Years served: 17 years
Location: Los Angeles, California
Date Convicted: 1975
Charges: 1st Degree Murder
Sentence: Life
Factors Contributing to Wrongful Conviction: Perjury or False Accusation, Official Misconduct
Date Freed: 1992
Clarence Chance was wrongfully convicted in 1975 for the 1973 murder of an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on coerced witness testimony and a jailhouse informant, all of which were later discredited. Chance maintained his innocence, asserting that he was being processed out of jail at the time of the murder, though no one could confirm his exact release time. His alibi was not properly investigated during the trial.
In 1987, Chance wrote a letter to Centurion Ministries, a New Jersey-based non-profit that investigates wrongful convictions. Intrigued by Chance’s claim that he was in jail at the time of the murder, James McCloskey, Centurion’s founder, began reinvestigating the case. Centurion’s investigation revealed that witnesses had been pressured by police, and exculpatory evidence had been suppressed. These findings supported habeas corpus petitions challenging the conviction.
On March 25, 1992, after the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office acknowledged the misconduct, a judge overturned Chance’s conviction, and all charges were dismissed. Chance had spent nearly 18 years under the shadow of a wrongful conviction.
Following his exoneration, Chance and co-defendant Benny Powell filed civil suits for wrongful conviction. In 1993, they were each awarded $3.5 million from the city of Los Angeles, totaling $9 million with interest over 30 years.
FULL DETAILS ON THE NATIONAL REGISTRY OF EXONERATIONS
Related Articles
- Judge Apologizes, Frees 2 Men in 1973 Murder
By Sheryl Stolberg
Los Angeles Times
March 26, 1992
