| First Name | James |
| Last Name | Dean |
| Year of Conviction | 1989 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2009 |
| Testing inculpated culprit | Non-Cold Hit |
| State of Conviction | Nebraska |
| Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty Plea | Guilty Plea |
| Type of Crime | Murder |
| Death Sentence | No |
| Gender of Exoneree | Male |
| Race of exoneree | White |
| Juvenile | No |
| Types of evidence at trial |
|
| Were non-public facts alleged? | Yes |
| Type of Forensic Evidence |
|
| Types of Flawed Forensics |
|
| Reason why invalid | (1) Masking |
| Brief Quote / Description of Testimony | Fingerprint and hair comparison excluded defendant. Analyst testified in Joseph White’s trial that serology was consistent with two co-defendants, without providing any statistics or explaining that those findings were also entirely consistent with the victim and none could be excluded. |
| Examples of Non-Public or Corroborated Facts and Inconsistencies | ● Described layout of victim’s apartment ● Described rape and strangulation of victim ● Described hearing a sound like a bone breaking, and autopsy concluded that the victim’s left arm was broken BUT Inconsistent descriptions of Joseph White and described memory problems and inability to recall details before speaking to law enforcement No records of mental evaluation at time of interrogations or trial obtained, but at trial described difficulty distinguishing between dreams and reality. |
| Quotes from law enforcement testimony | Guilty Plea – No trial. But testified in Joseph White trial |
| Jailhouse informant, Co-defendant, Incentivized Witness | CD |
| Examples of Non-Public or Corroborated Facts and Inconsistencies | ● Non-public facts described in false confession Appendix concerning other “Beatrice Six” defendants Shelden, Taylor and Winslow |
| Highest level reached | Appeal |
| Claims Raised During All Appeals and Postconviction |
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| Harmless Error Rulings |
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| Citations to judicial opinions | State v. Dean, 464 N.W.2d 782 (Neb. 1991) |