Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Dhoruba al-Mujahid bin Wahad (aka Richard Moore)

 

Charge:

Attempted Murder

Sentence:

25 years to life

Years Imprisoned:

19

Year Crime:

1971

Year Convicted:

1973

Year Cleared:

1995

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

New York

City of Crime:

New York City

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Dhoruba al-Mujahid bin Wahad (aka Richard Moore) was wrongly convicted in 1973 of the 1971 attempted murder in Manhattan of two New York City police officers. A police informant said that he was the man who fired a machine gun at the two police officers who stopped a man for a traffic violation. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Conviction overturned in March 1990 based on the discovery of exculpatory FBI documents that weren't disclosed to his trial lawyer. He was released without bail after 19 years of incarceration, including two while awaiting trial. Five years later, in January 1995, Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced he wouldn't be retried and the charges were dismissed. A civil rights lawsuit against the FBI was settled in 1995 for $400,000. A lawsuit against the City of New York and the NYPD was settled in December 2000 for $490,000."

Conviction Caused By:

Perjury by a police informant.

Innocence Proved By:

Conviction overturned in March 1990 based on the discovery of exculpatory FBI documents that weren't disclosed to his trial lawyer.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$890,000 total. $400,000 (U.S. govt., 1995) and $490,000 (New York City, 2000)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

27

Age When Released:

46

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"City agrees to settle suit by former panther leader, By Benjamin Weiser, New York Times, December 8, 2000"

Information Location 1:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E5DC1E3CF93BA35751C1A9669C8B63

Information Source 2:

"Court erupts as judge frees an ex-panther, By Ronald Sullivan, New York Times, March 23, 1990"

Information Location 2:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE0DF1031F930A15750C0A966958260

Information Source 3:

"No Retrial in Shootings, New York Times, January 20, 1995"

Information Location 3:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEEDF1330F933A15752C0A963958260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

""Still Black, Still Strong," by Dhoruba al-Mujahid bin Wahad, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Assata Shakur (1993) "

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case:

Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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