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A ‘Lucky’ Exoneration in Syracuse
Loaded on March 15, 2022
by Jayson Hawkins
published in Criminal Legal News
April, 2022, page 38
Filed under:
Wrongful Conviction.
Location:
New York.
by Jayson Hawkins
Before Alice Sebold wrote her New York Times Bestseller, The Lovely Bones, she published a haunting memoir recounting her rape in 1981 when she was a freshman at Syracuse University. The book, Lucky, details not only the experience but also how she saw …
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More from this issue:
- A Guide to Getting the Most Out of a Plea Bargain, by Jacob Barrett
- Second Circuit: District Court Required to Explain Rationale for Reducing Sentence to ‘Time Served’ Under First Step Act but Refused to Reduce Supervised Release Portion of Sentence Despite Being Longer Than New Mandatory Minimum, by Dale Chappell
- What You Need to Know Before Contacting a Conviction Integrity Unit, by Marissa Boyers Bluestine, Kia Hall Hayes
- Study Examines the ‘Black Box’ of Prosecutorial Charging and Plea Bargaining Discretion, by David Reutter
- Man Rejects Plea Deal and Is Sentenced to 110 Years in Colorado Prison for Doing So, by Ashleigh Dye
- Systematic Lying in Plea Bargaining Is a Feature, Not a Flaw, by David Reutter
- Iowa Supreme Court Clarifies When Forensic Interviews of Child Complaining Witnesses Are Admissible, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit: Government Violated Plea Agreement by Arguing for Sentence Exceeding Guidelines Range, Despite Promise Not to ‘Suggest in Any Way’ Variance Is Appropriate, by David Reutter
- Tenth Circuit: Where Defendant Actually Sentenced to Drug Treatment and Probation Rather Than 28-32 Months in Prison as Per State Sentencing Guidelines, Conviction Can’t Serve as Predicate ‘Felony’ for 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), by Dale Chappell
- ACLU Report Suggests Disturbing Pattern of Police Surveilling Protests to Identify People Peacefully Protesting Police Brutality
- Plea Bargaining: An Illegitimate System to Administer Justice?, by David Reutter
- First Circuit: Appellate Counsel’s Failure to Raise Brady Claim on Direct Appeal Constituted Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Under Strickland, § 2255 Motion Granted, by Anthony Accurso
- Ending Eyewitness Memory Contamination, by Matthew Clarke
- Iowa Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Where Prosecutor Allowed to Amend Trial Information at Trial to Charge a ‘Wholly New and Different Offense’, by David Reutter
- Fourth Circuit: Bodily Injury Sentence Enhancement for Robbery Inapplicable Where Victim Sustained ‘Momentary’ Injury and Sought ‘Precautionary’ Medical Treatment, by Jacob Barrett
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Trial Court Did Not Abuse Discretion by Granting Rule 508 Motion to Dismiss Capital Murder Charge Where State Refused to Disclose Identity of Confidential Informant, by Douglas Ankney
- Vermont Supreme Court Announces Rule 12.1 Doesn’t Require Notice of Diminished Capacity Defense When Expert Testimony Won’t Be Used, by Matthew Clarke
- California Court of Appeal: Hearing on Discretionary Resentencing Under §1170.91(b)(1) for U.S. Servicemembers Requires Only That Petition Allege Defendant ‘May’ Be Suffering From a ‘Qualifying Condition’, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit: Aggravated Assault in Texas Does Not Qualify as Aggravated Felony Under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2), Reentry With Prior Aggravated Felony, by Jacob Barrett
- Massachusetts Supreme Court: Prosecution Failed to Prove Defendant Knowingly, Voluntarily, and Intelligently Waived Right to Counsel After Having Asked for Lawyer Earlier But Officer Continued to Engage in ‘General’ Talk for Nearly 45 Minutes, by Anthony Accurso
- Third Circuit, Joining Every Other Circuit That’s Addressed the Issue, Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Does Not Qualify as ‘Crime of Violence’, by David Reutter
- A ‘Lucky’ Exoneration in Syracuse, by Jayson Hawkins
- Ninth Circuit Announces Irizarry Didn’t Eliminate Wise Requirement That Sentencing Court Provide Notice of Special Conditions of Supervised Release Prior to Imposing Sentence, by Matthew Clarke
- Maryland Prosecutor Covers for FBI Agent’s Lies in Defense of Junk Science, by Jayson Hawkins
- SCOTUS Rejects ‘Opening the Door’ Rule to Correct ‘Misleading Impression’ as Exception to Confrontation Clause Allowing Admission of Unconfronted Testimonial Hearsay, by Richard Resch
- North Dakota Supreme Court Suppresses Evidence Found in Passenger’s Backpack Located Outside Vehicle When Drug-Detection Dog Alerted to Presence of Drugs Inside Vehicle, by Anthony Accurso
- Fear and Freedom Twenty Years Later: How Post 9/11 Security Measures Overstepped Privacy, by Ashleigh Dye
- FBI Program Surveils Subject for 24 Days Using Spy Planes, by Anthony Accurso
- California Court of Appeal Announces Suffering From a Nonqualifying Mental Disorder While Also Suffering From a Qualifying Disorder Does Not Bar Eligibility for Mental Health Diversion Under § 1001.36, by Anthony Accurso
- Google Confirms Increasing Police Reliance on Geofence Warrants, by Anthony Accurso
- Pandemic Pressures Defendants into False Guilty Pleas, by David Reutter
- Search Your Constitution in Vain for the Fourth Amendment—the DOJ Seized It (Stealthily), by Douglas Ankney
- NYPD Using Secret Money for Surveillance Tech, by Anthony Accurso
- Dangers of Data Gathering by Los Angeles Police Department, by Edward Lyon
- Geofencing Warrants Are Putting Civil Rights and Free Speech in Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
- Oregon Bans Police Lying to Obtain Confessions from Juveniles, by Jacob Barrett
- Police Disparage Philadelphia Citizenry with False Report That SEPTA Riders Stood Idle While Passenger was Raped, by Douglas Ankney
- ‘Possible Cause’ Is All That’s Needed for Geofence Warrants, by Douglas Ankney
- News in Brief
More from Jayson Hawkins:
- Bad Lawyering, Bankruptcy Torpedo Suit Over Delaware Prisoner’s Death, July 15, 2023
- Senators Rail at DOJ Failure to Report In-Custody Deaths, June 15, 2023
- Financial Pressure Finally Brings Police Reform, June 15, 2023
- “Slap On the Wrist” for California Bail Agents Who Hired Bounty Hunter Who Killed Their Client, May 1, 2023
- MTV Documentary Shines Light on Art Behind Bars, May 1, 2023
- Arizona Prisoner Condemned Again for Cellmate’s Murder, May 1, 2023
- U.S. Response to Haitian Crisis: Fund More Prisons, April 1, 2023
- Former State Prison Guards in Georgia Sentenced for Prisoner Assaults and Cover-Up, April 1, 2023
- After Years of Hard Work and Dedication, Adnan Syed Is Freed by Serendipity, March 15, 2023
- Time to Find the Key, March 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- $11 Million Paid by Boston to Exonerated Prisoner for 37-Year Wrongful Incarceration, Sept. 1, 2026. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Monell Liability, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Eyewitness Identification, Evidence - Failure to Disclose.
- $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, Aug. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Certificate of Innocence, False Imprisonment, Confessions - Coerced.
- Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Framework Governing Factual Innocence Claims in First Application of La. C.Cr.P. Art. 926.2, Holding Second-Step Review Encompasses All Relevant Evidence, Aug. 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Expert and Opinion Testimony, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, July 1, 2026. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction, Forensic Sciences, Eyewitness Identification, Brady Rule violations.
- Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Wrongful Conviction, DNA Evidence, Evidence - Admissibility, Claim of Innocence.
- Jury Awards Over $24.4 Million to Kentucky Prisoner Exonerated After 22 Years, Bringing Total Payout for Him and Co-Defendant to Almost $45 Million, June 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Monell Liability, Fabrication of Evidence, Failure to Disclose.
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $10 Million Wrongful Conviction Verdict for Exonerated Michigan Prisoner, June 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Damages - Compensatory, Failure to Disclose.
- Murder Convictions Tossed for Three Pennsylvania Prisoners After 28 Years, June 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, witness misidentification, Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Expert and Opinion Testimony.
- New York Prisoner, Paroled After 25 Years, Exonerated of Crime, June 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Prosecutorial Threats, Brady/Giglio/Jencks Act Issues.





