Ramon Lamar Ward

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Charge:	First-degree murder and Second-degree murder
Sentence:	Life imprisonment plus 42 to 62 years
Years Imprisoned:	26
Year Crime:	1994
Year Convicted:	1995
Year Cleared:	2020
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Michigan
County or Region of Crime:	Wayne
City of Crime:	Detroit
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Ramon Lamar Ward was wrongly convicted of first-degree felony murder, second-degree murder, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the shooting deaths of Sharon Cornell and Joan Gilliam on the night of Jan. 21, 1994, in a vacant drug house on Moran Street in Detroit, Michigan. Ward's prosecution was based on his incriminating statements to the officer who arrested him, that were uncorroborated by independent evidence. Ramon Ward was sentenced after his conviction by a jury to life in prison plus 42 to 62 years: for the first-degree murder conviction, forty to sixty years’ imprisonment for the second-degree murder conviction, and two years’ imprisonment for the felony-firearm conviction. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively. A post-conviction investigation by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit determined that Ward's conviction was insupportable because the original police investigation identified no eyewitnesses and there was no physical evidence that linked Ward to the killings. On February 20, 2020 Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Donald L. Knapp granted a joint motion by the Prosecutor's Office and Ward’s attorney John Smietanka to have Ward's convictions dismissed and vacated. Ward was immediately released."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On February 20, 2020 Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Donald L. Knapp granted a joint motion by the Prosecutor's Office and Ward’s attorney John Smietanka to have Ward's convictions dismissed and vacated. Ward was immediately released."
Defendant Aided By:	Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit and Ward’s attorney John Smietanka
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	18
Age When Released:	44
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Man Wrongly Convicted Of Detroit Murders Released After 27 Years, By WWJ Staff, WWJ 950 AM News (Detroit, MI), February 20, 2020"
Information Location 1:	https://wwjnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/man-wrongly-convicted-to-be-released-after-27-years
Information Source 2:	"Michigan v. Ramon Lamar Ward, No. 184517 (Mi Ct. of Appeals, 6-19-1998) (Remanding for hearing, but rejecting all of Ward's claims for a new trial.)"
Information Location 2:	https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiv4cj8wOPnAhVVvJ4KHeMYCpYQFjAEegQIAhAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpublicdocs.courts.mi.gov%3A81%2Fopinions%2Ffinal%2FCOA%2F19980619_C184517(0057)_184517.OPN.PDF&usg=AOvVaw39sjy0x86w_CmsL9vgKbxR
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Ramon Lamar Ward

Charge:

First-degree murder and Second-degree murder

Sentence:

Life imprisonment plus 42 to 62 years

Years Imprisoned:

26

Year Crime:

1994

Year Convicted:

1995

Year Cleared:

2020

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Michigan

County or Region of Crime:

Wayne

City of Crime:

Detroit

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On February 20, 2020 Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Donald L. Knapp granted a joint motion by the Prosecutor's Office and Ward’s attorney John Smietanka to have Ward's convictions dismissed and vacated. Ward was immediately released."

Defendant Aided By:

Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit and Ward’s attorney John Smietanka

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

18

Age When Released:

44

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Man Wrongly Convicted Of Detroit Murders Released After 27 Years, By WWJ Staff, WWJ 950 AM News (Detroit, MI), February 20, 2020"

Information Location 1:

https://wwjnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/man-wrongly-convicted-to-be-released-after-27-years

Information Source 2:

"Michigan v. Ramon Lamar Ward, No. 184517 (Mi Ct. of Appeals, 6-19-1998) (Remanding for hearing, but rejecting all of Ward's claims for a new trial.)"

Information Location 2:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiv4cj8wOPnAhVVvJ4KHeMYCpYQFjAEegQIAhAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpublicdocs.courts.mi.gov%3A81%2Fopinions%2Ffinal%2FCOA%2F19980619_C184517(0057)_184517.OPN.PDF&usg=AOvVaw39sjy0x86w_CmsL9vgKbxR

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