Lathan Word

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Charge:	Robbery and Firearm violation
Sentence:	15 years
Years Imprisoned:	11.75
Year Crime:	1999
Year Convicted:	2000
Year Cleared:	2011
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Georgia
County or Region of Crime:	Muscogee
City of Crime:	Columbus
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Lathan Word was wrongly convicted on September 7, 2000 of the armed robbery and gun possession charges related to the robbery of Jennie & Joe’s Curb Market in Columbus, Georgia on September 13, 1999. Word was convicted on the basis of store employee Contresstis Tolbert testifying Word was the robber. Word was sentenced to 15 years in prison. In March 2011 the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed Word's conviction on the basis of his trial lawyer's ineffective assistance of counsel. Word's retrial began in June 2011. Tolbert refused to take the oath when called by the prosecution to testify, and outside the presence of the jury he stated: "“I refuse to lie. I’ve been lying all along.” Since without Tolbert's testimony the state had no evidence he committed the crime, Word's attorney made a motion for a directed verdict of guilty that was granted by the judge. Word was immediately released after 11-3/4 years in custody. The Georgia Legislature passed a bill in March 2013, that awarded Lathan Word compensation of $400,000."
Conviction Caused By:	Perjurious testimony by the prosecution's lone eyewitness.
Innocence Proved By:	Word was acquitted after a retrial in June 2011.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$400,000 (State of Georgia, March 2013)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	18
Age When Released:	30
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Lathan Word, The National Registry of Exonerations"
Information Location 1:	http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=4119
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Lathan Word

Charge:

Robbery and Firearm violation

Sentence:

15 years

Years Imprisoned:

11.75

Year Crime:

1999

Year Convicted:

2000

Year Cleared:

2011

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Georgia

County or Region of Crime:

Muscogee

City of Crime:

Columbus

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjurious testimony by the prosecution's lone eyewitness.

Innocence Proved By:

Word was acquitted after a retrial in June 2011.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$400,000 (State of Georgia, March 2013)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

18

Age When Released:

30

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Lathan Word, The National Registry of Exonerations"

Information Location 1:

http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=4119

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