Walter Zimmer (2001 conviction)

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Charge:	Involuntary Manslaughter
Sentence:	10 years
Years Imprisoned:	6.5
Year Crime:	1997
Year Convicted:	2011
Year Cleared:	2011
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Ohio
County or Region of Crime:	Cuyahoga
City of Crime:	Cleveland
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Walter Zimmer and Thomas Siller were codefendants wrongly convicted in 2001 of a murder committed in 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio. In a separate prosecution, Zimmer and Siller were also wrongly convicted in 1998 of a kidnapping and robbery committed in Cleveland in 1997. They were linked to the crime by the testimony of a third defendant, Jason Smith, who admitted being at the crime scene and was given immunity and reduced charges that resulted in a 3 year prison sentence, in exchange for his testimony against Zimmer and Siller. Cleveland PD forensic serologist Joseph Serowik testified that dark spots on Smith's pants were not blood. Serowik was fired in 2004 for a systematic pattern of professional misconduct. Zimmer and Siller sought DNA testing of the dark spots on Smith's pants, and that testing resulted in their identification as the blood of the vicim and Smith -- but none originated from Zimmer or Siller. Based on the new evidence their convictions were vacated and they were released in the spring of 2011. Zimmer and Siller filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Cleveland alleging the city failed to properly train and supervise Serowik and that he fabricated his testimony against the two men. In April 2014 Zimmer and Siller settled their compensation lawsuit for $1.3 million -- with the two men splitting the money for $650,000 each less their attorney's fees."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	Post-conviction DNA testing.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$650,000 (City of Cleveland, April 2014)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	41
Age When Released:	54
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Thomas Siller and Walter Zimmer, imprisoned for beating elderly woman to death: Whatever happened to ...?, By Leila Atassi (Reporter), Northeast Ohio Media Group, April 2, 2012"
Information Location 1:	http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/thomas_siller_and_walter_zimme.html
Information Source 2:	"Cleveland agrees to pay $1.3 million to two men wrongfully convicted of murder, By James F. McCarty (Starr Writer) The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), April 3, 2014"
Information Location 2:	http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2014/04/cleveland_agrees_to_pay_13_mil.html
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Walter Zimmer (2001 conviction)

Charge:

Involuntary Manslaughter

Sentence:

10 years

Years Imprisoned:

6.5

Year Crime:

1997

Year Convicted:

2011

Year Cleared:

2011

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Ohio

County or Region of Crime:

Cuyahoga

City of Crime:

Cleveland

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Post-conviction DNA testing.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$650,000 (City of Cleveland, April 2014)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

41

Age When Released:

54

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Thomas Siller and Walter Zimmer, imprisoned for beating elderly woman to death: Whatever happened to ...?, By Leila Atassi (Reporter), Northeast Ohio Media Group, April 2, 2012"

Information Location 1:

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/thomas_siller_and_walter_zimme.html

Information Source 2:

"Cleveland agrees to pay $1.3 million to two men wrongfully convicted of murder, By James F. McCarty (Starr Writer) The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), April 3, 2014"

Information Location 2:

http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2014/04/cleveland_agrees_to_pay_13_mil.html

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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