner is innocent of the crimes charged to the jury and that he did not cause or bring about his conviction. The defendant State of New York is fully liable to claimant under section 8-b of the Court of Claims Act, and the Clerk of the Court is directed to enter interlocutory judgment against the defendant thereon." (Turner v. State, No. 2015-016-076, Claim No. 111542 (NY State Ct of Claims, Dec. 11, 2015)" |
Conviction Caused By: |
"Prosecution misconduct and Brady violation by concealing evidence impeaching the credibility of the State's key witness who committed perjury, which the prosecution didn't bring to the attention of Turner's lawyer or the trial judge." |
Innocence Proved By: |
"The Queens County District Attorney declined to retry Turner, and the DA's motion to dismiss his charges was granted in 2005." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
31 |
Age When Released: |
41 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Turner v. State of New York, No. 2015-016-076, Claim No. 111542 (New York State Court of Claims, Dec. 11, 2015) (Ruling that Turner was innocent under the statute and entitled to compensation.)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://vertumnus.courts.state.ny.us/claims/search/display.html?terms=unjust%20conviction&url=/claims/html/2015-016-076.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org