Bruce Lisker

Bruce Lisker is an American man who at age 17 was wrongly arrested, tried, and convicted for the March 10, 1983 murder of his adoptive mother Dorka, 66, in the family's Sherman Oaks residence.[1]

Bruce E. Lisker
Born
Baby Boy Johnson (adopted at 2 days)

1965 (1965) (age 58)
Valley Presbyterian Hospital, Van Nuys, California
Occupations
Known forWrongly convicted for the 1983 murder of his adoptive mother, Dorka. He was exonerated and released from prison in 2009.
Notable workSurvivors Guide to Prison (2018)
Television48 Hours Mystery (CBS) "The Whole Truth" (2010)
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Criminal charge(s)CA Penal Code § 187; Murder, Second Degree
Criminal penalty16 years to life
Criminal status
  • Arrested 1983
  • Convicted 1985
  • Conviction overturned 2009
Websitebrucelisker.com

Lisker served 26 years, 5 months, and 3 days of a 16-years-to-life sentence in California prisons including the California Youth Authority (now the California Division of Juvenile Justice; 1986–87), San Quentin State Prison (1987-89), and Mule Creek State Prison (1989-2009). His conviction was overturned in a 2009 ruling by United States district court judge Virginia A. Phillips, in which she found that his 1985 murder conviction was obtained through the use of false evidence and ineffective assistance of counsel.[2] Lisker was freed on August 13, 2009.[3] On September 21, 2009, the Los Angeles County District Attorney (LADA) dropped all charges in the matter due to lack of evidence.[4]

Compensation

On October 15, 2015, a settlement was reached in a lawsuit Lisker filed against the City of Los Angeles in which he accused police detectives of fabricating the evidence that put him behind bars.[5] Lisker was awarded $7.6 million in compensation. Confidential memos from the City Attorney to the L.A. City Council, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, called Lisker's case "extremely dangerous" for the city should it have gone to trial, declaring that the potential results of such a trial could be "financially devastating" to the city.[6]

Publicity

Lisker's case has been featured in numerous Los Angeles Times articles, the first of which earned its authors, investigative reporters Matt Lait and Scott Glover, the prestigious Heywood Broun award on behalf of the Times.[7] The case was also featured in an hour-long episode of the CBS News television program 48 Hours Mysteries, entitled "The Whole Truth" (2010) hosted by correspondent Erin Moriarty, as well as the documentary film Survivors Guide to Prison (2018).[8]

His time spent in the California Youth Authority is documented in an interview with Gladiator School, Stories from Inside YTS.

His case was dramatized in the CBS All Access series Interrogation.[9]

References
  1. Glover, Scott and Lait, Matt. "New Light on a Distant Verdict", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 22 May 2005. Retrieved on 11 January 2013.
  2. Lait, Matt and Glover, Scott. "Man wrongfully convicted in mother's 1983 slaying, jurist says", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 4 March 2009. Retrieved on 11 January 2013.
  3. Lait, Matt. "Bruce Lisker walks out of prison, but not yet entirely free", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 13 August 2009. Retrieved on 11 January 2013.
  4. Lait, Matt and Glover, Scott. "Prosecutors won't retry Bruce Lisker in mother's slaying", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 21 September 2009. Retrieved on 11 January 2013.
  5. Lait, Matt. "L.A. set to settle with man wrongly convicted of killing mother", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 15 October 2015. Retrieved on 9 November 2015.
  6. Reyes, Emily Alpert and Lait, Matt. "L.A. to pay $24 million to two men imprisoned for decades after wrongful murder convictions", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 19 January 2016. Retrieved on 23 January 2016.
  7. Romenesko, Jim. "LAT, Knight Ridder reporters win Heywood Broun Awards", Poynter.org, Los Angeles, 17 March 2006. Retrieved on 11 January 2013.
  8. Erin Moriarty, Reporter. "48 Hours Mysteries: The Whole Truth", CBS News, New York, 14 October 2010. Link retrieved on 11 January 2013.
  9. "Is 'Interrogation' Based on a Real Case?". 6 February 2020.
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