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Judge Sonia Sotomayor Denied My Appeal and I Spent 16 Years in Prison for a Crime I Didn’t Commit
Loaded on Aug. 15, 2009
by Jeffrey Deskovic
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2009, page 12
My name is Jeffrey Deskovic. At age 17, I was wrongfully convicted of murder and rape, a conviction that was based upon a coerced false confession, the fabrication of evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, and fraud by a medical examiner. I was cleared 16 years later – almost three years ago – ...
Filed under:
Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct,
Criminal Prosecution,
Court Access,
Judiciary,
Wrongful Conviction,
Habeas Corpus.
Location:
New York.
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More from this issue:
- Judge Not: Judges Benched for Personal Misconduct
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- FedCURE Entitled to Fee Waiver for FOIA Request, by Brandon Sample
- Violence on the Rise in BOP Facilities, by Brandon Sample
- Judge Sonia Sotomayor Denied My Appeal and I Spent 16 Years in Prison for a Crime I Didn’t Commit, by Jeffrey Deskovic
- Oregon Prosecutes Teen to Avoid Liability; Bizarre 2 1/2 Year Legal Battle Ends, by Mark Wilson
- A Bridge Between The Ivy League And The Jailhouse: An Interview with Brett Dignam, Clinical Professor of Law and Supervising Attorney at Yale Law School, by Todd Matthews
- Florida’s Private Prisons Still Lack Meaningful Oversight, by David Reutter
- Motions to Oust California Prison System’s Federal Healthcare Receiver Denied, by John Dannenberg
- 15 Guards Charged with Assaulting Maryland Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Oregon’s Criminal Justice Economic Recovery Plan: Keep Digging!, by Mark Wilson
- Indiana Lifelong Violent Offender Registration Preliminary Injunction Upheld in Part
- $1,423,127 in Attorney Fees Awarded in Taser Suit; Damages Reduced
- Report Recommends Lawmakers Reinstate College Programs in Prison, by David Reutter
- Report Concludes Hispanics Receiving a Greater Share of Federal Sentences, by David Reutter
- Improper Classification that Resulted in Seattle Jail Beating Settles for $37,500
- Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v. The U.S.A., by Mumia Abu-Jamal, Published by City Lights Publishers, ISBN 978-0-8728646-9-6; 286 Pages; $16.95, by Gary Hunter
- Reopened Abu Ghraib Prison Haunted by its Past
- $10,000 Settlement for Bunk Bed Railing Hitting Prisoner
- $2.1 Million Award in California Prisoner’s Choking Death
- Poaching Boast Lands Oregon Prison Guard in Hot Water; Pulls State Trooper Father Down with Him, by Mark Wilson
- Utah Evaluates Drug Program Pilot; Recommends Further Evaluation, by David Reutter
- $100,000 Settlement in Illegal Imprisonment Caused by Massachusetts’ Failure to Implement Court Order, by David Reutter
- Vermont Supreme Court: “Nutraloaf” Diet Is Punishment that Requires Hearing
- Ohio Parole Authority Ordered to Grant Hearings that Provide Meaningful Parole Consideration, by David Reutter
- $250,000 Award in Mississippi False Imprisonment Suit
- Vendor Crushed by Seattle Jail Door Receives $43,525 for Injuries
- Study Shows Few Texas Prisoners Transition Well to Community HIV Treatment
- Highest Criminal Appeals Judge in Texas Faces Removal Hearing
- Audit Report Finds Michigan Prisoner Transportation System Wasteful, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Suit Alleging Excessive Force, Retaliation and Inadequate Medical Care; Settles for $15,000
- Seventh Circuit Vacates Dismissal for Failure to Prosecute; $50,000 + Fees Awarded Following Remand
- Illinois Court of Appeals: Prisoner Has Standing to Sue Ameritech for Fraud
- AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio Loses Three Public Records Cases
- Colorado Florists Decry Prison Retail Flower Business, by David Reutter
- Missouri Public Defenders Not Immune from Client Suits
- OK Prisoners Released from Custody Despite Deportation Detainers
- Allowing Others to Attack Prisoner, Making Credible Death Threats, Labeling Prisoner a Snitch Violate Eighth Amendment
- Nebraska: Tape-Recorded, Restricted-Calling Prison Telephone System Passes Constitutional Muster, by John Dannenberg
- Absent Claim for Emotional Damages, Prisoner’s Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege Remains Intact
- Prolonged Bench Restraint and Excessive Pepper Spraying Requires Trial
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Prisoner’s Environmental Tobacco Smoke Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Prison Guards’ Convictions Affirmed in Sex Scandal, by David Reutter
- $150,000 Settlement In Missouri Jail Suicide Suit
- First Circuit Upholds BOP’s Discretion to Limit Halfway House Placement
- Ninth Circuit: Orange County Jail Violated Ad Seg Prisoners’ ADA, Religious and Exercise Rights, by John Dannenberg
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Prisoner Exclusion in Virginia FOIA
- Eleventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Challenge to Florida DOC Ban on Pen Pal Requests
- Eleventh Circuit Unpublished Decision on PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Requirements Trumped by Published Ruling
- Ohio Supreme Court Rules Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Not Retroactive, by Matthew Clarke
- Denial of Bedding, Clothes to Florida Prisoner States Claim
- News in Brief:
- Alabama Raises Rates Charged for Prisoner Labor
- District Court Erred in Sua Sponte Dismissal of Prisoner’s Challenge to Conditions of Confinement
More from Jeffrey Deskovic:
More from these topics:
- Sixth Circuit Holds Dismissal Not Automatic When Plaintiff Simultaneously Files Same Claims in State Court, Aug. 1, 2025. Retaliation, Court Access, Grievances, Mail.
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $45 Million Verdict for Wrongfully Convicted Former Ohio Prisoner, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Two Exonerated Illinois Prisoners Win Settlements Totaling $14.5 Million, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- On Remand, Eleventh Circuit Clarifies, Affirms Grant of Habeas Relief to Death Row Prisoner, Aug. 1, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty, Death Row.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Wrongful Conviction Claim of Exonerated Maryland Prisoner, State Pays Him $3.1 Million, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- California Attorney Disbarred for Deceiving Prisoners Seeking Resentencing, Aug. 1, 2025. Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Attorney Misconduct, Counsel - Effective Assistance of.
- Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA, Aug. 1, 2025. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA.
- $22.5 Million Verdict Arrives Too Late for Wrongfully Convicted Illinois Prisoner, July 15, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Confessions - Coerced, Confessions and Statements of Defendant.
- $12 Million for Former California Prisoner Exonerated After 17 Years, July 15, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Coercive Interrogations.
- Fourth Circuit Announces Counterman v. Colorado Is New Rule of Constitutional Law That Applies Retroactively to Cases on Collateral Review and Grants Authorization to File Successive § 2255 Motion, July 1, 2025. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Habeas Corpus, Threats.

