Isidore Zimmerman

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Charge:	First Degree Murder
Sentence:	Death and later resentenced or commuted to Life
Years Imprisoned:	24
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	1939
Year Cleared:	1961
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	New York
City of Crime:	New York
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Isidore Zimmerman was wrongly convicted of murder for allegedly providing the firearm used in a New Jersey restaurant holdup during which a New York City detective was killed. Zimmerman was sentenced to death and came within 2 hours of being executed before his death sentence was commutted to life in prison on January 6, 1939 by New York Gov. Herbert Lehman. Zimmerman's direct appeal of his conviction was denied, although the appeals court acknowledged he wasn't at the scene of the murder of a police detective. Zimmerman's conviction was overturned in 1961 based on new evidence the prosecution had concealed perjury by a government witness that Zimmerman provided the gun used to later kill the detective. Zimmerman was 67 when awarded $1 million compensation by the State of New York Court of Claims on May 31, 1983. Zimmerman received about $660,000 after paying his legal fees and expenses. Zimmerman died in Queens, New York on October 12, 1983."
Conviction Caused By:	Perjury by the government's witness.
Innocence Proved By:	Zimmerman's conviction was overturned in 1961 based on new evidence the prosecution had concealed by the government's star witness against him.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$1 million (State of New York, May 31, 1983)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	21
Age When Released:	45
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 171+."
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Man Wins $1 Million For Unjust Murder Conviction, By AP news story, 'The Stars and Stripes, June 2, 1983, p. 6"
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Information Source 3:	"Isidore Zimmerman, 66, Man Unjustly Jailed For A Murder, By Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times, October 14, 1983"
Information Location 3:	http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/14/obituaries/isidore-zimmerman-66-man-unjustly-jailed-for-a-murder.html
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Isidore Zimmerman

Charge:

First Degree Murder

Sentence:

Death and later resentenced or commuted to Life

Years Imprisoned:

24

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1939

Year Cleared:

1961

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

New York

City of Crime:

New York

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjury by the government's witness.

Innocence Proved By:

Zimmerman's conviction was overturned in 1961 based on new evidence the prosecution had concealed by the government's star witness against him.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$1 million (State of New York, May 31, 1983)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

21

Age When Released:

45

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 171+."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Man Wins $1 Million For Unjust Murder Conviction, By AP news story, 'The Stars and Stripes, June 2, 1983, p. 6"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"Isidore Zimmerman, 66, Man Unjustly Jailed For A Murder, By Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times, October 14, 1983"

Information Location 3:

http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/14/obituaries/isidore-zimmerman-66-man-unjustly-jailed-for-a-murder.html

Information Source 4:

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

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Movie About Case:

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