Although a man succeeded in overturning his felony conviction, he is ineligible to benefit from the law designed to compensate exonerated persons for their time served, the Colorado Court of Appeals decided on Thursday.
In reaching its conclusion, a three-judge appellate panel determined the reason for the reversed conviction a trial court judge neglected to issue instructions for ensuring a unanimous verdict was the type of procedural misstep the legislature did not intend to include under the Exoneration Act of 2013.
“The instructional error did not affect the presentation of evidence, did not keep important facts from the jury, and did not affect the jury’s ability to weigh competing evidence to determine the truth or falsity of the events surrounding the allegations,” wrote Judge Anthony J. Navarro in rejecting William Andrew Coyle’s application for compensation.