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Wrongly
Convicted Database
Record
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Years
Imprisoned:
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2 |
Charge: |
Rape, Robbery and Kidnapping |
Sentence: |
50 to 200 years |
Year Convicted: |
1980 |
Year
Cleared:
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Location
of Trial:
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Ohio |
Result:
|
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary
of Case:
|
Wrongly convicted of two rapes, robberies and burglaries in Ohio, while an AWOL marine from Camp Lejune, NC. Bradley Cox was identified by the two victims and after a seven hour interrogation strapped to a chair, during which was told he was being examined by a polygraph, he confessed and signed a statement handwritten for him by the alleged examiner. No polygraph charts were ever produced by the prosecution. Convicted on the basis of the eyewitness identification and his confession, Cox was sentenced to 50 to 200 years in prison. Attorney Harry Robert Reinhart became involved in Cox's case, and they identified that the likely perpetrator was John Berry Simonis. When it was discovered Simonis was jailed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was questioned about the Ohio rapes and he admitted committing them, and in so doing provided details that only the rapist would know. Based on the new evidence Cox's convictions were vacated and he was released in 1982. Cox was wrongly imprisoned for two years. Cox bore no resemblance to the actual rapist, and he filed a rongful imprisonment lawsuit against the State of Ohio that was settled for a six-figure payment. |
Conviction
Caused By:
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Erroneous eyewitness identification by the two women raped in separate incidents, and Bradley Cox's fFalse confession. |
Innocence
Proved By:
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Actual perpetrator found was found in Louisiana and the in confessing he provided details known only to the police and the perpetrator.
|
Defendant
Aided By:
|
Attorney Harry Robert Reinhart |
Compensation Awarded: |
Six figure sSettlement |
Was Perpetrator Found? |
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Age
When Imprisoned:
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Age
When Released:
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Information Source 1: |
Attorney Harry Robert Reinhart profiled, The Champion (magazine of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, November 1994 |
Information
Location 1:
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http://www.hreinhartlaw.com/champion.html |
Information
Source 2:
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The Problem of False Confessions in the Post-DNA World, By Steven A. Drizin & Richard A. Leo, 82 NCLRev 891-1007 (2004) |
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Location 2:
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Ethnicity/Skin:
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Book
About
Case:
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Information:
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
Falsely confessed |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org