TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTED - The Innocence Project

200FREDERICK DAYE • 1994 BRIAN PISZCZEK • 1994 EDWARD HONAKER •1994 RONNIE BULLOCK • 199410 YEARS 3 YEARSCALIFORNIAOHIO 9.5 YEARSVIRGINIA 10.5 YEARSILLINOISFrederick Daye had A man gained entry A rape victim, and In 1983, a manbeen wronglyinto a woman’s her boyfriend who impersonating a policeincarcerated for sixyears when anotherdefendant in his casemade a statementthat Daye was notinvolved in the rape,kidnapping andvehicular theft forwhich he was convicted.An additional fourapartment by claimingto be a friend, thenraped and burglarizedher. Brian Piszczekhad visited the victim’shome before with amutual friend. Onlyhis girlfriend couldcorroborate his alibi,and he was convicted.witnessed the attack,identified EdwardHonaker as theperpetrator. CenturionMinistries laterdiscovered that thevictims had beenhypnotized, and thattheir initial descriptionwas not consistentofficer raped twoyoung girls. RonnieBullock was identifiedby a police officerbased on a compositesketch and was latermisidentified in alineup by both victims.Over ten years later,DNA testing provedTOOyearsMANYpassed before InWRONGFULLY1994, Piszczek with Honaker. DNA hisCONVICinnocence.DNA testing proved was exonerated based testing ultimatelyDaye’s innocence. on DNA test results. proved his innocence.GILBERT ALEJANDRO19943.5 YEARSTEXASGilbert Alejandro wasconvicted of aggravatedsexual assault in1990, based mostlyon the fraudulenttestimony of forensicstechnician Fred Zain.Subsequent DNAtesting indicated thatZain had made hisfindings before he hadeven completed thetest, and, in fact,the results excludedAlejandro as acontributor of thebiological sample.wrongfully convicted;27 % were 21 years old or younger.www.innocenceproject.org | 5

TERRY CHALMERS •1995DAVID SHEPHARD •19959.5 YEARSRONALD COTTON • 199510.5 YEARSWILLIAM O’DELL HARRIS19957 YEARSROLANDO CRUZ • 1995Terry Chalmers’s David Shephard was Based on a photo William O’Dell Harrisphoto was the only convicted of raping identification made by was convicted ofone repeated in photo and robbing a woman the victim, Ronald raping a nurse basedarrays shown to a rape in a parking lot. Cotton was convicted on the testimony of avictim. With no other Two men assaulted of rape and burglary lab technician andevidence, Chalmers the victim but only and sentenced to life false testimony of awas convicted in Shephard, who was plus 54 years. DNA police officer. When1987. Chalmers filed identified by the victim testing cleared Cotton, state lab technicianan appeal but his (in part based on his and he and the rape Fred Zain’s misconductconviction was upheld. voice), was charged survivor from the case, in other cases wasWith the help of the with the crime. He Jennifer Thompson, revealed, Harris andInnocence Project, served nine and a half speak publicly together others who werehe petitioned for DNA years in prison before to educate people convicted as a resulttesting and was DNA testing exonerated about eyewitness of Zain’s testimonyexonerated.him. He is now a misidentification and were granted specialfamily services worker wrongful convictions. appeals processes. Inin Essex County and1994, two rounds ofis a Founder of theDNA testing provedNortheast Council ofHarris’s innocence.the Wrongly Convicted.The police officer whoprovided false testimonyabout the victim’sidentification was laterconvicted of perjury.7.5 YEARS 62 % are African American;ONVICTED10.5 YEARSN E W Y O R K NEW JERSEY N. CAROLINA WEST VIRGINIA ILLINOISIn 1983, RolandoCruz, then a teenager,was charged withraping and killing alittle girl. According todetectives, Cruz hadreported “visions” ofthe murder, whichclosely resembled theactual details of thecrime. He and aco-defendant,Alejandro Hernandez,were sentenced todeath. Shortly aftertheir trial, a convictedmurderer confessed tothe crime, but he wasnever tried. Cruz andHernandez servednearly 11 years ondeath row before DNAtesting proved theirinnocence.6 | Innocence Project

GERALD DAVIS • 19958 YEARSDEWEY DAVIS • 19957 YEARSALEJANDRO HERNANDEZ199510.5 YEARSVINCENT MOTO • 1996 RICHARD JOHNSON •19968.5 YEARS 4 YEARSWEST VIRGINIA WEST VIRGINIA ILLINOIS PENNSYLVANIA ILLINOISA family friend of theDavis’s accused Geraldof sexually assaultingher while she wasat their home doinglaundry. BecauseFred Zain, a fraudulentlab technician, wasinvolved in theserological testing ofthe case, Davis wasallowed to file forDNA testing. DNA testsproved that he wasnot the source of malebiological material inthe rape kit, and hisconviction was vacated.The prosecution retriedhim for the crime, buta jury acquitted him,and he was finallyexonerated.Dewey Davis wasconvicted of abduction,sexual assault andsexual abuse in 1987based on the claimthat his son, Gerald,had raped a woman inhis home and he haddone nothing to stop it.Gerald Davis wasallowed to file for DNAtesting because afraudulent forensicscientist was involvedin the serologicaltesting of the case.The results ultimatelyexonerated both men.Together with hisco-defendant, RolandoCruz, AlejandroHernandez wassentenced to death forrape and murder andwas later exoneratedthrough DNA evidence.The detectivesworking on the caseclaimed that bothCruz and Hernandezmade incriminatingstatements. Duringappeals, one of thedetectives recantedhis testimony.Vincent Moto ofPhiladelphia waspushing his baby sonin a stroller when thevictim of a rape androbbery that hadoccurred five monthsearlier identified himon the street as one ofher two assailants.He was arrested andconvicted based onthis misidentification.DNA testing finally ledto Moto’s exoneration.Today, he is a musicianand father of four.In 1990, a graduatestudent at theUniversity of Chicagowas raped and robbed.Serological testing ofthe biological evidencesuggested thatRichard Johnson wasnot the perpetrator,yet Johnson’s attorneydid not present thisevidence at trial. DNAtesting was not doneat the time, but fouryears later, test resultsestablished Johnson’sinnocence.10 % are Latino;28 % are Caucasian.www.innocenceproject.org | 7

THOMAS WEBB • 1996 KEVIN GREEN • 1996 VERNEAL JIMERSON•1996 KENNETH ADAMS • 1996 WILLIE RAINGE • 199613 YEARS 15.5 YEARS 10.5 YEARS 17.5 YEARS 17.5 YEARSOKLAHOMA CALIFORNIA ILLINOIS ILLINOISILLINOIS200The victim of a 1982rape was unable toidentify her assailantfrom an initial photolineup. Thomas Webbwas one of only twomen who were includedin both the first andsecond photo lineups,and the one that mostclosely resembled herdescription. Webb wasconvicted and servedover 13 years of a60-year sentencebefore DNA testing ledto his exoneration.Kevin Green wasfound guilty of theattempted murder ofhis wife and the deathof their unborn child.His wife, who sufferedsevere brain damageand amnesia as aresult of the attack,testified against him.Over a decade later,the biological evidencein the case was runthrough a DNA databaseand matched to aserial killer known asthe “Bedroom Basher”who confessed to theattack and fiveother murders.Verneal Jimerson wasconvicted in 1985 fora 1978 Chicago rapeand murder that came tobe known as the “FordHeights Four” case.Paula Gray, who claimedto be an eyewitness,implicated Jimersonand three other men.Jimerson had servedyears on death row whena group of journalismstudents at NorthwesternUniversity, led byProfessor David Protess,uncovered evidencethat led to three othersuspects. DNA testingultimately exoneratedJimerson and histhree co-defendants.TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDKenneth Adams wasconvicted of rape andmurder as one of the“Ford Heights Four.”Adams was implicatedbased on the falseconfession of PaulaGray. He was convicted,sentenced to 75 years,and exonerated byDNA testing in 1996.Willie Rainge wasconvicted as one of the“Ford Heights Four.” Heand his co-defendantslived in the Ford Heightsarea and wereimplicated by the falseconfession of PaulaGray. Rainge wassentenced to life inprison, but was released18 years later whenDNA testing vindicatedall four defendants.60% of them had spent at leastone third of their lives8 | Innocence Project

200STEVEN TONEY • 1996 TROY WEBB • 1996 FREDERIC SAECKER VICTOR ORTIZ • 1996199613 YEARSMISSOURI 7.5 YEARS 6 YEARSVIRGINIAWISCONSIN 11.5 YEARSNEW YORKSteven Toney was A woman said she was Frederic Saecker In early 1983, asentenced to two life 99% sure that Troy became implicated in teenager was abductedsentences for a 1982 Webb raped her. a kidnapping and rape at gunpoint and rapedrape after the victimidentified him in aphoto and in a livelineup. On appeal,the defense allegedmultiple constitutionalviolations in his trial.Toney was exonerated13 years after hisconviction based onSerology tests wereinconclusive, and hewas convicted basedon her eyewitnessmisidentification.When he finally gainedaccess to evidencefor DNA testing, theresults verified hisclaims of innocence.when he was foundnear the victim’s homewearing a bloodstainedT-shirt. Saecker didnot at all resemble thevictim’s description ofthe attacker, but hewas convicted. In 1993,DNA testing provedhim innocent. Threeafter her assailanttook her into a woodedarea. She identifiedVictor Ortiz, and hewas convicted. In1994, the InnocenceProject took his caseand secured DNAtesting of the evidence.Ortiz was exoneratedDNA testing.years later, he was two years later.TOO MANY WRONGFULLYfinally released.CONVICTDENNIS WILLIAMS199617.5 YEARSILLINOISLike his co-defendants,Willie Rainge,Kenneth Adams andVerneal Jimerson,Dennis Williams wasconvicted of a rapeand murder he did notcommit in connectionwith the Chicago “FordHeights Four” case.He was sentenced todeath and spent 17and a half years inprison before he wasfinally exonerated.in prison or on paroleby the time they were exonerated.www.innocenceproject.org | 9

00ANTHONY HICKS • 1997 MARVIN MITCHELL •1997 CHESTER BAUER • 19975 YEARS 7 YEARS 8 YEARSStopped for a traffic Shortly after a young Chester Bauer wasviolation, Anthony girl was raped, she convicted of raping aHicks became 0awas driven around by woman at knifepoint.suspect in a robbery the police to see if she The victim and herand sexual assault could identify the husband misidentifiedcase when someone assailant. She saw a Bauer, and a labin the jail thought he resemblance in analyst testified thatresembled the Marvin Mitchell, several hairs from thecomposite sketch. except that he had crime scene matchedOne of five hair roots facial hair and the Bauer. He wasfound at the scene assailant had been convicted, but evidencewas eventually clean-shaven. Police later surfaced showingsubjected to DNA then picked up that the analysttesting, and Hicks Mitchell and took a miscounted the numberwas exonerated. photo of him, which of hairs at the crimethey showed to the scene — and thatvictim. At that point, none of them matchedshe identified him as Bauer. DNA testingher attacker, and he ultimately proved hiswas later convicted. innocence in 1997.Many years later,DNA testing provedhis innocence.WALTER D. SMITH • 1996While Walter Smithwas awaiting trial onunrelated charges,three women identifiedhim as their rapist.Smith pleaded guilty tothe unrelated charges,but denied theaccusations of rape.He was convicted oftwo rapes andsentenced to 78 to190 years in prison.KEVIN BYRD • 199712 YEARSOHIO WISCONSIN MASSACHUSETTS MONTANA TEXASDNA testing provedMANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDhis innocence,and today he is amotivational speakerand professionalbodybuilder.Months after a pregnantwoman was raped atknifepoint, she identifiedKevin Byrd, whom sheencountered at thegrocery store, as herattacker. Byrd is AfricanAmerican, and thevictim initially said awhite man had rapedher. Byrd was convictedand sentenced to lifein prison. The evidencein his case, which wasslated to be destroyed,was recovered bychance, subjected toDNA testing andexonerated him.Byrd is now living inHouston, Texas.10 YEARS 14 of them served time on death row.10 | Innocence Project

000DONALD REYNOLDS • 1997 BILLY WARDELL • 1997 BEN SALAZAR • 1997 TIMOTHY DURHAM •1997 ROBERT MILLER • 19989.5 YEARS 9.5 YEARS 5 YEARS 3.5 YEARS 9.5 YEARSILLINOIS ILLINOIS TEXAS OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMADonald Reynolds wasconvicted of sexualassault, armed robberyand related chargesin 1988. Seriousallegations surfacedAlong with hisco-defendant, DonaldReynolds, Billy Wardellwas wrongfullyconvicted of sexualassault and armedBen Salazar smokedthe same brand ofcigarettes and had asimilar tattoo as theman who raped apregnant woman inTimothy Durham wassentenced to 3,200years for the violentrape of an 11-year-oldgirl. The prosecutionrelied on the victim’sFollowing a 1986 rapeand murder, policecanvassed theneighborhood collectingblood samples fromAfrican American men.that exculpatory robbery. Serological 1991. He was convicted vague description of Robert Miller’s blood00evidence was not testing of the evidence the following year. the attacker and type was found toturned over to his did not match Wardell; Biological evidence in inconclusive hair and match evidence fromattorneys before his in spite of this and the case could not be semen evidence. In his the crime scene.trial, and that a lab the testimony of three located for years, but defense, Durham had Detectives tooktechnician who alibi witnesses, he once found, three 11 witnesses who advantage of Miller’sperformed serological was convicted. Both rounds of DNA testing corroborated his alibi. fragile mental healthtesting exaggerated Wardell and Reynolds proved that Salazar DNA test results during a 12-hourthe results. For years, were exonerated in could not have been excluded him in 1996 interrogation whereReynolds sought DNA 1997 after DNA testing the perpetrator. and implicated a he claimed he hadtesting, and the results proved their innocence.convicted rapist. special powers andONVICTEDultimately vindicated himcould see through theand his co-defendant,killer’s eyes; policeBilly Wardell, aftercalled his statements aserving almost aconfession and he wasdecade in prison.convicted. DNA testsultimately exculpatedMiller and implicatedanother man.MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDWRONGFULLY CONVICTEDwww.innocenceproject.org | 11

00200PERRY MITCHELL • 1998 DALE MAHAN • 1998 RONNIE MAHAN • 1998 ANTHONY GRAY • 1999 JOHN WILLIS • 199914.5 YEARS 11.5 YEARS 7 YEARS 7 YEARSS. CAROLINA 11.5 YEARSALABAMA ALABAMA MARYLAND ILLINOISIn the woods near Dale Mahan and his Along with his brother Police officers coaxed John Willis wasPerry Mitchell’s brother Ronnie were Dale, Ronnie Mahan Anthony Gray to convicted of two rapeshome, a young woman convicted for a 1983 was wrongfully confess to a 1991 rape and robberies among awas raped in 1982. rape and kidnapping. incarcerated for 11 and murder. Gray, who string of similar crimesMitchell was arrested The prosecution and a half years has limited cognitive in Chicago in 1990. Ina week later on the contended that Dale based on a rape and abilities, pled guilty 1994, Dennis McGrudergrounds that he Mahan raped the kidnapping victim’s and was convicted; was arrested for0somewhat fit the victim while Ronnie misidentification. he was sentenced to committing similardescription and lived watched. Although the Both brothers were two concurrent life rapes and robberies innearby. After viewing assailants had forced exonerated through sentences. Years later, the area. Willis assertedthree photo lineups, the victim to take DNA testing in 1998. DNA testing revealed a that McGruder hadthe victim misidentified drugs and they worematch with a new confessed to all of theMitchell as her masks during thesuspect who confessed crimes while the twoattacker. Based on attack, the victimto the crime, and Gray were in jail. SeveralCONVICTEDexculpatory DNA test identified the brotherswas exonerated. more years would passresults, Mitchell in a photo lineup.before DNA testingwas exonerated after Years later, DNA testingfreed Willis andmoreLLYthan 14 yearsCONVICTEDwas conducted onimplicated McGruder.in prison.the rape kit andshowed that bothbrothers were innocent.They were convicted in 31 statesMANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDTOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVIC12 | Innocence Project

RON WILLIAMSON •1999 DENNIS FRITZ • 199911 YEARSRONALD JONES • 199911 YEARS 10 YEARSCALVIN JOHNSON • 1999 DAVID A. GRAY • 199915.5 YEARS20 YEARSOKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA ILLINOIS GEORGIA ILLINOISRon Williamson camewithin five days ofexecution for themurder of a youngwoman from Ada,Oklahoma. DNA testingfinally vindicated himand pointed to anotherman who had been oneof the state’s witnessesat trial. The story ofRon Williamson’swrongful conviction istold by John Grishamin The Innocent Man.Williamson diedin 2004.Along with hisco-defendant, RonWilliamson, DennisFritz was convicted ofmurder in 1988. Hebecame a suspectsolely because of hisfriendship withWilliamson. For lackof evidence againstFritz, the prosecutionnearly had to dropthe charges, until ajailhouse snitchclaimed that Fritz hadconfessed. More thana decade later, DNAproved his innocence.In 2006, Fritz publishedJourney TowardsJustice, the story of hiswrongful convictionand exoneration.Ronald Jones falselyconfessed to havingsex with a rape andmurder victim andstruggling with herafter she attacked him.An eyewitness identifiedJones as an aggressivepanhandler who hadgrabbed the victimearlier that day. Joneswas convicted andsentenced to death untilDNA testing performedin 1997 provedhis innocence.Based in part onmisidentification bythe victims, CalvinJohnson was chargedwith two rapes andconvicted of one in1983. Since his DNAexoneration in 1999,Johnson co-authored,Exit to Freedom. Heserves on the Boardof Directors of theInnocence Project andalso of the GeorgiaInnocence Project.David A. Gray wassentenced to 60 yearsin prison in connectionwith a brutal rape.His first trial ended ina hung jury. At thesecond trial, theprosecution presentedthe testimony of ajailhouse snitch whoclaimed that Gray hadconfessed to him.Gray maintained hisinnocence for 20 years.DNA testing finallyaffirmed this claim.and the District of Columbia.www.innocenceproject.org | 13

00HABIB WAHIR ABDAL JAMESRICHARDSON•1999 CLYDE CHARLES • 1999199916 YEARS 9 YEARSNEW YORKHabib Wahir Abdal, James Richardson’sthen known as Vincent case was one of severalJenkins, was convicted post-conviction DNAof rape despite a lack exonerations involvingof evidence against Fred Zain, formerly of by a police officer.him. Even after policeinformed the victimthat Abdal was thesuspect, she did notinitially identify him.Years after a firstround of DNA testingproved inconclusive, asecond round revealedthat he did not matchthe profile of the17 YEARS MCKINLEY CROMEDY1999LARRY HOLDREN • 20004.5 YEARS 15 YEARSWEST VIRGINIA LOUISIANA NEW JERSEY WEST VIRGINIAMANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDperpetrator and he wasfinally exonerated.Abdal died in 2005.the West VirginiaPolice crime laboratory,who was investigatedfor misconduct.Richardson had beenconvicted of rapingand murdering aneighbor and thensetting her home onfire. In fact, he hadhelped rescue a girlfrom the fire.An hour before a brutalrape was committed,Clyde Charles hadbeen caught hitchhikingWhen this same officerencountered thevictim, he determinedthat Charles fit herdescription of theperpetrator. Charleswas brought to thehospital where he wasidentified by the victim.DNA testing eventuallyexonerated him andimplicated his brotherin the crime.Almost eight monthsafter she was raped, awoman saw McKinleyCromedy on the streetand identified him asher attacker. None ofthe forensic evidence—fingerprints, hairsamples and bloodsamples—matchedCromedy, but he wasconvicted. After thestate’s high courtgranted him a newtrial, DNA testing wasconducted, and theresults proved hisinnocence.A rape victim identifiedLarry Holdren as theassailant in a photolineup one month afterthe crime. The defenserequested DNA testing,but the relevantbiological evidencehad not been preserved.In 1997, the victim’ssemen-stainedsweatshirt was subjectedto DNA testing, whichshowed that Holdrenwas innocent.88% were convicted of sexual assault,and 28% were convicted of murder14 | Innocence Project

HERMAN ATKINS • 200011.5 YEARSCALIFORNIANEIL MILLER • 20009.5 YEARSMASSACHUSETTSA.B. BUTLER • 200016 YEARSTEXASARMAND VILLASANA20007 MONTHSMISSOURIWILLIAM GREGORY •20007 YEARSKENTUCKYA woman was rapedand robbed at gunpointin a shoe store.Herman Atkins wasconvicted of thecrime in 1988 basedon eyewitnessmisidentification; morethan a decade later,DNA proved hisinnocence. In February2006, Atkins wasmarried on theanniversary of hisexoneration. He ispursuing a law degreethat he plans to useto help wrongfullyconvicted peopleexpunge their records.A woman whom NeilMiller had never seenbefore identified himfrom a photo book asthe man who brokeinto her home andraped her. Hisconviction restedlargely on hereyewitness testimony.Miller was releasedfrom prison ten yearslater after DNA testingvindicated him.The real perpetratorwas never found.A.B. Butler wassentenced to 99 yearsin prison for a rapeand kidnapping inTexas. Butler’s alibiwas outweighed by thevictim’s identificationof him. When theevidence was finallysubmitted to DNAtesting, it revealed thatButler could not havebeen the perpetrator ofthe crime.The white victim of arape and kidnapping in1998 described herassailant as Latino.The photo lineup shewas shown includedfive white men andone Latino—ArmandVillasana. Althoughhe was neversentenced, Villasanawas incarcerated formonths before DNAevidence proved hisinnocence and ledto the dismissal ofhis case.William Gregory livedin the same apartmentcomplex as a rapevictim and anattempted-rape victim.Both of the victimsidentified him. Thanksto a selection of hairsfound on a stockingcap left behind by theassailant, Gregorybecame the first personto be exonerated byDNA mitochondrialtesting alone.(19% were convictedof both sexual assault and murder).www.innocenceproject.org | 15

JERRY WATKINS • 2000 ERIC SARSFIELD • 200013.5 YEARSLARRY YOUNGBLOOD20009.5 YEARS 9 YEARSROY CRINER • 2000 EARL WASHINGTON200010 YEARS 17 YEARSINDIANA MASSACHUSETTS ARIZONA TEXAS VIRGINIAA jailhouse snitchclaimed that JerryWatkins confessed tothe rape and murder ofWatkins’s sister-in-law.Three witnessestestified that the snitchadmitted he was lying.LLY CONVICTEDAlso, DNA testingsuggested that Watkinswas not the perpetrator.Nevertheless, Watkinsserved over 13 yearsin prison before DNAtesting conclusivelyproved his innocence.Eric Sarsfield wasconvicted of rapebased largely on aless-than-certainidentification by thevictim who sawSarsfield three monthsafter the crime. Yearslater, DNA testing wasconducted on severalpieces of biologicalevidence. On his 37thbirthday, Sarsfieldlearned that DNA hadproven his innocence.No biological testingwas conducted inLarry Youngblood’scase because policehad improperly storedthe evidence and ithad degraded. He wasreleased on appealbut returned to prisonin 1993 when thestate Supreme Courtreinstated his sexualassault, childmolestation andkidnapping convictions.In 2000, DNAtechnology advancesallowed degradedevidence in the caseto be tested and theresults exoneratedYoungblood.Although the resultsexcluded him,post-conviction DNAtesting was notdeemed sufficient bythe prosecution toexonerate Roy Crinerof aggravated sexualassault. Criner thensought DNA testing ona cigarette butt foundnext to the victim’sbody. A genetic profileemerged that matchedboth spermatozoa andthe cigarette butt,and Criner was finallypardoned.With a general IQ inthe range of 69,Earl Washingtoncompensated for hiscognitive limitations bypolitely deferring toauthority figures. Whenpolice questioned himabout a rape andmurder, he confessedto the crime as well asfive others. Four ofthese confessionswere dismissed, butWashington wassentenced to death forthe fifth. Many yearslater, DNA testingaffirmed Washington’sinnocence.Many were denied parole because, in part,16 | Innocence Project

ANTHONY ROBINSON CARLOS LAVERNIA • 2000200010 YEARSAnthony Robinsonwas apprehended in aUniversity of Houstonparking lot by campuspolice who believedthat he matched thedescription given by arape victim. Ten yearslater, out on parole,he began saving moneyto pay for a DNA test,which led to hiseventual exoneration.Robinson is a recentgraduate of ThurgoodMarshall School ofLaw and is pursuing adegree in Chinese Law.JAMES O’DONNELL • 200015 YEARS 2 YEARSCuban immigrantCarlos Lavernia wasarrested in 1984 forrape and then linkedto seven other assaultsin the Austin area andcharged as a serialrapist. A victim in thecase testified thatLavernia was the onlyone in the lineup who“anywhere nearresembles” the policesketch. Laverniaserved 15 years of a99-year sentencebefore DNA testingproved his innocence.Based on the descriptionof a rapist publishedin the local newspaper,James O’Donnell wasidentified by a StatenIsland resident. Thevictim identified him ina live lineup, althoughher friend, also at thescene of the crime,did not. Two rounds ofDNA testing showedthat O’Donnell couldnot have been theperpetrator.WILLIE NESMITH • 2000 FRANK LEE SMITH •200018 YEARS 14 YEARSTEXAS TEXAS NEW YORK PENNSYLVANIA FLORIDAWillie Nesmith’sinitial trial for the rapeof a Dickinson Collegestudent resulted in ahung jury. He hadbeen identified by twowitnesses who placedhim near the sceneof the crime. He wasconvicted in his secondtrial and served 18years before DNA testingexonerated him.TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDAfter 14 years ondeath row, Frank LeeSmith died of cancerin January 2000, beforehe was exonerated ofrape and murder. Afterhis death, a bloodsample from Smithobtained by the stateprosecutor’s office wassubjected to DNAtesting. The resultscleared Smith andimplicated another man.they refused to “accept responsibility”for crimes they did not commit.www.innocenceproject.org | 17

DAVID SHAWN POPE LESLY JEAN • 2001 KENNETH WATERS • 2001 DANNY BROWN • 2001 JEFFREY PIERCE • 2001200115 YEARS 9 YEARS 17.5 YEARS 18.5 YEARS 14.5 YEARST E X A S NORTH CAROLINA MASSACHUSETTS O H I O O K L A H O M ADavid Shawn Popewas convicted ofaggravated sexualassault based, in part,on voice print analysisof messages left onthe victim’s answeringmachine, a method nolonger used in courts.An anonymous callfirst alerted prosecutorsto Pope’s wrongfulconviction. DNA testingsubsequently matchedthe profile of aconvicted felon, andPope was pardonedby the governor.In 1982, Lesly Jean,a Haitian immigrant,was convicted offirst-degree sexualoffense and first-degreerape. Nine years later,it was revealed thatpolice and prosecutorshad failed to disclosepertinent evidencein his case, andhis conviction wasoverturned. DNAtesting exoneratedJean in 2001. Shortlyafter his release, hewas involved in anaccident that left himparalyzed.Two of KennethWaters’s ex-girlfriendstestified against him ina murder and robberytrial, saying that he haddrunkenly confessed tothe crime. One of themwould later recant hertestimony. Waters’ssister put herselfthrough law school inorder to take over hiscase and prove hisinnocence. Once shelocated the biologicalevidence in the case,she contacted theInnocence Project whohelped her secure DNAtesting that proved hisinnocence. Waterspassed away six monthsafter his release.Danny Brown hadbeen dating a womanfor several monthsbefore she wasmurdered. The victim’ssix-year-old son, whohad been in theapartment the night ofthe murder, testifiedthat Brown had beenthere that night andhad argued with hismother. When DNAtesting was eventuallyperformed, the resultsexcluded Brown andincriminated anincarcerated felon.Jeffrey Pierce’sinnocence wasuncovered during aninvestigation of JoyceGilchrist, formerly aforensic scientist atthe Oklahoma CityPolice Laboratory, forfalsifying testimonyand conducting shoddyforensic analysis.Pierce’s 1986conviction for rapeand robbery wasoverturned after DNAtesting excludedhim. After his release,Pierce moved toMichigan to live withhis teenage twin sonswho were infants whenhe was convicted.77% were convicted basedat least in part18 | Innocence Project

ULYSSES RODRIGUEZCHARLES • 200117 YEARSUlysses RodriguezCharles was convictedof rape, robbery andrelated charges in1984, stemming froma 1980 crime. Charleslong maintained thathe was targeted by apolice officer with avendetta who hidevidence in pursuit ofhis wrongfulconviction. In 2001,he was proveninnocent throughDNA testing.JERRY FRANK TOWNSEND EDUARDO VELASQUEZ CHARLES IRVIN FAIN CALVIN WASHINGTON200120012001200121.5 YEARS 12.5 YEARS 17.5 YEARS 13 YEARSMASSACHUSETTS FLORIDA MASSACHUSETTS IDAHO TEXASDuring an investigationfor the rape of apregnant woman inMiami, Jerry FrankTownsend, whosecognitive abilities arelimited, confessed tothis and several othercrimes. When DNA testresults cleared him oftwo of the six murdershe had confessedto, also implicatinganother man,prosecutors asked thathis other convictionsbe dismissed.A rape victimidentified EduardoVelasquez, thenknown as AngelHernandez, at night,from 10 to 12 feetaway. He had beenpicked up by policewho believed that hefit the description ofthe perpetrator. DNAtesting was performedin 2001 and he wasexonerated based onthe results. Today, helives in Puerto Ricowith his wife.Charles Irvin Fainhad recently moved tothe Nampa area whena young girl was rapedand murdered. Policebegan questioning himand asked him toprovide hair samples.The FBI determinedthat the suspect’s hairswere similar to Fain’s.Based on that evidence,he was convicted andsentenced to death.Mitochondrial DNAtesting eventuallyrevealed that the hairswere not Fain’s, andhe was exonerated.Calvin Washingtonwas convicted ofcapital murder in 1987.Witnesses testified thatWashington admittedto burglarizing thevictim, and so-called“bite marks” on thevictim were linked toWashington. Afterserving 13 years of alife sentence, DNA testresults vindicatedWashington andimplicated another man,who had committedsuicide after admittingthat he raped an elderlywoman who lived nextdoor to the victim inWashington’s case.on eyewitness misidentification …www.innocenceproject.org | 19

JOHN DIXON • 2001 MARCELLIUS BRADFORD200110 YEARS 6.5 YEARSILLINOISAnthony Michael For fear of a harsher Marcellius BradfordGreen was found guilty sentence, John Dixon was coerced intoof raping a cancer pled guilty in 1991 to confessing topatient in the care of a rape, robbery and involvement in a 1986the Cleveland Clinic kidnapping that he did Chicago rape andTOOHospital whereMANYhe notWRONGFULLYcommit. DNA testing murder. He receivedCONVICTEDused to work. Green At 14 years old,ANTHONYMICHAELGREEN200113 YEARSOHIOwas convicted based,in part, on the faultyforensic work of labtechnician JosephSerowik. After DNAexonerated Green, thecity conducted the“Michael Anthony GreenForensic LaboratoryNEW JERSEYCALVIN OLLINS • 200113.5 YEARSILLINOISLARRY OLLINS • 200113.5 YEARSILLINOISMANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDAudit” of the city’scrime lab, which hasuncovered similarproblems in other casesSerowik handled.used in New Jersey atthat time, and Dixon’srequest for testing wasdenied. An InnocenceProject student locatedthe evidence in 1996,but it wasn’t tested until2001, when it provedDixon’s innocence.implicating LarryOllins. After years inprison, DNA testingof spermatozoa andhairs found on thevictim’s body excludedall four men who wereconvicted of thecrime. Bradford wasexonerated and initiallyreleased but remainsincarcerated onunrelated charges.Calvin Ollins wassentenced to life inprison without thepossibility of parole forthe rape and murderof a medical student.Calvin Ollins implicatedhimself, MarcelliusBradford and LarryOllins in the crime.He spent roughly halfhis life in prisonbefore DNA testingexonerated him.Together with hiscousin Calvin, LarryOllins was implicatedin a Chicago crime.Marcellius Bradfordtestified that the two hadraped and murdered awoman while he andco-defendant, OmarSaunders, stood watch.The four teenagerswere not old enoughto be eligible for thedeath penalty, andall but Bradford weresentenced to life inprison. DNA testingeventually provedtheir innocence.and 48% of those misidentificationswere cross-racial (most commonly a20 | Innocence Project

0OMAR SAUNDERS • 2001 RICHARD ALEXANDER LARRY MAYES • 2001 LEONARD MCSHERRY MARK WEBB • 20012001200113.5 YEARSILLINOIS 5.5 YEARSINDIANA 18.5 YEARS 13 YEARS 10 YEARSINDIANACALIFORNIATEXASOmar Saunders, Richard Alexander Based solely on the A six-year-old girl Serology test resultsalong with Larry and was arrested in victim’s tentative positively identified could not excludeCalvin Ollins and connection with four identification of him, Leonard McSherry as Mark Webb as theMarcellius Bradford, sexual assaults in the Larry Mayes was her rapist. The girl also perpetrator of awas convicted inconnection with aSouth Bend area. Afterhe was in prison, aconvicted of rape.Mayes had a goldidentified McSherry’sgrandparents’ house askidnapping and rape,and the victimChicago rape and fifth assault occurred. tooth, like thethe scene of the crime. erroneously identified0murder. In addition to The fifth victim also assailant. After two McSherry maintained him as the perpetrator,Bradford’s false identified Alexander inconclusive lineups, his innocence and leading to hisconfession, another as the perpetrator the victim identified DNA testing in 2001 conviction. In 2001,witness testified when his photo was him from a photo array. corroborated his claim. DNA testing provedthat Saunders had accidentally placed in She later revealed thathis innocence and heimplicated himself in the photo lineup — police had hypnotizedwas freed.the crime. Ineven though he was her before showingDecemberTOO2001, inMANYprison when theWRONGFULLYher the photos. MayesCONVICTall four men were crime occurred. DNA was the 100th personproven innocent eventually proved exonerated throughONVICTEDthrough DNA testing. Alexander’s innocence post-convictionand implicated two DNA testing.other men in the crimes.Caucasian person incorrectlyidentifying an African American person).WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDwww.innocenceproject.org | 21

RICHARD DANZIGER200211 YEARSTEXASRichard Danziger’sroommate, Chris Ochoa,implicated Danziger inhis confession to therape and murder of anAustin Pizza Hutemployee. They bothreceived life sentences.Years later, anotherprisoner confessed tothe crime. The casewas reopened, andDNA tests excludedOchoa and Danzigerand incriminated theother man. Tragically,Danziger sustainedbrain damage fromattacks he sufferedwhile in prison.CHRIS OCHOA • 200211.5 YEARSTEXASIn a desperate attemptto avoid the deathpenalty, Chris Ochoaconfessed to a rapeand murder and alsoimplicated hisroommate, RichardDanziger. DNA testingexcluded Ochoa whilehe was serving a lifesentence. Since hisexoneration, OchoaBRUCE GODSCHALK200214.5 YEARSPENNSYLVANIAARVIN MCGEE • 200212.5 YEARSOKLAHOMAVICTOR LARUE THOMAS200215 YEARSTEXASTOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEhe was convicted, sentence was later misidentification.earned a law degreeat the University ofWisconsin and hasworked with theWisconsin InnocenceProject.Two women in thesame apartmentcomplex were rapedin 1986. One ofthem identified BruceGodschalk as theperpetrator. Hisconviction was fraughtwith misconduct,including a coercedconfession, and afterprosecutors and policemishandled evidenceand claimed it wasdestroyed. After almost15 years in prison,and seven yearsfighting for DNAtesting, Godschalkwas exonerated.Arvin McGee wasconvicted of committinga 1987 rape in Tulsa.McGee’s first trialended in a mistrial,and the second endedin a hung jury.After the third trial,he was convicted andsentenced to 365years in prison. Hisreduced to 298 years.Finally, DNA provedhis innocence andidentified the trueperpetrator.In June 2001, VictorLarue Thomas wasfreed from prison afterDNA testing provedthat he did not commita 1986 robbery,kidnapping and rape ofa convenience storeclerk. His convictionwas based largelyon the victim’s65% were convicted based at least in part22 | Innocence Project

RAY KRONE • 200210 YEARSARIZONAHECTOR GONZALEZ20025.5 YEARSNEW YORKALEJANDRO DOMINGUEZ20024 YEARSILLINOISCLARK MCMILLAN • 200222 YEARSTENNESSEELARRY JOHNSON • 200218 YEARSMISSOURIRay Krone was said tobe helping a Phoenixbartender close thebar on the night of hermurder. Based on thisinformation and“bite-mark” analysis(for which policeasked Krone to biteinto a Styrofoam cupand then compared thecup to bite marks onthe victim), Krone wasconvicted of the crimeand sentenced todeath and 21 years.Ten years later, DNAtesting exoneratedKrone, who is now aPennsylvania residentand CommunicationsDirector of Witnessto Innocence.Hector Gonazalez wasconvicted of murder ina gang-related crimein New York City.Serological testing onbloodstains onGonazalez’s pantsrevealed that half thepopulation of New YorkCity could be thesource of the blood,yet based on thisevidence and a witnesswho saw him at thescene of the crime, hewas convicted. DNAtesting revealed thatthe bloodstains camenot from the victims,but from two other menwhose woundsGonzalez had beentending the night ofthe crime.Alejandro Dominguez,then a 16-year-oldMexican national,was convicted andsentenced to nine yearsin prison for rape. Hisconviction was basedprimarily on thevictim’s cross-racialeyewitnessidentification. Afterhe was released,Dominguez sought DNAtesting at his ownexpense and was finallyexonerated 12 yearsafter his conviction.Clark McMillan hadan obvious limp at thetime that a rape victimidentified him as theassailant. The victim’sdescription of herassailant did notinclude a limp untilshe testified at trial.McMillan served 22years of a 119-yearsentence whenDNA testing clearedhis name.After Larry Johnsonwas convicted of a1984 rape, he and theInnocence Projectfaced considerableresistance gainingaccess to evidencefrom his case for DNAtesting. Even after theInnocence Project fileda civil rights lawsuit,the prosecutionrefused to release theevidence. In 2001, thestate Supreme Courtordered the CircuitAttorney’s Office torespond to the InnocenceProject’s motion.The DNA test resultsproved that Johnsoncould not have beenthe perpetrator and hewas finally exonerated.on fraudulent, unreliableor limited forensic science.www.innocenceproject.org | 23

MARVIN ANDERSON200215 YEARSVIRGINIAEDDIE JOE LLOYD • 200217 YEARSMICHIGANJIMMY RAY BROMGARD200214.5 YEARSMONTANAALBERT JOHNSON • 200210 YEARSCALIFORNIADOUGLAS ECHOLS • 20025 YEARSGEORGIAAn all-white juryconvicted MarvinAnderson of rape andrelated charges whenhe was 18 years old.He became a suspectin the investigationbecause he lived witha white woman and thevictim said her attackerclaimed he “had awhite girl.” He wasexonerated throughDNA testing 15 yearslater. Today, he owns atrucking company andlives in Hanover withhis three children.Police officersinvestigating the brutalmurder of a 16-year-oldgirl interrogated EddieJoe Lloyd while he wasa patient in a mentalhospital. They led himto believe that byconfessing and gettingarrested, he would helpthem expose the realperpetrator. The judgesaid that Lloyd wouldhave received the deathpenalty if it were legal inMichigan. For over sixyears, Innocence Projectlegal clinic studentsworked to secure theevidence in Lloyd’scase. Lloyd died twoyears after DNA testingproved his innocence.At the age of 18,Jimmy Ray Bromgardwas convicted ofrape and sentenced to40 years in prison.His conviction wassecured with thehesitant eyewitnessidentification of theeight-year-old rapevictim and thefraudulent testimony ofa forensic analyst(who simply inventedstatistics claiming thata hair at the crimescene was likely fromBromgard). DNAtesting eventuallyproved his innocence.Albert Johnsonbecame the primesuspect in a sexualassault case whenpolice stopped him forspeeding. He matchedthe description of theassailant as a blackman driving a smallwhite car. Two rapevictims identified him.Johnson studied lawwhile incarcerated andsought DNA testing.One of the rape kitshad been destroyed,but the second waslocated and subjectedto testing; Johnson wasexonerated based onthe results.Douglas Echols, aformer Army officer,was convicted ofkidnapping a womanoutside a Savannahnightclub andrestraining her whilehis co-defendant,Samuel Scott, rapedher. Echols wasparoled five yearslater. Scott contactedthe Innocence Project,which helped locatethe evidence andsecured DNA testing.Both Echols and Scottwere vindicated.19% were convicted based at leastin part on faulty microscopic hair analysis.24 | Innocence Project

SAMUEL SCOTT • 200215 YEARSGEORGIABERNARD WEBSTER200220 YEARSMARYLANDDAVID BRIAN SUTHERLIN20020 YEARSMINNESOTAPAULA GRAY • 20029 YEARSILLINOISANTRON MCCRAY • 20026 YEARSNEW YORKSamuel Scott wasconvicted of rape,kidnapping, and robberyand served 15 years ofa life sentence. Hewas released on parolein September 2001but arrested two dayslater when he failed toregister as a sexoffender. In October2002, his indictmentwas dismissed basedon DNA test results.Bernard Websterbecame the firstperson to be exoneratedunder Maryland’spost-conviction DNAstatute. Webster wasconvicted of rapeafter the victim andmultiple eyewitnessesmisidentified him asthe perpetrator. Hewas 40 years old whenDNA finally exoneratedhim and he walked outof prison; he was 18when he was arrested.In 1985, David BrianSutherlin was convictedof rape, as well as twounrelated murders. Hewas sentenced to life inprison for the murders;a month later, he wassentenced for theunrelated rape. In2002, Sutherlin wasexonerated of therape charge after aprosecution-initiatedreview led to DNAtesting of the evidencein his case, whichshowed that another manPaula Gray wasconvicted of murder,rape, and perjury andsentenced to 50 yearsin prison in the “FordHeights Four” case.Then 17 years old, herown statements wereused to secure herconviction and that offour innocent men —Kenneth Adams, VernealJimerson, WillieRainge and DennisWilliams. DNA testingultimately proved thatnone of the five wereAntron McCray andfour other adolescentswere convicted of abrutal rape in the nowinfamous Central Parkjogger case of 1989.Years after theirconvictions, DNA testresults matched aconvicted murdererand rapist whoadmitted that he alonewas responsible forthe attack. None of theDNA evidence matchedthose wrongfullyconvicted, and all fiveO MANY WRONGFULLYwas the perpetrator. involved in the crime.CONVICmen were exonerated.Sutherlin, who never Gray is the only womanserved time for the to be exoneratedrape conviction while through post-convictionserving his life sentence DNA testing.for the unrelatedmurders, remainsin prison.Three cases involved anerroneous DNA inclusion.www.innocenceproject.org | 25

0KEVIN RICHARDSON20025.5 YEARSNEW YORKKevin Richardson,who was 14 years oldat the time, was one offive teenagers convictedin the attack of aULLYCentral Park joggerCONVICTEDin1989. Because thevictim had no memoryof the assault, policefocused on a groupof youths who werealready in policecustody for othercrimes perpetrated inthe park that night.In 2002, all five menYUSEF SALAAM • 20025.5 YEARSNEW YORKRAYMOND SANTANA20025 YEARSNEW YORKKHAREY WISE • 200211.5 YEARSNEW YORKWRONGFULLY CONVICTEDwere proven innocentthrough DNA testing.Yusef Salaam wasconvicted of rape andassault in connectionwith the 1989 CentralPark jogger case. Hewas the only one offive teenagers convictedwho did not give avideotaped confession.In 2002, all five menwere deemed innocentafter DNA testing wasconducted on severalpieces of evidence,including a rape kitand hairs found onthe victim.Raymond Santanafalsely confessed toinvolvement in theCentral Park joggercase of 1989. He andfive other teenagers,between the ages of14 and 16 years old,were convicted of thiscrime. In 2002, anotherman who had beenconvicted of similarcrimes confessed thathe alone committedthe Central Park joggerattack, and all fivemen were exoneratedafter DNA testingconfirmed his admission.Kharey Wise wasone of five teenagersconvicted inconnection with theCentral Park joggercase. He and threeof his co-defendantsgave videotapedconfessions thatdiffered significantlyon key details of thecrime. In retrospect itis clear that the youngmen did not knowwhere, how, or whenthe attack took place.In 2002, all five menwere deemed innocentafter DNA testing.DANA HOLLAND • 20038 YEARSILLINOISDana Holland wasimprisoned for a decadefor two wrongfulconvictions: a rape,an armed robbery andan attempted murder.On the morning of therape, officers tracedthe suspect’s footprintsto Holland’s apartmentbuilding. The Centeron Wrongful Convictionstook his case andsecured DNA testing,which exoneratedHolland in 2003.He was retried for thearmed robbery andattempted murder(for which there wasno DNA evidence)and acquitted.25% were convictedbased at least in part26 | Innocence Project

GENE BIBBINS • 200315.5 YEARSLOUISIANAWILEY FOUNTAIN • 200316 YEARSTEXASJULIUS RUFFIN • 200320 YEARSVIRGINIADENNIS MAHER • 200319 YEARSMASSACHUSETTSIn 1987, Gene Bibbinswas convicted of rapingWiley Fountain wasconvicted of aggravatedA young nurseidentified Juliusa young woman 0in the sexual assault of a Ruffin, a maintenanceapartment complex pregnant woman in the worker at a medicalwhere he lived. He Dallas area who had school where she wasbecame a suspect when been abducted while a student, as the manhe was seen carrying walking to a bus stop. who raped her severala radio that had been Fountain was stopped weeks earlier. Afterstolen from the victim’s by police because his two trials resultedapartment. He had clothing resembled in hung juries, Ruffinfound the radio on the the victim’s description was convicted andpremises. The victim of what her attacker sentenced to life.identified him as the wore. Based on DNA Over two decadesperpetrator after police test results, he later, DNA testingdrove him to the crime was pardoned in exonerated Ruffinscene and illuminated March 2003.and linked to ahis face with aconvicted rapist.ONGFULLYflashlight. He wasCONVICTEDexonerated 15 yearslater, when DNA testingproved that he couldyoung children.not have committedthe crime.Dennis Maher, then a23-year-old Army sergeant,was stoppedand questioned bypolice on the nightthat a rape occurred inhis town of Lowell.Although no biologicalevidence linked him,he was convicted oftwo rapes. The NewEngland InnocenceProject helped secureDNA testing in hiscase and he wasproven innocent. He isnow a mechanic for awaste managementcompany, has recentlymarried and has twoEDDIE JAMES LOWERY20039.5 YEARSKANSASInvestigators in the1981 rape of an elderlywoman questionedEddie James Loweryon the day of theattack. They deniedhim a lawyer, fed himdetails of the case andextracted a confession.Lowery’s first trialended in a hung jury,but he was convictedin the second. Afterhis parole in 1991,Lowery financed DNAtesting in his case andwas proven innocent.on false confessions or admissions...www.innocenceproject.org | 27

MICHAEL MERCER • 200310.5 YEARSNEW YORKMichael Mercer wasmisidentified in therape of a 17-year-oldgirl when the victimONVICTEDsaw Mercer in herbuilding two monthsafter the attack. In2000, DNA testing wasfinally conducted andfound a match — notto Mercer, but to aconvicted rapist whocould not be chargedbecause the statute oflimitations had expired.PAUL KORDONOWY • 200313 YEARSMONTANAPaul Kordonowy wasexonerated for a 1990rape conviction afterDNA testing proved hisinnocence. At his trial,the former head of theMontana ForensicScience Laboratory,Arnold Melnikoff,testified falsely thathairs found at thecrime scene matchedKordonowy. Kordonowyremains in prison foranother rape charge towhich he pled guilty.KENNETH WYNIEMKO20038.5 YEARSMICHIGANA Michigan rape victimtold police that she hadlittle opportunity to viewher assailant. But theyasked her to help preparea composite sketch,which she said wasabout 60% accurate.Police targeted KennethWyniemko because heresembled the sketch.He was convicted andsentenced to 40-60years in prison. Nineyears later, DNA provedhis innocence. Today,FULLY CONVICTEDWyniemko — joined byhis Cooley InnocenceProject attorneys andthe prosecuting attorneyin his case — educatesthe public aboutwrongful convictions.MICHAEL EVANS • 200326 YEARSILLINOISMichael Evansserved 26 years of a400-year sentence forthe murder, rape andkidnapping of a younggirl before DNA testingexonerated him. Aneighborhood woman,responding to a rewardoffer of $5,000 forhelping identify thekiller, implicatedEvans. He and hisco-defendant, PaulTerry, were teenagerswhen they wereconvicted.PAUL TERRY • 200326 YEARSILLINOISBased on a false tip ofa neighborhood woman,detectives beganasking local AfricanAmerican teenagersabout the rape andmurder of a nine-yearoldgirl. Paul Terrywas identified in aline-up by the woman,who claimed to havebeen a witness to thestruggle. Although herwork timecard showedshe could not havewitnessed the crime,prosecutors continuedtheir case againstTerry and MichaelEvans. The two serveda combined total of 52years in prison beforeDNA testing provedthem innocent.And 35% of those who falsely confessedwere 18 years old or younger28 | Innocence Project

LONNIE ERBY • 200317 YEARSMISSOURISTEVEN AVERY • 200317.5 YEARSWISCONSINCALVIN WILLIS • 200321.5 YEARSLOUISIANACALVIN LEE SCOTT200320 YEARSOKLAHOMANICHOLAS YARRIS • 200321.5 YEARSPENNSYLVANIALonnie Erby wasconvicted of severalSt. Louis kidnappingsand rapes andsentenced to 115years in prison.Although no biologicalevidence linked himto the crimes and hehad strong alibis foreach of them, he wasconvicted based onmisidentification byseveral of the victims.The Innocence Projecttook Erby’s case in1995 and spent sevenyears fighting for DNAtesting on evidence inthe case. Finally, in2003, DNA test resultsproved his innocence.Sixteen witnessescorroborated StevenAvery’s alibi that hehad spent the dayshopping with his familywhen a brutal sexualassault occurred.Nevertheless, basedon the eyewitnessmisidentification of asingle witness and hairanalysis, Avery wasconvicted. DNA testingsecured by theWisconsin InnocenceProject proved thatAvery was innocent —and matched a manwho was in prison forsexual assaultscommitted after the onefor which Avery waswrongfully convicted.Calvin Willis wasconvicted of raping aseven-year-old girlwhile two other younggirls were also in theShreveport home.The children providedconflicting descriptionsof the attacker, andtheir memories of theattack changed overtime. Willis, who waswell known in theneighborhood anddenied having anythingto do with the crime,was finally exoneratedbased on DNA testingon several pieces ofevidence. The realperpetrator was neverfound.Microscopic hairanalysis — a sciencethat is limited at best— was used to convictCalvin Lee Scott of a1982 rape. Twodecades later, DNAtesting excluded Scottand matched to aconvicted rapist whocould not be chargeddue to the statute oflimitations.Sentenced to death in1982 for a rape, murder,and kidnapping,Nicholas Yarris firstsought DNA testing inhis case in 1989.DNA tests on evidencefrom his case wereconducted throughoutthe 1990s and wereinconclusive. In 2003,a private lab conductedone last round of DNAtests on several itemsof evidence — and theresults proved thatYarris was innocent.He is now living inEngland with his wifeand young daughter.and/or developmentally disabled.www.innocenceproject.org | 29

00 12 YEARSSTEPHAN COWANS DARRYL HUNT • 2004 ANTHONY POWELL • 200420045.5 YEARSMASSACHUSETTS 18.5 YEARSN. CAROLINA MASSACHUSETTSThe victim and multiple Darryl Hunt was A man who raped awitnesses misidentified convicted of a 1984 teenager in 1991Stephan Cowans as rape and murder despite demanded that shethe man who shot a a lack of evidence meet him at the localBoston police officer, against him. The main skating rink the nightMANY and he was convicted WRONGFULLY prosecution witness CONVICTEDafter the attack withon several charges and was a former Ku Klux $100. Anthonysentenced to 30-45 Klansman. In 1994, DNA Powell happened toyears in prison. Several testing excluded him, be at the rink thatitems of evidence were yet state and federal night and the younglater subjected to DNA courts turned down his woman misidentifiedtesting, and they all request for a new trial. him as her attacker.showed that Cowans But when a final round He was convicted ofwas innocent.of DNA testing identified rape and kidnappingSubsequently, officials the real perpetrator, Hunt and sentenced toreexamined a fingerprint was finally exonerated. 12-20 years in prison.JOSIAH SUTTON • 20044.5 YEARSTEXASLAFONSO ROLLINS200410 YEARSILLINOISMANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDfrom the crime scenethat an expert hadtestified came fromCowans — and the newanalysis revealed thatfingerprint was notCowans’s. He was fullyexonerated in 2004.He now runs theDarryl Hunt Project forFreedom and Justice,which assists innocentprisoners and helpspeople successfullyreenter society afterincarceration.When DNA testingwas finally conducted,the judge quicklyacknowledged that theresults proved Powell’sinnocence, and hewas freed.At Josiah Sutton’srape trial in 1999,a Houston PoliceDepartment crime labemployee testifiedthat DNA from thecrime was an exactmatch to Sutton.Knowing this couldn’tbe true, Sutton fought,unsuccessfully, tohave independent DNAtesting conductedduring his trial. In2003, an independentaudit of the crime labuncovered extensiveproblems. DNA testsproved that Sutton wasinnocent, and he wasexonerated. Since hisrelease, he hasadvocated for legislativereform in Texas.Lafonso Rollins wasa 17-year-old specialeducation student inthe ninth grade whenhe was arrested forrobbery and rape on thebasis of a compositesketch. Rollins, whosecognitive abilities arelimited, confessed tothe robberies and fourrapes. Years later, DNAtesting proved that hewas innocent and thatan unknown male hadcommitted the crimes.During the yearsRollins was wrongfullyimprisoned, hismother, father, sisterand grandparentshad died.Nine pled guilty to crimes30 | Innocence Project

RYAN MATTHEWS • 2004 WILTON DEDGE • 2004 ARTHUR LEE WHITFIELD20045 YEARS 22 YEARSLOUISIANAFLORIDA 22.5 YEARSVIRGINIARyan Matthews wasarrested for murdersoon after his 17thbirthday. His friend,Travis Hayes, falselyconfessed to the crimeand implicatedMatthews, who wasconvicted andsentenced to death.The Louisiana CrisisAssistance Centerhelped Matthews winpost-conviction DNAtesting that excludedhim. After almostfive years on deathrow, he was released.The prosecution atWilton Dedge’srape trial relied oneyewitnessmisidentification,snitch testimony, haircomparison and dogsniffing to secure hisconviction in 1982.The conviction wasreversed in 1983,but then reinstated in1984. Three yearsafter post-convictionDNA testing excludedhim in 2001, he wasfinally released.Dedge lives in Florida,where he is alandscaper and anadvocate for criminaljustice reform.Arthur Lee Whitfieldwas convicted of tworapes and sentencedto 63 years in prison.More than twodecades later, when hesought DNA testingthat could prove hisinnocence, he was toldthe evidence was lostforever and could notbe tested. But samplesof evidence were foundin the old notebooks ofa former lab analystwho, against labprotocol, savedevidence samples inhundreds of cases —which have already ledto several exonerations.DNA testing on theevidence exoneratedWhitfield in 2004.BARRY LAUGHMAN • 200416 YEARSPENNSYLVANIAWhen police lied toBarry Laughman andtold him that hisfingerprints were foundat a murder scene, heconfessed to the crime.Laughman’s IQ hadbeen measured at 70,and he was said to befunctioning at thelevel of a 10-year-oldchild. Despite seriousdiscrepancies betweenhis confession and theactual crime (includingthe date), he wasconvicted of rape,murder and othercharges in 1988 andsentenced to life inprison. Years later, DNAtesting of the evidenceproved his innocence.CLARENCE HARRISON200417.5 YEARSGEORGIAPoor preservation ofevidence almostprevented ClarenceHarrison from provinghis innocence in a1986 rape case. Afterhe was convicted, hepursued DNA testing butwas told the remainingevidence had beendestroyed in the early1990s. By 2003,the Georgia InnocenceProject had helpedlocate one lastpreserved slide, andit proved Harrison’sinnocence. Just 18days after his releasefrom prison, Harrisonmarried his longtimegirlfriend.TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDthey did not commit.www.innocenceproject.org | 31

200BRUCE DALLAS GOODMAN0TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDDAVID ALLEN JONES20049 YEARSCALIFORNIALos Angeles policeinvestigating severalmurders interrogatedDavid Allen Jones, whohas the mental abilityof an eight-year-old,for over two days. Afterdetectives “reminded”Jones that he hadalready admitted tothe crimes, he falselyconfessed and wasconvicted. Nine yearslater, DNA testing provedJones’s innocence —and matched a convicted200419 YEARSUTAHConvicted of the rapeand murder of hislive-in girlfriend basedlargely on inconclusiveforensics, Bruce DallasGoodman maintainedhis innocence. Heultimately sought thehelp of the RockyMountain InnocenceCenter, and DNAtesting exonerated him.DONALD WAYNE GOOD200413.5 YEARSTEXASDonald Wayne Goodwas convicted ofrape, based only onthe victim’s eyewitnessidentification. Hecontinued to fight toprove his innocencefor years after hewas paroled. DNAtesting finally led tohis exoneration inDecember 2004.DENNIS BROWN • 200519 YEARSLOUISIANAAt age 17, DennisBrown was accused ofrape and confessed tothe crime when adetective threatenedhim. The victim saidher attacker’s facewas almost completelycovered, yet sheidentified Brown. TheInnocence ProjectNew Orleans requestedDNA testing in Brown’scase, which provedhis innocence. He hadspent over half of hisWRONGFULLY CONVICTEDserial murderer.DONTE BOOKER • 200515 YEARSOHIOAfter he was paroled,Donte Booker soughtpost-conviction DNAtesting in the 1986 rapecase for which he hadbeen convicted. Herefused opportunitiesfor an earlier parolebecause he wouldnot admit to a crimehe didn’t commit.In 2005, DNA testingexcluded him, andhis conviction wasoverturned.life in prison.Y WRONGFULLY CONVICTED15% were convicted basedat least in part32 | Innocence Project

PETER ROSE • 2005 MICHAEL ANTHONY BRANDON MOON • 2005 ANTHONY WOODS • 2005WILLIAMS •8 YEARS 200517 YEARS 18 YEARSCALIFORNIALOUISIANATEXASMISSOURIA young rape victiminitially reported thatshe was raped by astranger, until heraunt, an estrangedacquaintance ofPeter Rose, suggestedthat he had committedthe crime. Underinterrogation, policerepeatedly pressuredthe girl to name him,despite her misgivings.He was convicted andsentenced to 27 years.With the help of theNorthern CaliforniaInnocence Project,Rose’s innocence wasestablished throughDNA testing.Just 16 years old atthe time of hisconviction, MichaelAnthony Williamsserved nearly 24 yearsof a life sentence foraggravated rape.The victim, who washis tutor, misidentifiedWilliams, and he wasconvicted. More thantwo decades later,DNA testing provedthat he could not havecommitted the crime.Upon his release, theLouisiana Departmentof Corrections issuedhim a check for $10.Brandon Moon wasconvicted of threecounts of aggravatedsexual assault for astring of crimes in theEl Paso area where hewas a college student.Moon was arrestedand convicted in1988, based largelyon eyewitnessmisidentification andfaulty forensicanalysis. DNA testingproved his innocence17 years later. Moonhas since moved toMissouri. He is anadvocate for criminaljustice reform.When Anthony Woodswas paroled after 18years in prison forraping a teenager, heimmediately calledhis original publicdefender and obtainedan order for DNAtesting in his case. Inprison, he had twicefailed to complete thesex offender programbecause he refused toaccept responsibilityfor the crime. DNAresults cleared hisname three years afterhis release.TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDTHOMAS DOSWELL • 200518.5 YEARSPENNSYLVANIAWhen a rape victimwas shown a photoarray of possiblesuspects, only one —Thomas Doswell’s —was marked with theletter ‘R’, which officerssaid meant that Doswellhad been charged withrape. Although Doswellchallenged theidentification at histrial, he was convicted.Nearly two decadeslater, in March 2005,DNA testing provedhis innocence. He isnow part of a band thatopened for B.B. Kingduring his 2006 tour.on testimony from snitches or informants.www.innocenceproject.org | 33

LUIS DIAZ • 200525 YEARSFLORIDALuis Diaz wasconvicted in 1980 asthe “Bird Road Rapist.”One of the victimsidentified Diaz whenshe saw him at the gasstation where sheworked. Diaz, a marriedfather of three, wasroughly 70 poundslighter and 7 inchesshorter than her initialdescription. With thehelp of Diaz’s son andthe Florida InnocenceInitiative, he wasLEO WATERS • 200521 YEARSNORTH CAROLINAGEORGE RODRIGUEZ200517 YEARSTEXASFULLY CONVICTEDfinally released on thebasis of exculpatoryDNA test results.A woman who hadbeen raped in 1981while selling awaterbed out of herhome identifiedLeo Waters as theassailant. She washypnotized in anattempt to bolsterher memory. In 2003,DNA testing showedthat he could nothave been the rapist,and two years laterhe was pardoned.George Rodriguezwas at work when a14-year-old girl wasraped by two Latinomen, one of whom hadcalled the other“George.” The victimidentified Rodriguez ina photo array and hewas arrested. Based inpart on inaccurateforensic analysis, hewas convicted andsentenced to 60 yearsin prison. Years later,results of mitochondrialDNA testing did notmatch Rodriguez, butdid match another man.ROBERT CLARK • 200523.5 YEARSGEORGIAThe perpetrator of abrutal 1981 rape androbbery stole thevictim’s car. He loanedit to his friend, RobertClark, who the victimthen saw driving it.Clark gave the man’sname to detectives,but the man was nevercharged. Decades later,DNA testing revealedClark’s innocence andimplicated the manwho loaned him thecar, who was alreadyserving time on otherconvictions. Clarklives in Atlanta andworks in construction.CLARENCE ELKINS • 20056.5 YEARSOHIOClarence Elkins wasconvicted of the rapeand murder of hismother-in-law and therape of his six-year-oldniece in 1999. Whilehe was in prison, Elkins’swife worked with aprivate investigator tofind the real perpetrator.They learned that aconvicted rapist, whohad lived near thecrime scene, had beentransferred to Elkins’scell block. Elkinsretrieved one of theman’s cigarette buttsfrom the prison yard inorder to obtain hisgenetic profile. DNAtesting cleared Elkinsand matched theman Elkins and hiswife suspected.45% were compensated (either throughstate compensation laws or civil lawsuits)34 | Innocence Project

JOHN KOGUT • 200517 YEARSNEW YORKThrough haircomparison, snitchtestimony andJohn Kogut’s falseconfession — producedafter 18 hours ofinterrogation — Kogutwas convicted of therape and murder of a16-year-old girl. JohnRestivo and DennisHalstead were alsoconvicted on thepretense that the threemen acted together.Several rounds of DNAtesting over 10 yearsexcluded all threemen. After a retrial,Kogut was finallyexonerated.PHILLIP LEON THURMAN200519 YEARSVIRGINIAENTRE NAX KARAGE200512 YEARS 6.5 YEARSVIRGINIATEXASWillie Davidson Entre Nax Karageserved 12 years for was convicted ofthe 1980 rape of an murdering his0elderly female girlfriend in 1997.acquaintance of his Post-conviction DNAwho testified that he testing proved that hehad been like a was innocent. Thegrandson to her. profile obtained fromDavidson and his family spermatozoa found onsaid that he was at the victim matchedhome sleeping when another man who wasthe crime occurred. previously convictedYears after he was of a similar crime.released from prison,he was proven innocentthrough DNA testing ofevidence that a labanalyst had saved inher notebooks.Phillip Leon Thurmanwas convicted of a1984 rape, abductionand assault based oneyewitness identificationand serology on crimescene evidence. AfterY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDhe was released onparole in 2004, he wasrequired to register asa sex offender, but hecontinued fighting toprove his innocence. Akey piece of biologicalevidence had beensaved by a lab analyst,whose work provedinstrumental in theexonerations of severalother Virginia prisoners.Thurman’s evidencewas subjected to DNAtesting, and he wasexonerated.WILLIE DAVIDSON • 2005KEITH E. TURNER • 20054 YEARSTEXASPost-conviction DNAtesting proved thatKeith E. Turner wasnot the perpetrator of a1982 rape of a Dallaswoman. Turner hadbeen misidentifiedboth visually and byhis voice. He and thevictim worked fordifferent branches ofthe same companyand came into contactwhen Turner wastransferred.for their wrongful convictions,usually years after their release;www.innocenceproject.org | 35

DENNIS HALSTEAD • 20050JOHN RESTIVO • 2005 ALAN CROTZER • 200616 YEARS 16 YEARS 24.5 YEARSNEW YORKFLORIDAInvestigators in the Together with defendants Three men broke intomurder of a 16-year-old John Kogut and Dennis a Tampa home in 1982girl focused, in part, Halstead, John Restivo and kidnapped andon Dennis Halstead was convicted of the raped an adult womanwho was believed to rape and murder of a and a 12-year-old girl,be associated with 16-year-old girl on leaving them tied to aanother young woman Long Island. DNA testing tree after the attack.ANYwho had disappeared.WRONGFULLYproved the innocenceCONVICTEDOne of the victimsTogether with John of all three men in identified Alan Crotzer,Kogut and John Restivo, 2003, and they were who maintained thatNEW YORKHalstead was convictedof rape and murder in1987. After severalrounds of exculpatoryDNA testing, all threemen were released in2003 and exoneratedin 2005.fully exonerated in2005. The realperpetrator was neverfound. Today, Restivolives in Florida withhis girlfriend.he had no knowledgeof the crime. In 2003,he secured DNA testingand was exoneratedin 2006.EUGENE HENTON • 20061.5 YEARSTEXASIn exchange for aguilty plea, EugeneHenton received asentence of four yearsin prison for a 1984sexual assault that hedid not commit. Whenhe was paroled a yearand a half later, hecontinued his pursuitof DNA testing, whichled to his exoneration.He is now servingtime for two unrelatedconvictions.ARTHUR MUMPHREY200617.5 YEARSTEXASBased on the testimonyof a co-defendant,Arthur Mumphrey wasconvicted of sexualassault and sentencedto 35 years in prison.In exchange fortestifying againstMumphrey, hisco-defendant receiveda reduced sentenceof 15 years.Eventually, DNAtests confirmed theco-defendant’sguilt and Mumphrey’sinnocence.NY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDthe amounts of compensation ranged36 | Innocence Project

DREW WHITLEY • 200616.5 YEARSPENNSYLVANIADOUGLAS WARNEY • 20069 YEARSNEW YORKORLANDO BOQUETE200613 YEARSFLORIDAWILLIE JACKSON • 200617 YEARSLOUISIANALARRY PETERSON • 200616.5 YEARSNEW JERSEYIf not for 39 tiny hairsstuck to a nylon mask,Drew Whitley wouldstill be in prison. Theactual perpetrator,who shot and killed aMcDonald’s nightmanager in 1988, hadworn a nylon maskthat he shed at thescene. Over a decadeafter Whitley initiallyfiled for DNA testingon the hairs and wastold they could not belocated, he learnedthat the 39 hairsstill existed and thathe was excluded asthe source.Despite a lack ofphysical evidence,Douglas Warney wasconvicted of murderin 1997. Warneyconfessed to the crime,but his confessionrevealed that he didnot know several keyfacts. DNA testingexonerated him andmatched a convictedmurderer alreadyserving a life sentencein New York. Warney,who became gravelyill while he was inprison, is cared for byhis sister in Rochester.Orlando Boquete, aCuban immigrant, wasidentified by a rapevictim from the back ofa police car parked20 feet away, in themiddle of the night.He was convicted, andtwo years into hissentence he escapedand lived as a fugitivefor a decade. He waseventually recapturedand served another10 years. For a total of23 years he lived asa fugitive or a prisonerbefore DNA testingestablished hisinnocence. Today, helives in the FloridaKeys near many of hisrelatives.Based on the victim’smisidentification, WillieJackson was convictedand sentenced to 40years for rape. PostconvictionDNA testingexonerated Jacksonand implicated hisbrother in the rape.At the time of hisrelease, his brotherwas serving a lifesentence for a rapecommitted nineyears after Jackson’sconviction.TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICTEDThree witnessesclaimed that LarryPeterson confessed toa rape and murder,and he was convicteddespite his repeatedassertions of innocence.In 2003, DNA testsestablished hisinnocence butprosecutors refusedto drop charges untiltwo of the witnesseschanged their previousstories. Finally, in2006, he wasexonerated. He iscurrently looking foremployment andfighting to have hisrecord expunged.from $25,000 to $12.2 million.www.innocenceproject.org | 37

ALAN NEWTON • 2006JAMES TILLMAN • 2006JOHNNY BRISCOE • 2006SCOTT FAPPIANO • 2006ALLEN COCO • 200621 YEARSNEW YORK16.5 YEARSCONNECTICUT23 YEARSMISSOURI21 YEARSNEW YORK9 YEARSLOUISIANAAlan Newton of NewYork attended hismother’s funeral inshackles. She diedshortly after his rapeconviction in 1985. Hebegan requesting DNAtesting in 1994, butthe rape kit could notbe located until 2005.Once it was located,DNA testing proved hisinnocence. Newton iscurrently pursuing adegree in businessadministration atMedgar Evers Collegewith support from theThurgood MarshallScholarship Fund.James Tillman’sconviction in 1989was based almostentirely on a crossracialeyewitnessmisidentification. Soonafter his conviction,Tillman requested DNAtesting, but it was notas sophisticated at thattime and the resultswere inconclusive.In 2005, another roundof testing showedconclusively thatTillman was innocent,and he was exoneratedthe following year.In 1982, a Missouriman told the womanhe raped that his namewas Johnny Briscoe.The victim would lateridentify Briscoe in aphoto lineup and a livelineup. Briscoe wasthe only man in thelive lineup wearing anorange jumpsuit. In2006, DNA testingexcluded Briscoe andmatched a man whowas known to Briscoeand may have used hisname in the crime.Scott Fappianobecame implicated ina rape case when thevictim, a police officer’swife, identified him.At his second trial in1985, he was convicted.By chance, a piece ofevidence in his casewas discovered in2005 — not at the NYPDstorage facilities, butat LifeCodes, a privateDNA laboratory. Testingconfirmed Fappiano’sinnocence and he wasreleased. Today, helives in Brooklyn withhis family, in thesame house he livedin as a teenager.After a victim wasraped and burglarizedin 1995, there wereseveral inconsistenciesbetween her initialdescription of theassailant and heridentification of AllenCoco. During theattack, she had stabbedthe man in the buttocks,but Coco had no stabwound. Still, hewas convicted andsentenced to life inprison withoutprobation or parole.The Innocence ProjectNew Orleans helpedhim secure DNAtesting in 2005 and hewas exonerated thefollowing year.37% of their exoneration casesalso led to identification38 | Innocence Project

JAMES OCHOA • 200610 MONTHSCALIFORNIATen months after hewas convicted ofcarjacking and armedrobbery, JamesOchoa’s convictionwas vacated and hewas exonerated.Though Ochoa hadalready been excludedfrom the DNA evidenceat the time of trial,prosecutors wereconvinced of his guilt.A routine run of theDNA profile from thecrime scene evidencethrough the nationalDNA database matchedanother man.JEFFREY DESKOVIC MARLON PENDLETON BILLY JAMES SMITH BILLY WAYNE MILLER200620062006200615.5 YEARS 22 YEARSNEW YORKILLINOISTEXASTEXASBased on a falseconfession extractedfrom him at the age of16, Jeffrey Deskovicwas convicted of therape and murder of his15-year-old classmate— even though DNAtesting excluded him.He was released yearslater when moresophisticated DNAtesting was conductedand run through NewYork State’s DNAdatabase, providing amatch to a convictedfelon. Since hisrelease, Deskovic hasenrolled at MercyCollege and speakspublicly about criminaljustice reform.Marlon Pendletonwas convicted in1996 for a 1992 rape.Pamela Fish, alaboratory analyst whohas allegedly providedfalse testimony in atleast seven othercases that resulted inDNA exonerations,testified at his trialthat the biologicalevidence wasinsufficient for DNAtesting. In 2006, DNAtesting was conductedand Pendleton wasproven innocent.Billy James Smithattempted to secureDNA testing to overturnhis rape conviction forover four years. Hisinitial attempts weredenied because thevictim’s boyfriendcould have been asource of semen in therape kit — even thoughthe victim had earliersaid that she did nothave sex prior to thecrime. After numerousappeals, DNA testingwas finally granted,and Smith wasproven innocent.Billy Wayne Millerwas officiallyexonerated in December2006 after DNA testingproved he did notcommit a 1984 DallasCounty rape. The victimhad accepted a ridehome from a man ina Chevy who rapedher several times.The police identifiedMiller as the son of aregistered owner of aChevy with a licenseplate similar to the onethe victim remembered.TOO MANY WRONGFULLY CONVICof the true perpetrator of the crime;www.innocenceproject.org | 39

GREGORY WALLIS • 200717 YEARSTEXASLARRY FULLER • 200725 YEARSTEXASTRAVIS HAYES • 20078 YEARSLOUISIANAWILLIE “PETE” WILLIAMS200721.5 YEARSGEORGIAROY BROWN • 200715 YEARSNEW YORKAn initial round of DNAtesting showed that1 in 452 people hadthe same portion of theDNA profile shared byboth Gregory Wallisand the perpetrator ofa 1988 rape. Ratherthan take a deal thatwould release himfrom prison if he wouldagree to be a life-timeregistered sex offender,Wallis pushed for moretesting. Subsequenttesting of the rape kitand cigarette buttsconclusively eliminatedWallis as theperpetrator, and hewas exoneratedin 2007.Larry Fuller was the10th Dallas Countyman proven innocentthrough DNA testing injust five years. Thevictim was raped inher home beforesunrise and in dimlighting. She identifiedFuller after seeing hisphoto in two photolineups. Today, Fullercares for his elderlyparents and works asa telemarketer.Travis Hayes’sco-defendant, RyanMatthews, wasexonerated from deathrow in 2004. Attorneysat the InnocenceProject New Orleansfought for two and ahalf more years to winHayes’s exonerationfor a murder thatneither man committed.DNA testing in 2004cleared Hayes andMatthews andimplicated anotherman, and three yearslater prosecutorsannounced that theywould not retry Hayes.Months after Willie“Pete” Williams wasarrested based on themisidentification oftwo Atlanta rapevictims, a series ofsimilar rapesoccurred. A secondman pled guilty andwas convicted. ButWilliams and hisattorneys did not learnof the crimes untilthe appeals process.Working with theGeorgia InnocenceProject, Williamssecured DNA testing.The second manmatched the geneticprofile in both rapekits and Williams waseliminated.Roy Brown crackedhis own case fromprison by requestingdocuments under theFreedom of InformationAct. Five days afterBrown mailed a letterto Barry Bench, theman that he suspectedto be the killer, Benchcommitted suicide bystepping in front of anAmtrak train. Bench’sdaughter provided theDNA sample thatimplicated him andexcluded Brown.Brown, who suffersfrom liver disease,has been in and outof the hospital sincehis release.in 63% cases,40 | Innocence Project

JAMES WALLER • 200710 YEARSTEXAS0ANTONIO BEAVER • 2007 ANTHONY CAPOZZI •200720 YEARSNEW YORK10 YEARSMISSOURIANDREW GOSSETT •20077 YEARSTEXASJERRY MILLER • 200724.5 YEARSILLINOISIn addition to tenyears of wrongfulincarceration, JamesWaller spent 13 yearson parole for allegedlyraping a young boywho lived in hisapartment development.As a condition of hisparole, he was notallowed to have anycontact with children.Even while volunteeringthrough his churchgroup to serve food tohomeless people, Wallerhad to ask anothervolunteer to serve theAntonio Beaver wasconvicted of first-degreerobbery in a St. Louiscarjacking case andsentenced to 18 yearsin prison. Beaver’sconviction was basedon the victim’sidentification of him ina live lineup in whichhe was one of onlyfour lineup members.She had described theassailant as having agap in his teeth andBeaver was the onlyone with any dentalirregularities. DNABiological evidencestored for two decadesin a hospital drawerwas the key to the2007 exoneration ofAnthony Capozzi, aBuffalo man who spent20 years in prison fortwo rapes he didn’tcommit. Capozzi wasconvicted by a jury oftwo rapes and acquittedof the third althoughall three victimsidentified him in courtas the attacker. DNAtests in March 2007showed that anotherOn the night of akidnapping and rapein Garland, Texas, apolice officer on dutynoticed AndrewGossett in the vicinityof the crime scene.Consistent with thevictim’s descriptionof the perpetrator,Gossett was wearinga plaid shirt. Gossettwas brought in thefollowing day for alineup and the victimidentified him. Heserved seven years forthe sexual assaultJerry Miller wasconvicted of raping awoman in a parkinggarage. After theattack, the rapistattempted to drive thevictim’s car out of thegarage with her in thetrunk. Two parkingattendants beganquestioning theassailant, and he fled.A police officer, whothought that Millerresembled the compositesketch, put him in alineup and Miller waserroneously identified.children. He was finally testing conducted on man, currently awaiting before DNA evidence He was convicted andvindicatedYonWRONGFULLYMarch blood left by the trial on three murders,CONVICTEDexonerated him. served 24.5 years9th when, as the result perpetrator on a car actually committedbefore DNA testingof exculpatory DNA door cleared Beaver the 1985 attacks,proved his innocence.testing, the Texas of the crime after ten know as the DelawareGovernor officiallypardoned him.years behind bars. Park rapes.the true perpetrator was never identified.www.innocenceproject.org | 41

THE QUESTION NOBODY CAN ANSWERWe don’t know how many innocent people are in prison. 1 The individualsin this booklet are the first 200 proven innocent through DNA testing — and therewill surely be many more, as the Innocence Project and other organizations in theInnocence Network continue exonerating people nationwide.We do know that those who are exonerated by DNA are a subset within asubset — a fraction of cases that have evidence that still exists and can yield DNA results,within the tiny fraction of cases that even have DNA evidence as part of the crime.Very few cases involve physical evidence that could be subjected to DNAtesting (for example, it is estimated that, even among murders, only 10% of caseshave such evidence).The Innocence Project receives more than 3,000 letters per year fromprisoners nationwide, and Innocence Network organizations receive many more.At any given time, the Innocence Project is actively evaluating 6,000 to 10,000 cases.Approximately 33% of DNA cases that are ultimately closed by the Innocence Projectare closed because the evidence has been lost or destroyed.By the time they write to the Innocence Project or another organization,innocent prisoners have lost multiple appeals and have spent years incarcerated forcrimes they did not commit. Many of them have concluded, understandably, that thetruth will never come to light, so they do not seek help.42 | Innocence Project

We may never know how manyinnocent people are in prison.Instead, we ask how manymore will have to beexonerated through thehard science of DNA beforeevery jurisdiction in thecountry enacts reforms thatcan prevent this injusticein the first place.1 Recent research sheds some light on that number, however. Professor Samuel Gross of the University of Michigan has calculated that 2.3% of allprisoners sentenced to death between 1973 and 1989 were exonerated and freed; the total number who were actually innocent is almost certainlyhigher. Professor Michael Risinger of Seton Hall Law School estimates that between 3.3% and 5% of defendants sentenced to death for murdersinvolving rape between 1982 and 1989 were innocent. And an initial review of 29 rape convictions with untested DNA from the files of the VirginiaDepartment of Forensic Science found two false convictions, or 7%. There are over two million inmates in American jails and prisons. If as few as 1%are innocent, that would mean we are keeping more than 20,000 innocent men and women behind bars – and the true number may be much higher.www.innocenceproject.org | 43

The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck andPeter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at YeshivaUniversity to assist prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing.To date, 200 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing,including 14 who served time on death row. These people served an average of 12years in prison before exoneration and release. The Innocence Project’s full-timestaff attorneys and Cardozo clinic students provided direct representation or criticalassistance in most of these cases. The Innocence Project’s groundbreaking use ofDNA technology to free innocent people has provided irrefutable proof that wrongfulconvictions are not isolated or rare events but instead arise from systemic defects.Now an independent nonprofit organization closely affiliated with Cardozo School ofLaw at Yeshiva University, the Innocence Project’s mission is nothing less than to freethe staggering numbers of innocent people who remain incarcerated and to bringsubstantive reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.Photo CreditsCenturion Ministries7. Richard Johnson9. Steven Toney15. AB Butler18. Danny BrownThe Innocents: Photographsby Taryn Simon4. Walter Snyder5. Brian Piszczek6. Ronald Cotton11. Timothy Durham13. Ron Williamson13. Dennis Fritz14. Habib Wahir Abdal14. Clyde Charles16. Larry Youngblood16. Roy Criner17. James O’Donnell19. Charles Irvin Fain19. Calvin Washington20. John Dixon22. Richard Danziger23. Hector Gonzalez24. Douglas EcholsVoice of Innocence19. Ulysses Rodriguez Charles28. Paul TerryCenter on Wrongful Convictions2. Gary Dotson3. Steven Linscott8. Kenneth Adams8. Willie Rainge23. Alejandro Dominguez25. Paula Gray26. Dana Holland28. Michael Evans39. Marlon PendletonLoren Santow/The Illinois Death PenaltyEducation Project6. Rolando Cruz7. Alejandro Hernandez8. Verneal JimersonSusan Rutberg33. Peter RoseKim A. Marks22. Arvin McGeeJennifer Linzer21. Larry MayesRachel Morrison5. Frederick Daye7. Vincent Moto17. Anthony Robinson19. Eduardo Velasquez23. Larry Johnson24. Eddie Joe Lloyd24. Albert JohnsonMark Graham35. Entre Nax KarageFrancisco Kjolseth/Reprinted with permission ofThe Salt Lake Tribune32. Bruce Dallas GoodmanDona Ann McAdams withGeorge Castelle3. Glen Woodall6. William Harris7. Gerald Davis7. Dewey Davis14. James Richardson14. Larry HoldrenBill Farrington38. Scott FappianoSpringfield News-Leader15. Armand Villasana© Dan Gair/Blind DogPhoto, Inc.6. David Shephard9. Frederic Saecker10. Anthony Hicks15. Herman Atkins22. Chris Ochoa23. Clark McMillan24. Marvin Anderson25. Samuel Scott28. Kenneth Wyniemko31. Clarence Harrison33. Brandon Moon34. Robert Clark37. Orlando Boquete38. James Tillman40. Gregory Wallis41. James WallerStrategic Graphic Design: Simon Does, LLC • www.simondoes.com44 | Innocence Project