Los Angeles county resident Susan Mellen, 59, was recently exonerated after spending 17 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction. Based solely on the false testimony of a woman with an extensive history of giving false information to law enforcement officials, Mellen was convicted for the first-degree murder of 30-year-old Richard Daly in 1998. A mother of three young children, Mellen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Los Angeles Police Detective Marcella Winn, the lead detective in Mellen’s arrest, was also the lead detective in the cases of NCIP exoneree Obie Anthony and California Innocence Project exoneree Reggie Cole. Their wrongful convictions were also largely based on false testimony.
Executive Director Deirdre O’Connor of Innocence Matters, a Los Angeles-based pro bono organization that investigates wrongful convictions, took on Mellen’s case. In September 2014, O’Connor filed a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to exonerate Mellen.
On October 10th, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold overturned Mellen’s wrongful conviction. “I believe she is innocent,” said Judge Arnold. “For that reason I believe in this case the justice system failed.”
Walking outside of the courtroom as a free woman, Mellen reunited with her children and embraced her 19-month-old grandson for the first time.
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Read more about the details of Mellen’s case here.