R.I. judge reverses $160,000 award in wrongful conviction case
In June 2024, Sampson filed a petition for compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment, as allowed under
Get Rhode Island News Alerts
Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Gibney initially granted the petition on Dec. 6, 2024. But she wrote this week that emails between Sampson's attorney and counsel for the state had created some miscommunication that impacted how the government responded to the case.
Advertisement
'It is clear to the Court that the State failed to respond because it was awaiting an order granting the Motion to Amend, and Petitioner's assurances that it would not hold it in default further led to the illusion that it had such time,' Gibney wrote in her decision on Tuesday. 'It is also clear from those e-mails that the State was intending to challenge the Petition on the merits.'
Therefore, Gibney granted the state's request to vacate the previous decision and provided the government 10 days to file a response to an amended petition.
Advertisement
Reached for comment by email on Friday, Shannah Kurland, an attorney representing Sampson, pointed to a brief she filed in response to the state's motion to reconsider the initial decision in January.
In the filing, Kurland argued the state 'set forth no facts or legal argument that even plausibly approach the demanding standard for a motion to reconsider.'
'Rather, the State asks the Court to simply change its mind to accommodate the State's own failure, after five months and multiple extensions of time, to properly litigate Mr. Sampson's claim,' Kurland wrote.
The state 'repeatedly laments that it was somehow prevented from answering or otherwise responding to Mr. Sampson's petition because of some amorphous 'confusion' clouding the proceedings,' Kurland added.
'There is no justification for the State's professed confusion over a common procedural event subject to a clear and easy-to-interpret chronology.'
A spokesperson for the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office on Friday said the office 'does not have a comment beyond our court filings.'
The decision to vacate is the latest development in Sampson's years-long back and forth with the judicial system.
Sampson was arrested on June 28, 2003.
According to court filings, he was disposing of wooden shingles from his vehicle in the woods in South Kingstown, R.I., that day.
Around noon, Jessica Sparfven drove to a bike path near the woods and as she returned to her car later, she saw someone – from 20 feet away – reaching into the passenger-side window of her vehicle, Gibney wrote in her December decision.
Sparfven yelled at the man, and he ran away. She found 'the face plate of her radio, her purse, her cell phone, and several CDs on the ground outside her car' and a screwdriver was also found on the ground nearby, Gibney wrote.
Advertisement
Sparfven described the man to police as a 'Black male, average height (5′10″), thin, wearing white tank top (no sleeves), red shorts and white sneakers or white shoes,' Gibney wrote.
When Sampson heard sirens, he was frightened and went deeper into the woods, as his license was suspended, according to the filing. Only two days prior, he was warned by a judge that if he drove during the suspension, he'd have to serve a year in prison.
An officer noticed the engine of Sampson's vehicle still running, and Sampson was later found wearing 'no shirt, dark red jean shorts, and black boots,' Gibney wrote, adding that 'multiple people in the area could have matched the description of the person Sparfven described,' yet Sampson was arrested.
'Although [Sparfven] never saw the face of the man breaking into her car, she was asked to go to the police station to see if she could identify [Sampson's] shorts as matching those worn by the man breaking into her car,' Gibney wrote. 'She failed to positively identify those shorts because she could not describe the shorts worn by the perpetrator. Despite that, [Sampson] was charged' with attempted larceny and a misdemeanor count of manipulation of a vehicle.
Sampson was released the following day, but was later arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance on Sept. 1, 2003, presented as a bail violator, and held at the ACI. He pled guilty to the charge on Oct. 31, 2003, and was sentenced to 34 months, with 60 days to serve retroactive to Sept. 1.
Advertisement
On the night he was released, he accepted a ride from an acquaintance in a vehicle that Sampson did not know was stolen until the pair was stopped by police, according to Gibney. Sampson was arrested and brought back to the ACI for another month until prosecutors determined Sampson was not involved in the theft of the vehicle.
Although he was not charged, Sampson was declared a bail violator on Dec. 18, 2003, and he was re-incarcerated.
In February 2004, Sampson was convicted at trial on the larceny and misdemeanor charges from the alleged car break-in, even after evidence was presented showing Sparfven did not see the face of the would-be thief and failed to identify Sampson as the suspect, Gibney wrote. A police officer also testified he was unable to lift any fingerprints from the screwdriver found at the scene.
Sampson was sentenced to prison for 10 years with four years to serve and the remaining six suspended for the attempted larceny charge, and a one-year suspended sentence on the misdemeanor charge. A motion for a new trial was denied.
Sampson was eventually released on parole on April 26, 2006, but was later arrested again on Sept. 20, 2006, and charged with possession of a controlled substance 'despite attempting to live a life of sobriety' and returned to the ACI, Gibney wrote. He pleaded nolo contendere to the charge the following month, and received a three-year-suspended sentence, but he was declared a parole violator and thus remained incarcerated until June 14, 2007.
Meanwhile, Sampson had been working to appeal his 2004 conviction since soon after his trial, arguing Sparfven failed to identify him as the suspect and that the state failed to present evidence the items the would-be thief tried to steal were worth more than $500.
Advertisement
The state eventually conceded his motion for a new trial should have been granted because of the lack of evidence, and officials moved to vacate his conviction for attempted larceny, Gibney wrote. Sampson dropped his appeal on the misdemeanor charge and on Oct. 13, 2010, the Rhode Island Supreme Court accepted the state's concession of error and vacated the conviction.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
4 hours ago
- News24
Alleged baby snatcher ‘can't even look me in the eye', says mom
Kidnapping accused Shamiema Jacobs in the Bellville Magistrate's Court to apply for bail. Lisalee/Solomons/News24 Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once. Start your FREE trial now
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Internal USAID analysis claims no evidence of massive Hamas theft of Gaza aid
The study also noted that, because Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, it was possible that US-funded supplies went to administrative officials of Hamas. A US State Department official dismissed an internal US government analysis which found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of US-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the US gave for backing a new armed private aid operation. The analysis, which has not been previously reported, was conducted by a bureau within the US Agency for International Development and completed in late June. It examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of US-funded supplies reported by US aid partner organizations between October 2023 and this May. It found 'no reports alleging Hamas' benefited from US-funded supplies, according to a slide presentation of the findings seen by Reuters. A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos. The spokesperson also accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up "aid corruption." The findings were shared with the USAID's inspector general's office and State Department officials involved in Middle East policy, said two sources familiar with the matter, and come as dire food shortages deepen in the devastated enclave. Israel says it is committed toallowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas, which it blames for the crisis. The UN World Food Program says nearly a quarter of Gaza's 2.1 million Palestinians face famine-like conditions, thousands are suffering acute malnutrition, and the World Health Organization and doctors in the enclave report starvation deaths of children and others. The UN also claims that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food supplies, the majority near the militarized distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the new private aid group that uses a for-profit US logistics firm run by a former CIA officer and armed US military veterans. The study was conducted by the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) of USAID, which was the largest funder of assistance to Gaza before the Trump administration froze all US foreign aid in January, terminating thousands of programs. It has also begun dismantling USAID, whose functions have been folded into the State Department. The analysis claimed that at least 44 of the 156 incidents where aid supplies were reported stolen or lost were 'either directly or indirectly' due to Israeli military actions, according to the briefing slides. The IDF did not respond to questions about those findings. The study noted a limitation: because Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, it was possible that US-funded supplies went to administrative officials of Hamas, the Islamist terrorist rulers of Gaza. One source familiar with the study also cautioned that the absence of reports of widespread aid diversion by Hamas 'does not mean that diversion has not occurred.' Israel says Hamas diverts humanitarian aid Israel has said that Hamas steals food supplies from the UN and other organizations to use to control the civilian population and boost its finances, including by jacking up the prices of the goods and reselling them to civilians. Asked about the USAID report, the IDF told Reuters that its allegations are based on intelligence reports that Hamas militants seized cargoes by "both covertly and overtly," embedding themselves on aid trucks. Those reports also show that Hamas has diverted up to 25% of aid supplies to its fighters or sold them to civilians, the IDF said, adding that GHF has ended the militants' control of aid by distributing it directly to civilians. Hamas denies the allegations. A Hamas security official said that Israel has killed more than 800 Hamas terrorists who the group claimed were 'trying to protect aid vehicles and convoy routes.' Reuters could not independently verify the claims by Hamas and Israel, which have not made public proof that the militants have systematically stolen aid. GHF also accuses Hamas of massive aid theft in defending its distribution model. The UN and other groups have rejected calls by GHF, Israel, and the US to cooperate with the foundation, saying it violates international humanitarian principles of neutrality. In response to a request for comment, GHF referred Reuters to a July 2 Washington Post article that quoted an unidentified Gazan and anonymous Israeli officials as saying Hamas profited from the sales and taxing of pilfered humanitarian aid. Aid groups required to report losses The 156 reports of theft or losses of supplies reviewed by BHA were filed by UN agencies and other humanitarian groups working in Gaza as a condition of receiving US aid funds. The second source familiar with the matter said that after receiving reports of US-funded aid thefts or losses, USAID staff followed up with partner organizations to try to determine if there was Hamas involvement. Those organizations also would "redirect or pause" aid distributions if they learned that Hamas was in the vicinity, the source said. Aid organizations working in Gaza are also required to vet their personnel, subcontractors, and suppliers for ties to extremist groups before receiving US funds, a condition that the State Department waived in approving $30 million for GHF last month. The slide presentation noted that USAID partners tended to over-report aid diversion and theft by groups sanctioned or designated by the US as foreign terrorist organizations - such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad - because they want to avoid losing US funding. Of the 156 incidents of loss or theft reported, 63 were attributed to unknown perpetrators, 35 to armed actors, 25 to unarmed people, 11 directly to Israeli military action, 11 to corrupt subcontractors, five to aid group personnel 'engaging in corrupt activities,' and six to 'others," a category that accounted for 'commodities stolen in unknown circumstances,' according to the slide presentation. The armed actors 'included gangs and other miscellaneous individuals who may have had weapons,' said a slide. Another slide said "a review of all 156 incidents found no affiliations with" US-designated foreign terrorist organizations, of which Hamas is one. 'The majority of incidents could not be definitively attributed to a specific actor,' said another slide. 'Partners often largely discovered the commodities had been stolen in transit without identifying the perpetrator.' It is possible there were classified intelligence reports on Hamas aid thefts, but BHA staff lost access to classified systems in the dismantlement of USAID, said a slide. However, a source familiar with US intelligence assessments told Reuters that they knew of no US intelligence reports detailing Hamas aid diversions and that Washington was relying on Israeli reports. The BHA analysis claimed that the Israeli military 'directly or indirectly caused' a total of 44 incidents in which US-funded aid was lost or stolen. Those included the 11 attributed to direct Israeli military actions, such as airstrikes or orders to Palestinians to evacuate areas of the war-torn enclave. Losses indirectly attributed to the IDF included cases where they compelled aid groups to use delivery routes with high risks of theft or looting, ignoring requests for alternative routes, the analysis said. Solve the daily Crossword
Politico
2 days ago
- Politico
Arizona woman sentenced to 8 years in prison for hosting ‘laptop farm' for North Korean remote workers
The sentence is one of the largest handed down to a U.S. national for their role in the North Korean government-linked scheme. By Maggie Miller A woman in Arizona was sentenced Thursday to more than eight years in prison for hosting a so-called laptop farm that enabled North Korean cyber operatives to pose as remote IT workers at more than 300 U.S. companies. The sentence is one of the largest handed down to a U.S. national for their role in the scheme, which has brought in hundreds of millions of dollars for the North Korean regime. Christina Chapman was sentenced in the U.S. District Court after pleading guilty earlier this year in Washington, D.C., to charges including wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering. Chapman was also ordered to turn over around $284,000 in funds earned by these North Koreans and pay an additional fine of more than $175,000.
