Harry Miller spent four years in prison for a robbery he did not commit. He was convicted in 2003 of an aggravated robbery at a convenience store.
In December 2000, a woman was robbed at knifepoint in a store in Salt Lake City, Utah. The woman told police the robber was between 18 and 21 years old.
Three years later, the victim identified Harry Miller, a 47-year-old man, as her robber. Miller told police that he had lived in Louisiana since May 2000 and was in Louisiana at the time of the robbery. Indeed, two weeks before the crime, he had suffered a stroke. He was unable to drive and required frequent care. His in-home nurse said that she had visited him in Louisiana on the day before the crime.
Nonetheless, Miller was charged with robbery, and in December 2003, a jury convicted Miller based solely on the mistaken eyewitness identification. Mr. Miller appealed his conviction, and the State stipulated to a retrial. A week before the retrial of his case the district attorney dismissed all charges. Following the dismissal of the charges, Miller filed a petition for a finding of factual innocence, a prerequisite to receive statutory compensation for the years he was wrongfully incarcerated. Though Miller’s petition was initially denied, he appealed and was successful.
RMIC became involved in the case on remand, and, on September 11, 2011, the State stipulated to Mr. Miller’s factual innocence and compensation for the time he was wrongfully incarcerated.
Mr. Miller is the second person exonerated under Utah’s non-DNA factual innocence statute.