Patrick Leondon Waller (robbery conviction)

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Charge:	Robbery (includes armed robbery)
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	16.25
Year Crime:	1992
Year Convicted:	1992
Year Cleared:	2008
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Texas
County or Region of Crime:	Dallas
City of Crime:	Dallas
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Patrick Leondon Waller was wrongly convicted in December 1992 of the March 1992 robbery of a couple abducted at gunpoint by two men while they were using a Dallas, Texas ATM machine The couple were also kidnapped and the woman raped. Waller later pled guilty to two counts of kidnapping. (See the additional database entry for Patrick Waller about that conviction.) Another couple drove up to the scene and were also held up at gunpoint. However a security guard arrived and the assailants fled in separate cars, Three of the four people abducted picked Waller from a photo array, and the fourth identified him out of a live lineup. However, based on the eyewitness identification from a line-up Waller was indicted and convicted by a jury of robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison. Waller's requests for DNA testing of crime biological evidence was opposed in 2001 and 2005 by the Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill. When a new DA was elected, the DNA testing was performed in early 2008 and it excluded Waller as being one of the woman's assailant. The man who it identified as the source of the DNA was in a state DNA database. When confronted he confessed and identified his accomplice. The accomplice also confessed and both men said that Waller had nothing to do with the crime. Both men also testified before a grand jury that Waller was not involved. Since the statute of limitations has expired neither man can be prosecuted. Waller was released on bail on July 3, 2008, after more than 16 years in custody. He was the 19th man exonerated in Dallas County, Texas. Patrick Waller was granted lump sum compensation under Texas' wrongful conviction statute of $1,300,000 plus a monthly lifetime annuity of $6,347.43."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification as one of the assailants from a line-up.
Innocence Proved By:	DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial of biological evidence that excluded him as one of the assailant.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$1,300,000 lump sum payment plus $6,347.43 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 10-23-2009)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	19
Age When Released:	36
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Exonerated by DNA, Patrick Waller is released from prison, By Jennifer Emily (staff writer), The Dallas Morning News, July 3, 2008"
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Information Source 2:	"Dna test clears texas man in prison since 1993, By Jeff Carlton (AP writer), Houston Chronicle, June 26, 2008"
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Patrick Leondon Waller (robbery conviction)

Charge:

Robbery (includes armed robbery)

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

16.25

Year Crime:

1992

Year Convicted:

1992

Year Cleared:

2008

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Texas

County or Region of Crime:

Dallas

City of Crime:

Dallas

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification as one of the assailants from a line-up.

Innocence Proved By:

DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial of biological evidence that excluded him as one of the assailant.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$1,300,000 lump sum payment plus $6,347.43 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 10-23-2009)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

36

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Exonerated by DNA, Patrick Waller is released from prison, By Jennifer Emily (staff writer), The Dallas Morning News, July 3, 2008"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Dna test clears texas man in prison since 1993, By Jeff Carlton (AP writer), Houston Chronicle, June 26, 2008"

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Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

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