Jason Puracal

Last updated

Jason Puracal (born May 31, 1977) is an American who was wrongly sentenced to serve 22 years in prison in Nicaragua on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime. [1] Puracal's case went before the Appeals Court on August 16, 2012, nearly one year after his original conviction. [2] On September 12, 2012, he was acquitted of all charges by the Appeals Court. [3]

Contents

Many experts came forward supporting Puracal's innocence including the California Innocence Project, [4] former DEA agent [5] Thomas Cash, [6] former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Irwin Cotler [7] and Freedom Now founder and human rights attorney Jared Genser. [8] Puracal's case is being managed by The David House Agency, an international crisis resource agency based in Los Angeles. [9] On September 12, 2012 he was one of 12 people whose charges were vacated, according to his legal team and a judicial order signed. As of September 14, 2012, he has left Nicaragua and returned to the U.S.

Case facts

According to media reports, on November 11, 2010, police entered Puracal's home and office, taking him into custody. [10] Puracal was charged with international drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime. [8] After being held in police custody for 8 months, on August 29, 2011, Puracal was convicted of all counts. [11]

According to taped interviews on the Today show, former DEA Agent Tom Cash believes that there was an astounding lack of evidence presented by the prosecution. After reviewing the case, he believed no financial relationship was found between Puracal and the other defendants and that the evidence of money laundering was a misunderstanding of what a real estate escrow account is. [6] This lack of evidence prompted the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to rule that Puracal's imprisonment was, indeed, arbitrary and called for his immediate release. [12] Further political figures have come forward in support of Puracal, including Congressman Adam Smith. Smith has publicly stated "They presented no evidence of a crime here. They have simply kidnapped and held him for a period of time and that is not in compliance with international law, it's not even in compliance with Nicaraguan law." [13]

Puracal was sentenced to five years for organized crime, seven years for money laundering and ten years for international drug trafficking, totaling 22 years. [14] Since his sentencing, Puracal has been held in La Modelo maximum-security prison outside of Managua. [15] The appeals hearing for Puracal and his 10 co-defendants began On August 16, 2012. [16] On September 12, 2012, he was acquitted of all charges by the Appeals Court.

Case significance

Puracal's story has received a significant amount of media attention because of claims of lack of evidence and precedent set by the conviction. [8]

Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project said, "If the United States government does not vigorously fight for Jason's immediate release, other countries will realize all they have to do is call any case a 'drug' case and our government will not fight. They will know they can confiscate your property, throw you in prison and you will be powerless. We will all be at risk when we travel." [4]

United States Congressman Adam Smith said that Puracal's arrest is tantamount to kidnapping. [8] The three American hikers freed from Iran have spoken out against the American's conviction. [8]

History of wrongful imprisonment

This is the second major international trial of an American living in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. American Eric Volz was wrongfully convicted in the same town. After being imprisoned for 14 months, he was exonerated in December 2007. [17] The New York Times said the Volz trial made a "spectacle of the courts". [17] Volz is now the managing director of The David House Agency [18] and has been identified in the media as the case manager leading the efforts to free Puracal. [9]

United Nations petition

On January 18, 2011, Puracal's sister, attorney Janis Puracal, along with co-council Jared Genser, filed a petition in the United Nation Working Group on Arbitrary Detention arguing that Puracal's August 29, 2011, conviction violated international law. [11]

The petition also urged the United Nations to take "urgent action" in the case, citing "physical abuse and the denial of food, water and proper medical care" inside the prison. [11]

Related Research Articles

West Memphis Three three men convicted of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States

The West Memphis Three are three men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual.

Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison either for the rest of their natural lives or until pardoned, paroled or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for which, in some countries, a person could receive this sentence include murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, apostasy, terrorism, child abuse resulting in death, rape, child rape, espionage, treason, high treason, drug dealing, drug trafficking, drug possession, human trafficking, severe cases of fraud, severe cases of financial crimes, aggravated criminal damage in English law, and aggravated cases of arson, kidnapping, burglary, or robbery which result in death or grievous bodily harm, piracy, aircraft hijacking, and in certain cases genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, certain war crimes or any three felonies in case of three-strikes law. Life imprisonment can also be imposed, in certain countries, for traffic offenses causing death. Life imprisonment is not used in all countries; Portugal was the first country to abolish life imprisonment, in 1884.

Innocence Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization that is committed to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted, through the use of DNA testing and working to reform the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. The group cites various studies estimating that in the United States between 1% and 10% of all prisoners are innocent. The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld who gained national attention in the mid-1990s as part of the "Dream Team" of lawyers who formed part of the defense in the O. J. Simpson murder case.

Kerry Max Cook is an American former death row inmate who was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 21-year-old Linda Jo Edwards in 1977.

Kerry Committee report report on drug enforcement problems in South and Central America and the Caribbean

The Kerry Committee report, formally titled Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy, was the final report of an investigation by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations. The report examined the problems that drug cartels and drug money laundering in South and Central America and the Caribbean posed for American law enforcement and foreign policy. The Sub-Committee was chaired at the time by Democratic Party Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts, so that the report is often referred to under his name.

Andrew Mark Mallard was a British-born Australian who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1995 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Almost 12 years later, after an appeal to the High Court of Australia, his conviction was quashed and a retrial ordered. However, the charges against him were dropped and Mallard was released. At the time, the Director of Public Prosecutions stated that Mallard remained the prime suspect and that if further evidence became available he could still be prosecuted. He was released from prison in 2006 after his conviction was quashed by the High Court, and paid $3.25 million compensation by the state government.

Angola Three Prison inmates in solitary for decades

The Angola Three are three African-American former prison inmates who were held for decades in solitary confinement while imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary. The latter two were indicted in April 1972 for the killing of a prison corrections officer; they were convicted in January 1974. Wallace and Woodfox served more than 40 years each in solitary, the "longest period of solitary confinement in American prison history."

Eric Volz

Eric Volz is an American entrepreneur, author, and the managing director of The David House Agency, an international crisis resource agency based in Los Angeles. The New York Times recognized Volz as a highly sought crisis manager. He specializes in strategy for international show trials and other complex political and legal situations abroad.

This is a list of notable overturned convictions in the United States.

Joseph M. Giarratano is a former prisoner who served in Deerfield Correctional Center, in Southampton County, Virginia. On November 21, 2017, he was granted parole. He was convicted based on circumstantial evidence and his own confessions, of murdering Toni Kline and raping and strangling her 15-year-old daughter Michelle on February 4, 1979, in Norfolk, Virginia. He has said that he was an addict for years and had blacked out on alcohol and drugs, waking to find the bodies. He was sentenced to death and incarcerated on death row for 12 years at the former Virginia State Penitentiary.

Yong Vui Kong Convicted drug trafficker sentenced to life imprisonment in Singapore

Yong Vui Kong is a Malaysian citizen of Hakka descent who was sentenced to death in Singapore for trafficking more than 15 grams of heroin in 2007. His sentence was reduced to life imprisonment and caning as a result of Singapore's amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Evelin Banev

Evelin Banev, also known by his nickname Brendo is real estate developer, a published writer, and a former wrestler.

Jacob Ostreicher American businessman and investor (born 1959)

Jacob Ostreicher is an American businessman and investor. In June 2011, he was arrested in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, while overseeing a rice growing agricultural venture that he had invested in, and was jailed for 18 months on suspicion of money laundering, though he was never formally charged. Ostreicher maintained his innocence and stated that the allegations by the Bolivian government were "the scam of the century". His family and friends initiated a public effort to plea for his release, and actor-activist Sean Penn visited Ostreicher in Bolivia and pledged to work for his release.

The innocent prisoner's dilemma, or parole deal, is a detrimental effect of a legal system in which admission of guilt can result in reduced sentences or early parole. When an innocent person is wrongly convicted of a crime, legal systems which need the individual to admit guilt — as, for example, a prerequisite step leading to parole — punish an innocent person for their integrity, and reward a person lacking in integrity. There have been cases where innocent prisoners were given the choice between freedom, in exchange for claiming guilt, and remaining imprisoned and telling the truth. Individuals have died in prison rather than admit to crimes that they did not commit.

California Innocence Project American legal non-profit founded 1999

The California Innocence Project is a non-profit based at California Western School of Law in San Diego, California, United States, which provides pro bono legal services to individuals who maintain their factual innocence of crime(s) for which they have been convicted. It is an independent chapter of the Innocence Project. Its mission is to exonerate wrongly convicted inmates through the use of DNA and other evidences.

Sam Hallam, from Hoxton, London, is one of the youngest victims of a UK miscarriage of justice after an appeal court quashed his murder conviction in 2012.

The David House Agency is a Los Angeles-based international crisis resource agency that helps international travelers facing wrongful imprisonment and other complex legal and political situations abroad.

Anthony Charles Graves

Anthony Charles Graves is the 138th exonerated death row inmate in America. With no record of violence, he was arrested at 26 years old, wrongfully convicted, and incarcerated for 18 years before finally being exonerated and released. He was awarded $1.4 million for the time he spent imprisoned, and the prosecutor who put him in prison was ultimately disbarred for concealing exculpatory evidence and using false testimony in the case.

References

  1. ↑ http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=537585 [ bare URL ]
  2. ↑ Smith, Adam. "Smith Statement on Jason Puracal Appeal Hearing" (Press release). Congressman Adam Smith. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120913200159/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/lawyer-says-us-citizen-jason-puracal-win-appeal-being-freed-after-2-years-in-nicaraguan-jail/2012/09/12/258f6376-fd31-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html. Archived from the original on 2012-09-13.Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 1 2 Brooks, Justin (March 11, 2012). "Puracal case dangerous precedent". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  5. ↑ Cran, William (March 25, 1997). "The Godfather of Cocaine". Frontline. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Sanders, Kerry (February 15, 2012). "American fights for freedom in Nicaragua prison". Today Show. NBC News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  7. ↑ Larios, Carlos (March 27, 2012). "Puracal 'participó en los ilícitos'". El Neuvo Diario. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Fantz, Ashely (February 16, 2012). "Innocent American imprisoned in Nicaragua, defenders say". CNN. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Cooper, Anderson (June 14, 2012). "Fight to free American in Nicaragua jail". CNN. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  10. ↑ Kruse, Brandi (November 3, 2011). "Jason Puracal: The man in the Nicaraguan prison". My Northwest. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 Kruse, Brandi. "United Nations now involved in Jason Puracal case". MyNorthwest.Com. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  12. ↑ Slossan, Mary (May 30, 2012). "U.N. group urges release of American in Nicaragua". Reuters. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  13. ↑ Cartier, Curtis. "Jason Puracal, Tacoma Man Jailed in Nicaragua, Is There on Bogus Charges, Says Ex-FBI Agent". Seattle Weekly . Archived from the original on December 31, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  14. ↑ Rogers, Tim. "In Nicaragua, Puracal Hearing Adjourned Until Monday". The Nicaragua Dispatch. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  15. ↑ Rogers, Tim. "U.S. family fights to free son from Nicaraguan Prison". The Nicaragua Dispatch. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  16. ↑ Slosson, Mary (August 8, 2012). "American imprisoned in Nicaragua gets long-awaited appeal hearing". Reuters. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  17. 1 2 Lacey, Marc (January 6, 2008). "1/6/08". New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  18. ↑ Karoub, Jeff (February 21, 2012). "Will speaking out help save Mich. prisoner in Iran?". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.