Wrongly Convicted Database

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John Willis

Years Imprisoned:	8
Charge:	Sexual Assault and Robbery
Sentence:	100 years
Year Convicted:	1992
Year Cleared:	1999
Location of Trial:	Illinois
Result:	Pardoned
Summary of Case:	Wrongly convicted of a series of rapes after the Chicago Crime Lab and the Cook County Prosecutors office concealed for many years that test results showed Willis' blood type was different than that of the attacker. Handwritten notes of a Chicago's police crime laboratory analyst who conducted blood tests on semen recovered from a rape victim that excluded Willis as the source, were concealed from Willis' lawyers prior to his trial. Pardoned by IL Gov George Ryan in 1999. Filed lawsuits against city of Chicago and Cook County. In March 2004, Cook County and Chicago both settled for $1.5 million, for a total settlement of $3 million.
Conviction Caused By:	Police and Prosecutorial Misconduct by concealing exculpatory tests showed the attacker had a different blood type than Wills
Innocence Proved By:	Blood Test and DNA
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	$3 million total. $1.5 million for Cook County, IL, and $1.5 million from the city of Chicago.
Was Perpetrator Found?
Age When Imprisoned:	42
Age When Released:	50
Information Source 1:	Ex-Inmate Exonerated of Rapes Tries To Get His Life In Order, Maurice Possley (staff writer), Chicago Tribune, June 29, 2000, p. 4
Information Location 1:	http://www.law-forensic.com/cfr_fish_13.htm
Information Source 2:	Innocence Project database
Information Location 2:	http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=58
Information Source 3:	City Pays $1.5 mil for Wrongful Conviction; County adds $1.5 mil More, by Chinta Strausberg (staff), Chicago Defender, March 9, 2004, p. 3
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John Willis

Years Imprisoned:

8

Charge:

Sexual Assault and Robbery

Sentence:

100 years

Year Convicted:

1992

Year Cleared:

1999

Location of Trial:

Illinois

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Police and Prosecutorial Misconduct by concealing exculpatory tests showed the attacker had a different blood type than Wills

Innocence Proved By:

Blood Test and DNA

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

$3 million total. $1.5 million for Cook County, IL, and $1.5 million from the city of Chicago.

Was Perpetrator Found?

Age When Imprisoned:

42

Age When Released:

50

Information Source 1:

Ex-Inmate Exonerated of Rapes Tries To Get His Life In Order, Maurice Possley (staff writer), Chicago Tribune, June 29, 2000, p. 4

Information Location 1:

http://www.law-forensic.com/cfr_fish_13.htm

Information Source 2:

Innocence Project database

Information Location 2:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=58

Information Source 3:

City Pays $1.5 mil for Wrongful Conviction; County adds $1.5 mil More, by Chinta Strausberg (staff), Chicago Defender, March 9, 2004, p. 3

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Ethnicity/Skin:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case:

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