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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Failure to report or register as a sex offender |
Sentence: |
20 days |
Years Imprisoned: |
0.06 |
Year Crime: |
1999 |
Year Convicted: |
2000 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Washington |
County or Region of Crime: |
Thurston |
City of Crime: |
Olympia |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Michael Alan Wheeler was wrongly convicted on April 4, 2000 in Thurston County, Washington, and again on Janury 11, 2011 in Pierce County, Washington, of failing to register as a sex offender for his conviction in 1985 of third degree statutory rape. Wheeler's 2000 conviction was based on allegations he failed to register between September 1997 and April 1998. His 2011 conviction was based on allegations he failed to register in June 2009. In 1988 the Washington legislature repealed the statute under which Michael Wheeler was convicted in 1984. On July 25, 2011 the Washington Court of Appeals reversed Homer Connell Taylor III's conviction for failing to register as a sex offender for his conviction in 1988 of third-degree statutory rape, which the legislature repealed later in 1988. Based on the Court's ruling in Taylor's case, Wheeler filed a post-conviction personal restraint petition to vacate his 2011 conviction that was granted, and the charge was dismissed on June 27, 2013 and he was released from prison. Wheeler later filed a petition to reverse his 2000 conviction on the basis it was invalid because it was based on a repealed statute. On June 25, 2015 the Washington Court of Appeals granted Wheeler's petition in ruling: "Wheeler's 2000 judgment and sentence is invalid on its face because his conviction is not based on an offense defined as a sex offense at the time of the failure to register. This error constitutes a fundamental defect that entitles Wheeler to relief. Accordingly, we grant the petition and vacate Wheeler's 2000 conviction for failing to register as a sex offender." (In Re Wheeler, 354 P. 3d 950 (Wash. Ct of Appeals, 2nd Div. 2015) On March 21, 2014 Wheeler filed a civil lawsuit that named the State of Washington as the defendant, seeking compensation and reimbursement related to his 2011 conviction in Pierce County and his imprisonment. On October 20, 2015 Pierce County Superior Judge Philip K. Sorensen issued an order granting Wheeler's petition and compensation and awarding payment of $466,000." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"Based on the Court's ruling in Taylor's case, Wheeler filed a post-conviction personal restraint petition to vacate his 2011 conviction that was granted, and the charge was dismissed on June 27, 2013 and he was released from prison. Wheeler later filed a petition to reverse his 2000 conviction on the basis it was invalid because it was based on a repealed statute. On June 25, 2015 the Washington Court of Appeals granted Wheeler's petition in ruling: "Wheeler's 2000 judgment and sentence is invalid on its face because his conviction is not based on an offense defined as a sex offense at the time of the failure to register. This error constitutes a fundamental defect that entitles Wheeler to relief. Accordingly, we grant the petition and vacate Wheeler's 2000 conviction for failing to register as a sex offender." (In Re Wheeler, 354 P. 3d 950 (Wash. Ct of Appeals, 2nd Div. 2015)" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
52 |
Age When Released: |
52 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"In Re Michael Alan Wheeler, 354 P. 3d 950, 188 Wash.App. 613 (Wash. Ct of Appeals, 2nd Div., 6-30-2015)" |
Information Location 1: |
"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5207111119491776891&q=Michael+Wheeler+sex&hl=en&as_sdt=4,48" |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org