Newark, NJ
Years served: 10 Years
Charge: Murder
Sentence: Life
Year Convicted: 1967
Factors contributing to wrongful conviction: Perjury or False Accusation, Official Misconduct.
Year Freed: 1986
Rene Santana was freed in 1986 after wrongly spending 10 years in prison for the 1976 murder of a Newark, NJ apartment building superintendent. An investigation by Centurion showed the state’s star witness had a secret deal with prosecutors whereby his charges were dropped in exchange for false eyewitness testimony. This witness visited Santana in prison a decade after his trial and apologized for lying against him.
Related Articles
- A Champion for the Wrongly Convicted
By Margot Hornblower
The Washington Post
November 16,1986 - Cleared Murder Suspect Deported to Dominican Republic
By Guy Sterling
The Start Ledger
February 25, 1986 - Court Document
