Edwin Chandler
Incident Year: 1993
Jurisdiction: Jefferson County
Year of Conviction: 1995
Conviction: Manslaughter, Robbery
Sentence: 30 Years
Exoneration Date: 10/2009
Sentence Served: 9 Years, Paroled in
2002
Cause of Wrongful Conviction: False Confession, Unvalidated or Improper Forensic
Science
Edwin was convicted of manslaughter and robbery for the shooting death and robbery of
a convenience store clerk in 1993.
At trial, an eyewitness told the jury that Edwin was not the man he saw in the store that
night. However, Chandler had given a confession to police that was used against him at
trial. In that confession, Edwin told police that the gun went off accidentally, the main
reason the jury found him guilty of manslaughter. Edwin recanted that confession at trial,
telling the jury that it was a coerced confession and that the police had told him they were
going to arrest his sister for harboring a fugitive and take her children away from her.
KIP’s investigation searched for physical evidence that was used against Edwin at trial,
particularly a beer bottle the killer left on the counter at the convenience store. For
approximately two years KIP was told the bottle could not be found. Finally, KIP
contacted the Cold Case Unit of the Louisville Metro Police Department and provided the
CCU with information they had gathered during their investigation, including the name
of an alternative suspect.
The unit found the bottle and using modern digital fingerprinting technology they were
able to get a solid print that they ran through AFIS. The print was a match to the
alternative suspect. In October, 2009, the Jefferson Circuit Court vacated Edwin’s
conviction, saying “It is absolutely clear there has been a grave miscarriage of justice.”
On that same date, the alternative suspect that KIP had provided to LMPD was indicted
for the robbery and murder of the convenience store clerk.
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