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Russell Leroy Gray

Other 1990 Exonerations
In June 1986, Carl Martinsdale was shot and killed outside his Richmond, Virginia home after a dispute with several men. 
 
Martinsdale’s stepson, who witnessed the shooting, provided a description of the shooter, and selected Russell Leroy Gray’s photo from the mug book. 
 
Police ignored information indicating that another man, Michael Harvey, might have been the shooter and charged Gray, who was convicted of murder by a jury in January 1987 and sentenced to 52 years in prison. 
 
After the conviction, Michael Harvey confessed to the police that he had shot Martinsdale, acting, he claimed, in self-defense – but the confession was ignored.
 
Eventually Gray’s attorney learned about Harvey’s confession, and located two additional witnesses who confirmed that Harvey had shot the victim.
 
After unsuccessfully petitioning in state court for a new trial, Gray’s lawyer convinced the prosecutor in charge of the case that the wrong man had been convicted, and together they persuaded the parole board to recommend a pardon. 
 
Gray was pardoned by the governor of Virginia in April 1990, one week after Harvey pled guilty to manslaughter for killing Carl Martinsdale, and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
 
Less than two months later, Gray was accused of the murder of Clayton Brown, a reputed drug king pin in Richmond. In August 1990, a jury convicted Gray of murdering Brown on May 31, 1990. Gray was sentenced to life in prison.
 
- Maurice Possley

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Posting Date:  Before June 2012
State:Virginia
County:Richmond City
Most Serious Crime:Murder
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:1986
Convicted:1987
Exonerated:1990
Sentence:52 years
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:20
Contributing Factors:Mistaken Witness ID
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No