Ruth Ann Wertelet

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Charge:	Assault - Aggravated (including causing bodily harm)
Sentence:
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1993
Year Convicted:	1996
Year Cleared:	1997
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Pennsylvania
County or Region of Crime:	Crawford
City of Crime:	Meadville
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Ruth Ann Wertelet was wrongly convicted twice of resisting arrest and aggravated assault of a police officer on December 13, 1993 in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Her first conviction was in in September 1994, and after her convictions were overturned on appeal in 1995 and she was retried. She was convicted after her retrial on June 11, 1996. Her convictions were based on the testimony of the arresting officer. The officer testified that Wertelet kicked his shin with the back of her heel as she was being handcuffed, but he also testified it was nothing more serious than "bumping yoru shin on a coffee table." The officer did not require any medical treatment. Wertelet appealed. On June 25, 1997 the Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversed her resisting arrest convictions on the basis the officer had no legal authority to arrest her because she hadn't done anything illegal, and reversed her aggravated assault conviction on the basis of insuffiicent evidence she committed a crime, in ruling the prosecution failed to introduce any evidence of the essential element that she needed to cause "serious bodily injury." The court described the incident as involving "relatively harmless physical contact with a police officer." Wertelet's case is remarkable because she represented herself at trial, and during her successful appeal."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On June 25, 1997 the Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversed her resisting arrest convictions on the basis the officer had no legal authority to arrest her because she hadn't done anything illegal, and reversed her aggravated assault conviction on the basis of insuffiicent evidence she committed a crime, in ruling the prosecution failed to introduce any evidence of the essential element that she needed to cause "serious bodily injury." The court described the incident as involving "relatively harmless physical contact with a police officer.""
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Sex:	Female
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Information Source 1:	"Commonwealth v. Wertelet, 696 A. 2d 206 (Pa.Super.1997) (Reversing resisting arrest conviction on the basis there was no lawful authority for her arrest, and reversing her aggravated assault conviction based on insufficient evidence she committed aggravated assault against the aresting officer.)"
Information Location 1:	https://casetext.com/case/commonwealth-v-wertelet?page=209
Information Source 2:	"Commonwealth v. Wertelet, 446 Pa. Super. 352, 666 A.2d 1087 (1995).(Remanding for hearing if she had been informed by her counsel of her right to testify. On remand her convictions were overturned and she was granted a retrial.)"
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Ruth Ann Wertelet

Charge:

Assault - Aggravated (including causing bodily harm)

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1993

Year Convicted:

1996

Year Cleared:

1997

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Pennsylvania

County or Region of Crime:

Crawford

City of Crime:

Meadville

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Commonwealth v. Wertelet, 696 A. 2d 206 (Pa.Super.1997) (Reversing resisting arrest conviction on the basis there was no lawful authority for her arrest, and reversing her aggravated assault conviction based on insufficient evidence she committed aggravated assault against the aresting officer.)"

Information Location 1:

https://casetext.com/case/commonwealth-v-wertelet?page=209

Information Source 2:

"Commonwealth v. Wertelet, 446 Pa. Super. 352, 666 A.2d 1087 (1995).(Remanding for hearing if she had been informed by her counsel of her right to testify. On remand her convictions were overturned and she was granted a retrial.)"

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