Melvin DeJesus
Wrongfully convicted: December 11, 1997
Exonerated: March 22, 2022
Oakland County
Melvin DeJesus and his brother, George, were convicted of murder in Oakland County in 1997. The convictions stemmed from the 1995 murder of their neighbor in Pontiac. Another man, Brandon Gohagen, was linked to the crime scene through DNA. Gohagen confessed, but falsely claimed that the DeJesus brothers were also guilty and had forced him to commit the crime. The brothers were thus convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
After the Innocence Clinic worked on the case for several years, it uncovered additional new evidence indicating that the DeJesus brothers were innocent, and Gohagen had in fact committed several additional similar crimes. Ultimately the Michigan Innocence Clinic represented Melvin DeJesus (and the Cooley Law School Innocence Project represented George DeJesus) in presenting the case to the Michigan Attorney General’s Conviction Integrity Unit.
The brothers’ attorneys and the CIU moved jointly to vacate the convictions on March 22, 2022. The Oakland County Prosecutor’s office then dismissed all charges, and the DeJesus brothers were exonerated and released from prison later that day.
More details available at:
- The National Registry of Exonerations: Melvin DeJesus
- The Detroit Free Press: Wrongfully convicted brothers sue for $125M after 25 years behind bars
- CNN: Two brothers were sentenced to life in prison for a crime they didn’t commit. Nearly 25 years later, they were exonerated, released and reunited
- Univision: Dejan en libertad a dos hermanos latinos condenados hace 25 años por un crimen que no cometieron