| First Name | James |
| Last Name | Edwards |
| Year of Conviction | 1996 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2012 |
| Testing inculpated culprit | Cold Hit |
| State of Conviction | Illinois |
| Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty Plea | Trial |
| Type of Crime | Murder |
| Death Sentence | No |
| Life / LWOP sentence | Life |
| Gender of Exoneree | Male |
| Race of exoneree | Black |
| Juvenile | No |
| Types of evidence at trial |
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| Were non-public facts alleged? | Yes |
| Type of Forensic Evidence |
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| Types of Flawed Forensics |
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| Examples of Non-Public or Corroborated Facts and Inconsistencies | ● Victim beaten to death at his store ● Over $1,000 was taken from store, in bag with checks and receipts. ● Victim beaten with 3.5 foot long mahogany/oak stick to beat the victim ● During struggle, threw stick out the car window ● Victim’s car taken, it broke down, and it was left in Chicago BUT ● No black bag described found at scene. Said he used gloves or socks to cover fingers during robbery, but fingerprints not matching Edwards found at scene. No evidence victim had left keys in front door. |
| Quotes from law enforcement testimony | “Q. Were you providing him details that you knew? A. No, I wasn’t…. it would … show that … it was him if he’s giving me the details.” “During the course of this conversation, did you have to drag details out of him? A. No.” |
| Quotes from prosecution arguments | Missing Openings and Closings |
| Interrogation Recorded | Video recording of part of interrogation and written signed statement |
| 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 | People v. Edwards, 754 N.E.2d 1288 (Ill. 2001) |