|
4 Cases |
|
Location |
Defendant(s) |
Date of Alleged Crime |
| Bernalillo County, NM | Albuquerque Four | Feb 8, 1974 |
| Thomas Gladish, Richard Greer, Ronald Keine, and Clarence Smith were members of the Vagos motorcycle gang in Los Angeles, CA. They were all convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of William Velten, Jr., a University of New Mexico student. Velten was allegedly killed on Feb. 8, 1974 and his body was found on Feb 13 in the Manzano foothills east of Four Hills. The prosecution's key witness was a motel maid named Judith Weyer, who claimed that she witnessed the crime. The four men were in Los Angeles at the time of the murder. About six months after their convictions, Weyer admitted that her testimony was fabricated and said she had been coached and pressured by the police and prosecutors. Nonetheless, the trial court refused to order a new trial. Several months later, the men were granted a new trial after another man, Kerry Rodney Lee, confessed to having committed the murder. Based on this confession and evidence corroborating it, charges against the four were dropped and they were released in 1976. The men were aided by the Detroit News, which spent $75,000 to help establish their innocence. [7/05] | ||
| Bernalillo County, NM | Van Bering Robinson | Sept 10, 1980 |
| Robinson was convicted of murdering Albuquerque Police Officer Phil Chacon. Chacon was gunned down while responding to a robbery report at a shoe store. Robinson was exonerated in 1983 after it was found that three Albuquerque police officers falsified information to frame him for the murder. Robinson was awarded $75,000 in 1985. [9/05] | ||
| Lea County, NM | Terry Seaton | 1971 |
| Seaton was convicted murdering a baker. He was released in 1979 after new evidence cast strong doubt on his guilt. Seaton was awarded $150,000 in 1981 for his wrongful arrest. [9/05] | ||
| Unknown County, NM | Francisco Garcia | Convicted 1913 |
| Garcia was convicted of manslaughter, but an appeals court overturned the conviction in 1916, stating it was "physically impossible for him to be guilty" of the crime. [9/05] | ||