Man wrongly convicted of murder compensated by the State of Oregon
(NBC, KYMA) - A man wrongfully convicted of murder in Oregon has been compensated by the state.
Scott Cannon spent 11 years in prison and after getting out, he's spent even longer trying to see justice served for his wrongful conviction.
In 1998, Cannon was arrested for the murder of three people, a crime he did not commit. He was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to three life sentences after, at one point, facing the death penalty.
"That's absolutely nerve wracking. Having people decide your fate and knowing that there were so many different instances throughout the trial itself where the prosecution was taking liberties with the facts," Cannon expressed.
One example is the prosecution's use of "comparative bullet lead analysis," a forensic method the FBI stopped using in 2005 and has widely been declared unreliable.
However, during the trial, Cannon says the prosecution told the jury that that analysis meant there was a one in 64 million chance they had the wrong guy.
"It was not disclosed prior to my trial that they had consulted with the state police crime lab, and were told that bullet lead analysis was a better beware testing, and that they wouldn't do it," Cannon shared.
After getting in touch with an expert in the forensics field while incarcerated, that got the ball rolling to Cannon's eventual exoneration in 2009. Afterwards, the fight began for Cannon's justice.
"Oregon had no law on the books whatsoever that even allowed a person to claim compensation for wrongful conviction," Cannon remarked.
After lobbying for years, the legislature passed the Oregon Justice for Exonerees Act in 2022, and last week, Cannon was compensated and issued a certificate of innocence.
"Being the second person in Oregon to get a certificate of innocence, I'm pretty sure more people in Oregon have won the lottery," Cannon spoke.
That certificate he hopes will help him rebuild his life.
Going forward, Cannon says he will continue to lobby for more legislation to help people who have been in his position.
"There's more to be done. And I have hope," Cannon declared.
