THE INNOCENCE PROJECT 2008

DEAN CAGE
The 15-year-old victim of a 1994 Chicago rape helped
police develop a composite sketch of her attacker that
was distributed in the neighborhood. Dean Cage saw
it posted in the grocery store where he worked. “I
stopped and read it and went back to work. It didn’t
look anything like me.” Cage – a working father,
engaged to be married, with no criminal record –
could never have guessed he’d be charged with the
crime. But an anonymous tipster identified him based
on the sketch. Police brought the victim to the grocery
store, where she also identified Cage. He was arrested
and taken to the county jail where he would remain for
over two years awaiting trial. “It was so rough in there,”
he remembers.
In a two-day trial in 1996, Cage was found guilty and
sentenced to 40 years. He immediately began working
on his appeals. Another prisoner told him about the
Innocence Project and he sent a letter asking for help.
In May 2008, after over 11 years in prison, Cage was
exonerated based on DNA testing. Today, Cage has
begun to re-create the life he had before his wrongful
conviction. He was reunited with his family and his
former fiancée.
EXONEREE STATE
YEAR OF
CONVICTION
Michael Blair TX 1994
Kennedy Brewer MS 1995
Dean Cage IL 1996
Charles Chatman TX 1981
William Dillon FL 1981
STEVEN PHILLIPS
EXONERATED THROUGH DNA TESTING IN 2008
EXONEREE STATE
In 1982, an armed perpetrator broke into several
health clubs in the Dallas area and forced large groups
of women to perform sexual acts. Steven Phillips was
misidentified by ten of the victims. One victim
identified another suspect, Sidney Alvin Goodyear,
who was wanted for committing identical crimes. But
police didn’t pursue the lead. Phillips was wrongfully
convicted of rape and burglary and charged with nine
other identical crimes. Fearing a life sentence, he pled
guilty. “The truth – that I was innocent – didn’t come
into consideration much after two trials,” Phillips says.
The Innocence Project took his case in 2006, and
in October 2008, 25 years after his wrongful conviction,
Phillips was exonerated. Goodyear, who had died in
prison, was identified through a DNA database hit
as the real perpetrator. Phillips is one of 14 people
proven innocent through DNA testing in Dallas
County whose wrongful conviction involved eyewitness
misidentification. In light of these cases, the
Dallas Police Department announced that it will
implement new eyewitness identification procedures
recommended by the Innocence Project and proven
to reduce the rate of misidentifications.
YEAR OF
CONVICTION
Nathaniel Hatchett MI 1998
Rickie Johnson LA 1983
Arthur Johnson MS 1993
Robert McClendon OH 1991
Thomas McGowan TX 1985/1986
EXONEREE STATE
YEAR OF
CONVICTION
Steven Phillips TX 1982/1983
Ronald Gene Taylor TX 1995
Patrick Waller TX 1992
Joseph White NE 1989
FREEING THE INNOCENT 7